UNICEF encourages participation in School Enrollment WeekYangon, 02 June 2004 – Today UNICEF underscored its support of Myanmar’s Back to School program, and encouraged families to participate in School Enrollment Week. UNICEF noted that Myanmar has good primary school enrollment rates, with 90% of children signing up to go to school, but also expressed concern that many children who enroll in primary school will never complete their studies. “Many children drop out during the first two years of primary school,” noted UNICEF Myanmar Representative Carroll Long. “If we can keep them in school through this crucial time, they stand a much better chance of completing primary school. UNICEF’s Child Friendly School Project is designed to address this problem, especially in the country’s most disadvantaged townships.” “Community participation is one of the keys to keeping kids school,” added Ms. Long. Some cost-free steps for parents and communities to take to help children stay in school are helping a teacher with class on the first day of school, helping clean up school facilities before classes commence to make schools more appealing to children, helping return out-of-school kids to their classrooms during the first week of school, and sharing old textbooks that are no longer used with new pupils who need them. UNICEF-supported parent-teacher associations can play a particularly important role in these and other areas. UNICEF supports education in Myanmar through a series of projects, including those that provide for the renovation of schools, teacher training, the supply of teaching and learning materials, training for parent-teacher associations and community mobilization activities. “For many families living under arduous financial constraints, it can be difficult to invest in their child’s education when they have so many other pressing needs at home,” acknowledged UNICEF Representative Carroll Long. “We all need to work together to support these families in keeping their children in school, and to help them appreciate the fact that pulling their kids out of school can significantly hinder their children’s long term prospects for development, skill acquisition, literacy and advancement. ************************ Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), all children have the right to a quality basic primary education. Myanmar is a signatory to the CRC and Global Education Declaration, and has committed to providing a quality basic education for all of the nation’s children by 2015.
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