Strengthening Pre-Service Education

Education
Strengthening pre-service
Teacher Education
in Myanmar (STEM)
Phase II Final Narrative Report
Strengthening pre-service Teacher Education
in Myanmar (STEM)
Phase II Final Narrative Report
MM/DOC/20/050-5
Table of Contents
Table of Contents...................................................................................................................................................... 2
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................................... 4
Acronyms....................................................................................................................................................................... 5
I. Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................................6
II. Background...................................................................................................................................................... 10
What is the STEM Project?.......................................................................................................................................10
III. Report Methodology ................................................................................................................................13
Purpose and Audience.............................................................................................................................................13
STEM’s Situational and Operational Context............................................................................................................14
IV. Key Findings..................................................................................................................................................... 28
Outcome 1: Comprehensive teacher policies informed by international standards are adopted, enabling
implementation of the updated competency-based Education College (EC) degree...............................................29
Outcome 2: Education College (EC) two-year diploma upgraded to specialized programs with
competency-based teacher education curriculum .................................................................................................. 36
Outcome 3: Strengthened management and administration of Education Colleges ..............................................44
Outcome 4: An inclusive education approach mainstreamed through teacher policies, teacher education
curriculum, and Education College Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programs..................................49
STEM’s Anticipated Impact on Myanmar’s Teacher Education Sector.....................................................................55
Overall Project Sustainability....................................................................................................................................58
2 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

V. Management and Implementation Systems.............................................................................. 59
Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (ME&L).........................................................................................................59
Planning, Governance, and Oversight......................................................................................................................60
STEM Coordination and Partnerships ......................................................................................................................62
Project Communication, Outreach, and Visibility..................................................................................................... 64
Financial Performance..............................................................................................................................................66
Value for Money (VfM).............................................................................................................................................68
VI. Overall Project Learnings........................................................................................................................71
Applicability of the Theory of Change......................................................................................................................71
Analysis of Areas for Improvement .........................................................................................................................73
Identified Good Practices.........................................................................................................................................75
VII. Recommendations.......................................................................................................................................76
VIII. Conclusions...................................................................................................................................................... 77
IX. Annexes.............................................................................................................................................................. 78
Annex A: Interview List.............................................................................................................................................78
Annex B: Key Documents Consulted........................................................................................................................79
Annex C: Progress made as at 30 June 2020 in response to the recommendations and actions outlined
in the Mid-Term Evaluation Report..........................................................................................................................82
Annex D: Phase III Theory of Change.......................................................................................................................91
Annex E: Terms of Reference....................................................................................................................................93
UNESCO MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 3

Acknowledgements
I
t is the notable efforts of the Ministry of Education (MoE) that make
progress on teacher education in Myanmar possible. In particular,
UNESCO gratefully acknowledges the support and partnership of
the His Excellency Dr Myo Thein Gyi, Union Minister of Education;
Dr Thein Win, Director General of the Department of Higher Education
(DHE); and Dr May San Yee and Dr Yin Myo Thu Deputy Directors-
General, DHE, who serve tirelessly as the focal points for STEM.
In implementing STEM, UNESCO works closely with personnel within

the Department of Higher Education (DHE), Department of Basic
Education (DBE), Department of Educational Research, Planning,
and Training (DERPT), Teacher Task Force, National Education Policy
Commission (NEPC), the National Curriculum Committee (NCC), the
National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Committee (NAQAC),
and the Board of Studies (BoS). UNESCO is sincerely grateful for the
technical inputs and guidance of all of these entities.
The Curriculum Core Team (CCT) members and all of the EC managers
and teacher educators, serving in ECs across Myanmar, have shown
incredible enthusiasm, openness, and intellectual curiosity for the
introduction of the new competency-based EC curriculum. The upgrade
of ECs is on the path to success due to their ethic of hard work and
commitment to Myanmar’s future teachers and students.
The UNESCO-STEM Project team also puts in incredible time and

effort for the success of teacher education reforms in Myanmar. Many
thanks to each team member for their work and valuable inputs into this
Phase II final report. Appreciation also goes to the following individuals
who were interviewed for this report: Dr. May San Yee, Deputy Director
General, Department of Higher Education; Daw Khin Htwe, Director,
DHE Budget Department; Daw Hla Thida, CCT member (Science
Group) and teacher educator at Bogalay EC; Daw May Thu Htun,
ICT teacher educator at Meiktila EC; Helen Mark, CCT Member and
teacher educator at Loikaw EC; Daw Thu Zar Shein, CCT member
(Social Studies Group) and Vice-Principal of Myaungmya EC; and Mg
Mann, Year 1 student teacher at Mandalay EC.
And finally – STEM Phase II would not have been possible without the
generous support of the Government of Finland, the Government of
Australia, and the Government of the United Kingdom.

Acronyms
ADB Asia Development Bank
ADRA Adventist Development and Relief Agency Myanmar
ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations
BC British Council
CCT Curriculum Core Team
CDT Curriculum Development Team (Primary and Secondary)
CESR Comprehensive Education Sector Review
CREATE Curriculum Reform at Primary Level of Basic Education
CSO Central Statistics Organization
CPD Continuous Professional Development
DAE Department of Alternative Education
DBE Department of Basic Education
DFID Department for International Development (United Kingdom)
DHE Department of Higher Education
DERPT Department of Educational Research, Planning, and Training
DM&E Department of Monitoring and Evaluation
DTET Department of Teacher Education and Training
ECs Education Colleges
ECCF Education College Curriculum Framework
EESR Ethnic Education in State and Region
EYE Equipping Youth for Employment
IBE International Bureau of Education
GPE Global Partnership for Education
JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency
MEC Myanmar Education Consortium
MoE Ministry of Education
MNEC Mon National Education Committee
MSDP Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan 2018-2030
MTB-MLE Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education
MY-EQIP Myanmar Education Quality Improvement Program
NAQAC National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Committee
NCC National Curriculum Committee
NEL National Education Law 2014, amended 2015
NEPC National Education Policy Commission
NESP National Education Strategic Plan 2016-2021
NIHED National Institute for Higher Education Development
NLD National League for Democracy
PEA Political Economy Analysis
SDGs Sustainable Development Goals
SEAS South East Adventist Seminary
STEM Strengthening pre-service Teacher Education in Myanmar
SQASF School Quality Assurance Standards Framework
TCSF Teacher Competency Standards Framework
TTF Teacher Task Force
UCL University College London
UDNR University for the Development of National Races
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UIS UNESCO Institute for Statistics
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
UoEs Universities of Education
VfM Value for Money

I. Executive
Summary
Quality teachers are at the heart of a quality education system, where all children can learn. In Myanmar,
over 432,000 government primary and middle school teachers teach approximately nine million children in
over 47,000 basic education schools across the country. The majority of primary and middle school teachers
in Myanmar receive pre-service training through 25 Education Colleges (ECs), which are geographically
dispersed throughout the country.
UNESCO’s support to teacher education in Myanmar is delivered through the ‘Strengthening Pre-service
Teacher Education in Myanmar’ (STEM) programme. STEM is directly aligned with the MSDP 2018-2030
and the NESP 2016-2021 as well as SDG 4 (particularly, Target 4.c on increasing the supply of qualified
teachers), UNESCO’s global mission, and the UNESCO Country Strategy for Myanmar. STEM addresses
four fundamentally important aspects of pre-service teacher education:
• formulating a policy framework of pre-service teacher education and providing technical advice on
developing teacher policies and teacher competency standards framework;
• improving the system and operations of Education Colleges (ECs) by restructuring and redesigning
the curriculum and building networks amongst them for knowledge and experience sharing;
• developing institutional and human resource management capacities of ECs; and
• mainstreaming inclusion and equity issues in teacher education.
Phase I of the STEM project was implemented from July 2014 to February 2018, funded by the Government
of Australia. Phase I helped put in place the frameworks and evidence base required for teacher policy
development and pre-service teacher education curriculum and management reforms.
STEM Phase II has represented the logical continuation of Phase I with project outcome areas focused on
teacher policy and EC curriculum and management reforms as well as an additional cross-cutting fourth
outcome area that makes explicit the pursuit of teachers’ rights, human rights, inclusion, gender equality,
and peace and sustainable development in all activities.
This STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report aims to tell the most complete story possible regarding what
has worked – and what might be improved – within STEM Phase II (January 2017 to June 2020), and
why. It is intended as a contribution to the evidence base on which UNESCO and its partners can make
informed strategic and operational decisions about STEM programming going forward.
The report will also feed into the external STEM Phase II final evaluation, which will be completed by end
August 2020, as a resource and information base for the external evaluation team. The focus of this report
is in summarizing Phase II progress against the project Results Framework1 and capturing perspectives
of the UNESCO STEM team on the successes, challenges, and lessons learnt.
STEM directly benefits EC student teachers, teacher educators, and management staff as well as the DHE.
In numbers, at present, the project impacts 2,538EC staff (1829 teacher educators and 709 non-teaching
staff). Yearly, about 3,500 student teachers from the four-year degree programme will graduate from ECs
1 The STEM Phase II Results Framework with a summary of progress as at June 2020 can be accessed via the following link: https://
drive.google.com/drive/folders/13xqKkxUfaTSkplFgckz9LNQINvVjHt-4?usp=sharing

across the country (the first cohort of four-year degree programme student teachers will graduate in 2023).
These student teachers, after graduation, will provide better quality of basic education to over nine million
students across the country. In 2019, a mid-term evaluation (MTE) of the STEM Phase II was undertaken
which stated “STEM is clearly well-aligned to national priorities on pre-service teacher education, seen
both in the delivery of key outputs stated in MoE policy, as well as other activities (such as on ICT) that
are not as strongly emphasized in MoE policy but identified as essential by Education Colleges (ECs).”2
The MTE Report outlined a number of recommendations on the way forward for the remaining period of
Phase II till June 2020, and progress against these recommendations will also be examined within this
narrative report.
During Phase II, a number of key milestones have been met, and key aspects of Phase II’s work are
regularly flagged by stakeholders as already making a difference in Myanmar’s teacher education system.
These include:
1. The Teacher Competency Standards Framework (TCSF) for Beginning Level teachers which
has been completed and validated as well as the policy options paper on the career pathways for
teachers.
2. The roll-out of the new Year 1 curriculum in all ECs leading to a major shift in the way
teachers are trained in Myanmar. The duration of pre-service teacher education is now in line with
international standards.
3. STEM’s Phase I and Phase II investment in ICT has enabled many ICT teacher educators to
become confident peer leaders; other CCT members are also becoming more comfortable using
ICT – this has enabled activities to continue online to a significant degree during the COVID-19
pandemic.
4. An increased awareness of issues of inclusion and equity throughout all policy, curriculum
and CPD work, though there is a need for sustained attention to inclusive education practices to
ensure that the momentum gained in Phase II is not lost.
While STEM is on track for the realization of the 2023 targets stipulated in the Results Framework, there
is a need for accelerated progress on teacher policy development and the CPD programme for ECs. The
most often-voiced challenge of implementing STEM is the lack of human resources (and the related time
and workload constraints) within DHE and ECs which make it difficult to pursue all of STEM’s intended
outcomes with the same levels of effort. The establishment of the Teacher Education Council has been
delayed, though as an intermediary step, the Ministry has created the Teacher Task Force (TTF) to begin
work on teacher policies. Additionally, more focus is needed on the development and delivery of priority
modules for EC managers and administrators. This, in part, was a result of the delay to the development of
the CPD Framework for ECs. Development and subsequent validation of the Framework was completed
in the last quarter of STEM Phase II, and it is currently with the MoE for approval.
In conclusion, as STEM moves into Phase III, UNESCO is encouraged to prioritize a number of workstreams
based on the progress made and lessons learnt during Phase II. The recommendations outlined within
the report represent a logical continuation of the work initiated under Phases I and II. STEM Phase II has
been a timely and relevant source of technical and coordination support for the MoE at a time of ambitious
sector-wide educational reforms. By working in close partnership with the MoE through modalities that
develop the capacity of national teams, STEM Phase II has helped lay the foundation for sustainable
positive change within Myanmar’s teacher education system. The following diagram provides an overview
of key activities and achievements made during Phase II across all outcome areas.
2 https://bangkok.unesco.org/sites/default/files/assets/article/UNESCO%20Myanmar/publications/UNESCO%20STEM%20Phase%20
II%20Mid%20Term%20Evaluation%20Report%202019.pdf

400,000
Outcome 1
Basic Education
teachers
Teacher Policy
20
47,000
Working Group members,
active in the TCSF development since 2016.
Includes 27
MoE-appointed members
with backgrounds in the
2,600 MoE, Universities of Education,
State Ministers, TownshiptEducation
Basic Education Officers, teachers, and EC
ECs, and Myanmar
Teacher Federation.
schools teacher educators
51 1 TCSF 3
education experts participated in the
developed official TTF
èxpert review´ of expert review the TCSF meetings held.
and validated.
4,952 1 Teacher
teachers surveyed across Task Force
18 States and Regions established.
10 71 Phase II contact
case studies conducted in days3 spent on teacher policy
5 States and Regions workshops and meetings
Outcome 3
EC Management and Administration
25 ECs
connected to 4
fiber Internet Simulation models
at 8Mbps tailored for pilot ECs
225 laptops, 1
50 projectors, and CPD Framework for
3,500 75 tablets provided to ECs ECs developed.
16 representatives on
student teachers 28 Phase II contact the CPD Working Group (DHE
days spent on EC Management
forecasted to graduate and administration workshops
and management, administration
and teaching staff of ECs)
each year (from four-year and meetings
degree programme)
20,754
enrolled student
teachers (2019)
3 Contact days refer to the number of days spent by STEM team members and/or STEM stakeholders/beneficiaries to attend, engage
in or facilitate workshops/consultations/trainings over the period of Phase II.

9 million
Outcome 2
Basic Education
students
EC Curriculum and Pedagogy
25 ECs 56
teaching Year 1 of the Year 1 Semester 1 and 2
new four-year student teacher text books and
25 ECs
EC degree programme. teacher educator guides
developed and distributed.
106 CCT
members have received Two 5-day training sessions
in competency-based on the new curriculum held
curriculum for teacher educators in 8 clusters:
development over
the past 4 years.
1,674 1,829
54 ICT teacher educators Teacher educators teacher educators participated
participated participated in the first training in the second training
annually in ICT and pedagogy
integration 5-day 16 the CPD Working Group (DHE
trainings. 243 Phase II 1 CPD Framework
for ECs developed. and management, administration and
contact days spent on teaching staff of ECs)
EC curriculum workshops
and meetings
Outcome 4
Equity and Inclusion
56 Year 1 Semester 1 and 2 student
56 teacher educators, mid-level planners and
teacher textbooks and teacher educator
guidebooks reviewed with a gender and policy makers of teacher education trained in
inclusive education lens. Gender Mainstreaming in Teacher Education
4 workshops on EPSD held for 25 25 Gender Focal Persons

established in ECs
CCT members and members of the
basic education curriculum
development team 39 Phase II
contact days
spent on equity
Over 98% of teacher educators
1,829
and inclusion
oriented to inclusive education during
workshops and
the training on the new Year 1
meetings
Semester 1 curriculum
EC teacher educators
2 equity and 1 Gender 1 Facilitator
inclusion Assessment of Guide for
assessments Teacher HIV/AIDs and
conducted Education in Sexuality
(policy and EC Myanmar published
709
levels) conducted
86%
EC administration staff 67% 14%
33%

II. Background
What is the STEM Project?
Teachers who are well-trained and supported are fundamental to the provision of inclusive and equitable
quality education for all learners. The Ministry of Education (MoE) in Myanmar recognizes the centrality
of ‘quality teachers for quality education’ and is committed to upgrading the system of pre-service teacher
education in the country.4 UNESCO’s support for the MoE in their teacher education reform efforts is
delivered through the ‘Strengthening pre-service Teacher Education in Myanmar’ (STEM) programme.
STEM envisions a teacher workforce in Myanmar that is highly competent, diverse, and motivated,
supported to grow professionally in line with Myanmar’s Teacher Competency Standards Framework
(TCSF) and operating within a rights-based, equitable, and comprehensive policy on teachers. As such,
all STEM activities, outputs, and outcomes are oriented towards the achievement of the overarching goals
of the programme, that:5
Primary and middle school teachers All students in Myanmar are better able to access
are more able to provide inclusive and participate in quality education, improving
quality education and take an their learning outcomes and developing the
active role in achieving an equitable five strengths: intellectual, physical, moral and
education system. ethical, social, and economic.
4 This slogan is prominently displayed above the entrance to Yankin Education College in Yangon.
5 While the articulation of these overarching goals has evolved over the course of STEM Phases I and II, the essence of the vision
and mission has remained consistent. In their conceptualization for STEM Phase III, the goals more explicitly emphasize that quality
education is education that is inclusive and equitable.

Working in close partnership with the MoE, STEM acts as a vehicle for UNESCO to provide technical
inputs and capacity strengthening across four outcome areas focused on: 1) teacher policy, 2) Education
College (EC) curriculum and pedagogy, 3) EC management and administration, and 4) equity, inclusion,
peace, and sustainable development in teacher education.
STEM’s support within these four areas has been designed to assist the MoE in addressing its most
pressing needs within teacher education, as identified through the Comprehensive Education Sector
Review (CESR), National Education Strategic Plan (NESP 2016-2021), and reviews and assessments
conducted under the STEM project. These priority issues include the need for:
• a comprehensive rights-based policy on teachers;

• an upgrade of ECs to offer four-year degree programmes, with significant revision to an outdated
and content-heavy curriculum, including opportunities for specialisation in primary or middle school
teaching and an increased focus on the practicum;
• improvements to the teaching and learning environment in ECs, including improved teaching and
learning resources (libraries, teaching aids, and ICT infrastructure);
• strengthened planning and management capacity at central- and EC-levels to successfully
undertake the desired reforms;
• professional development opportunities that will allow EC teacher educators and EC managers to
implement new programmes and approaches to teacher education; and
• an increased focus on equity, inclusion, peace, and sustainable development in teacher education.
The STEM project ties in closely with wider global and Myanmar country frameworks and strategies. It
is ultimately meant to be used as a tool to encourage progress towards SDG 4 – ‘Ensure inclusive and
equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030’ – and Target 4.c,
specifically, on increasing the supply of qualified teachers. This commitment is mirrored in Myanmar’s
Sustainable Development Plan (MSDP 2018-2030) towards human and social resource development for
the 21st century.
Through the development of the TCSF, equitable teacher policies, and a new competency-based curriculum
in ECs that allows for primary and middle schools specialisations, the STEM programme directly responds
to the NESP 2016-2021 strategy of improving the system of teacher quality assurance and management
and the quality of pre-service teacher education.
The STEM project also aligns with UNESCO’s global mission and seeks to leverage the Organisation’s
strengths in the delivery of the programme. Gender equality is one of UNESCO’s two global priority areas,
reflected in the STEM programme’s work to promote inclusion, and gender equality in particular. STEM
contributes directly to the realisation of the UNESCO Country Strategy for Myanmar, Outcome 1: ‘All
people in Myanmar benefit from an equitable, inclusive and effective education system that provides
quality teaching and learning opportunities.’

Since 2014, the STEM project has completed two phases with a third phase planned for 2020 – 2023:
STEM STEM STEM

PHASE I PHASE II PHASE III
• Funded by the Government of • Initialted with funding from the • Will take into account lesson
Australia Government of Finland learnt in the NESP Mid-term
• Additional no-cost extension for • Joined by the Governments Review, STEM Phase II mid-
ICT activities until Jan. 2018 of Australia and the United term and final evaluations.
• Emphasis on the assessments Kingdom as donors in April and • May be readjusted as needed
and frameworks needed for Sept. 2018, respectively after NESP II (2021-2030) is
pre-service teacher education • Includes additional cross- developed for full alignment.
reforms cuttiong fourth outcome are on
equity, inclusion, peace, and
sustainable development
2014 - 2017 2017 - 2020 2020 - 2023
STEM Phase I, which was established in partnership with the Government of Australia, set the stage
for the reforms currently underway through the conduct of needs assessments, inception of the TCSF
Working Group, development of the draft EC Competency-based Curriculum Framework, initiation of the
Curriculum Core Team, and launch of ICT in teacher education activities including the ICT infrastructure
upgrade of the ECs. Phase II has represented a logical extension of these activities – with increasing
attention to the promotion of equity and inclusion. Key outcomes from Phase II, which include significant
progress on the TCSF and EC curriculum reforms, are presented in the Key Results section of this report.
STEM Phase II has been made possible by the generous support of the Governments of Finland, Australia,
and the United Kingdom. As Phase II ended in June 2020, this Final Narrative Report looks back at
progress made over the past three years – synthesising information about the context in which STEM
works and the project’s achievements, challenges, and lessons learnt – to inform future work in Phase III.

III. Report Methodology
Purpose and Audience
The STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report aims to tell the most complete story possible regarding what
has worked – and what might be improved – within STEM Phase II (January 2017 to June 2020), and why.
To that end, the report synthesizes the most relevant, valid, and reliable information possible to analyse
the progress and results of STEM Phase II measured against the STEM Project Results Matrix.
Information has been drawn from:
• Desk Review: Over 65 documents, including both external reports and internal project documents,
were reviewed to provide background information as well as evidence to support the analysis and
findings of the STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report. See Annex B for the list of documents
consulted.
• Interviews: Semi-structured virtual interviews, conducted via Skype, were held with 13 UNESCO
Myanmar staff members during the weeks of 20 and 27 April 2020. The list of interviewees is
included in Annex A. Interviews were also held with seven national stakeholders from central-
and EC-levels (including student teachers); these are summarized as ‘Perspectives’ in text boxes
throughout the report.

The target audience for the report is the STEM Steering Committee, which includes both MoE
representatives from relevant departments as well as the project donors (the Governments of Finland,
Australia, and the United Kingdom). The report will contribute to the evidence base on which UNESCO
and its partners can make informed strategic and operational decisions about STEM programming going
forward. It will also feed into the external STEM Phase II final evaluation, to take place in mid-2020, as a
resource for the external evaluation team.
This report summarises progress using available project documentation (including progress reports and
project deliverables) and as per the perspectives of the UNESCO STEM project team. The external Phase
II evaluation team can triangulate the findings reported in this document with their own investigations,
which will include – as per the ToR of the evaluation – interviews with a broader range of representative
stakeholders, field visits to ECs, and other means of data collection. It is hoped that this report can be
yet another tool in answering the final evaluation questions as posed in the ToR. Moreover, the final
evaluation will undertake consultations with a wider cross-section of stakeholders of the STEM project,
including surveys of direct beneficiaries. This is in contrast to the narrative report where interviews were
limited to STEM project team members as well as one or two individuals from the Department for Higher
Education, the Curriculum Core Team and the Education Colleges (teacher educators, student teachers
and principals)
STEM’s Situational and Operational Context

Facts and figures
According to the MoE, in Myanmar, there are 454,706 teachers working in government, private, and
monastic schools to provide education to over 9.7 million students nationwide (2019/20).6 Most of these
teachers received their pre-service training at one of Myanmar’s 25 ECs, which prepare primary and
middle school teachers to join the teaching workforce.
25
Education
Centres
400,000 teachers
9,000,000 students
6 Of the total number of 2019/20 teachers, 432,439 are government school teachers. The total number of MoE staff in 2019/20, including
administrative staff and HEI and TVET teachers, is 500,000.

In November 2019, according to the Department of Higher Education (DHE), there were 20,754 student
teachers (67 per cent female) enrolled in ECs, staffed by 1,829 teacher educators and 709 administration
staff (86 per cent and 67 per cent female, respectively). ECs typically offer several different certificate
and diploma-awarding courses. From December 2019, ECs are delivering the new four-year specialised
programme, supported by UNESCO through the STEM project, as well as the upgraded PPTT (Pre-
service Primary Teacher Training)7.
86% female
1,829
67% female
teacher
709
educators administration
14% male staff
33% male
67% female
20,754 student
teachers
33% male
Over the past 10 years, there have been positive gains in most education indicators in Myanmar. According
to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UNESCO UIS), the number of out-of-school children in Myanmar
has declined significantly over the past decade – in 2010, 574,334 children were out-of-school and by
2018, this figure was 91,889. While 2018 reporting indicates that a significant number of adolescents are
still out of school (848,088), this too has fallen dramatically since 2010 when over 1.5 million adolescents
were out of school across the country.
Number of Out-of-School Students
1,600,000
1,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
2010 2018
children adolescents
7 The MoE is planning to implement the new 1-year PPTT programme in July 2020. UNESCO is currently conducting research and
preparing a proposal to support the strengthening of this new initiative and for it to be more in-line with the new 4-year competency-
based EC curriculum.

Most children participate in primary education in Myanmar with a net enrolment rate of nearly 98 per
cent (UNESCO UIS 2018). Secondary net enrolment was at 64 per cent in 2018, with females slightly
more likely to be enrolled than their male counterparts. According to the MoE, in 2016/17, primary level
completion rates were lower than initial participation at 67 per cent, and 77 per cent for middle school
(quoted in UNICEF 2018).
Myanmar has a tradition of promoting literacy, which is still celebrated. Literacy rates for 15 to 24-year-olds
were at over 84 per cent in 2016. The literate population drops slightly to approximately 72 per cent when
those 15 and older are considered (UNESCO UIS).
The above indicators, however, represent national aggregates and should not be taken as fully
representative for all groups within Myanmar. The development of an EMIS system that will be better able
to capture disaggregated data is underway, with technical support from UNESCO, and there is hope that
new data insights will allow for more targeted approaches to educational interventions for disadvantaged
groups within Myanmar. This is in line with a growing, but still nascent, awareness of issues of diversity
and inclusion amongst education actors in Myanmar.8
Data from the World Bank on government spending on education in Myanmar as a percentage of the
GDP shows a decline throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. At its low in 2011, only 0.78 per cent of
the GDP was allocated to education. However, this trend is reversing. Last year, in 2019, educational
spending was reported at 1.9 per cent of the GDP). In 2019, spending on education represented over
10 per cent of total government expenditure (although still lower than many of its ASEAN neighbours or
the international benchmark of 15 – 20 per cent). According to UNICEF (2018), 77 per cent of the total
government education budget is allocated to basic education and 17 per cent to higher education, under
which teacher education falls. Approximately 1.42 per cent of the GDP is spent on basic education, and
0.32 per cent of the GDP is spent on higher education (UNICEF 2018).
Government Education Budget Allocation (2018)
77% to
17% to
basic
higher education
education
8 See findings from the draft “Assessment of Equity and Inclusion in Teacher Education in Myanmar” (UNESCO 2020).

In 2017/18, the teacher education sub-sector specifically was allocated 1.42 per cent of the total government
budget of MMK 1,784.2 billion. In 2019/20, the amount for teacher education was increased to MMK 51.5
billion, doubling its budget allocation from the previous year.
Teacher Education Budget Allocation
MMK 51.5
billion
MMK 25.3
billion
2017-2018 2019-2020
At present, funds are allocated by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) largely based on the number
of teachers, students, and recent execution rates. Within higher education, including ECs, each institution
submits an annual budget request to the Department of Higher Education (DHE). Education stakeholders
have pointed out that there is room in this distribution system for equity-adjusted allocations that provide
opportunity to invest more in areas where there is higher need, or where there are higher expenses
associated with providing quality education, at any level (UNICEF 2018).
A short history of Myanmar’s education reforms (and the STEM project)
In order to contextualize the STEM project’s successes and challenges necessitates telling the story – at
least briefly – of education in Myanmar beyond the statistics included above. STEM was initiated at a
unique juncture in Myanmar’s history, and the project is embedded within the nation’s ambitious education
reform agenda, which began under the U Thein Sein government in 2011. From the outset of Phase I, the
STEM project was designed as a holistic package of support to both help steer and come alongside the
MoE’s teacher education reforms. STEM’s two phases to date have reflected and closely interacted with
the wider situational and operational context.
Education development in Myanmar prior to 2011 was almost exclusively focused on improving access
to basic education through school construction – with far less attention or resourcing on the provision of
quality, inclusive teaching and learning, including on teachers and their selection, pre-service preparation,
deployment, continued professional growth, and career prospects.

The first step in Myanmar’s road towards more complex reforms within the education system was the
conduct of a three-phased Comprehensive Education Sector Review (CESR) from 2012 – 2015, which
aimed to fill in the many evidence gaps and to inform the development of the National Education Strategic
Plan (NESP 2016 – 2021). It was during the CESR Phases I and II, the rapid assessment and in-depth
sector analysis, that the UNESCO STEM project was first designed to fill a gap in technical and capacity
strengthening assistance to the teacher education sub-sector.
Given the historic and nearly exclusive focus on basic education, STEM’s initial task was advocating for
teachers (and teacher education) in Myanmar to receive the attention and resourcing they deserve as the
heart of a strong education system. As the specific priorities for teacher education in Myanmar began to
take shape through the CESR process and the development of the NESP 2016-2021, UNESCO was able
to use STEM Phase I, funded by the Government of Australia, as a channel for ongoing technical and
strategic dialogue with the MoE around important questions of the future of pre-service teacher education
in Myanmar.
The NESP 2016-2021 was officially launched in 2017 by the National League for Democracy (NLD)
government, further clarifying the shared end goals for education reform in Myanmar. In the NESP 2016-
2021, these are captured in the nine transformational shifts towards the provision of quality, inclusive
education for all. STEM Phase II officially began in January 2017 and was able to align directly with the
NESP vision – of producing teachers who ‘support, develop, and apply interactive classroom teaching
and learning, benefiting all students.’ STEM Phase II directly supports the NESP 2016-2021 strategies on
strengthening teacher quality assurance and management and improving the quality of the pre-service
system of teacher education.9
Under the auspices of the National Education Law (NEL) 2014, amended 2015, and in line with the NESP
2016-2021, the MoE has enacted several notable basic and teacher education reform decisions in recent
years that have impacted STEM activities, outputs, timelines, and priorities. These are captured in the
timeline and table below.
9 See NESP Strategy 2 on Pre-Service Teacher Education Quality Improvement under Chapter 9 on teachers.

Competency-based
four-year degree
0
programme introduced in 202
Education Colleges.
Teacher Task Force

established. Validation study of the Teacher Competency
Standards Framework (TCSF) finalized.
Basic Education Law approved.
Myanmar joins the Global partnership for

Education (GPE).
2019
School mentoring
programme introduced. Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan
(MSDP 2018-2030) launched.
National Assessment
Policy for Basic
Education revised.
18
20
New Basic
Education curriculum
rolled out for Grade 1. NESP (2016-2021)
launched, indentifying
sector goals and
strategies.
2017
Restructure of the
MoE after the NLD
take office; teacher NEPC, NCC, and NAQAC,
Evidence for widespread education shifts and RC established.
education reforms gathered under the DHE.
through the CESR
(2012 - 2015). KG introduced. School structure
to be changed from 11 to 13 years
(KG + Grade 12).
6
201
5 201
NEPC, NCC, and

NAQAC, and RC
National Education Law established.
amended, providing legal
foundation for reforms
(eg. abolishing school fees and
allowing for some teaching in
ethnic languages).

Table 1. Reform Milestones and the STEM project10
Reform Milestone Implications for STEM Value added by STEM
Evidence for Myanmar’s STEM is initiated as a means of • Advocacy on the

education reforms is championing the importance of pre- importance and rights of
gathered through the service teacher education and the rights teachers (All Outcomes)
Comprehensive Education of teachers, more broadly. To help fill in • Contributions to the
Sector Review (CESR evidence gaps, needs assessments and growing evidence base for
2012-2015). reviews are conducted through STEM on teacher education reforms
EC management, curriculum, and ICT. (All Outcomes)
The National Education Law The provisions in the NEL for some • Advocacy for equitable
2014-15
(2014, amended in 2015) mother tongue-based multilingual teacher deployment and

lays the legal framework education (MTB-MLE), as well as local the rights of teachers (All
for education reforms, curriculum, impacts the way teachers Outcomes)
including but not limited to: need to be trained to work in areas where • Attention in the new EC
ensuring school is free, and Myanmar is not most students’ mother four-year degree curriculum
allowing for some classes tongue. There are also implications for to local curriculum
to be conducted in students’ policies on teacher deployment as ideally (Outcome 2)
mother tongue language. teachers will be able to speak the same
language as their students.11
When the NLD takes Positioning ECs as institutes of higher • Support for the DHE to plan
office, the MoE is education has implications for the types for and implement teacher
restructured, including of programmes on offer (in line with the education reforms (All
shifting the mandate for move towards an EC four-year degree Outcomes)
teacher education from programme), desired level of educational • Continued advocacy for the
the Department of Teacher qualifications of teacher educators, the importance of pre-service
Education and Training medium of instruction (English), and teacher education (All
(DTET) to the Department quality assurance practices. It also has Outcomes)
of Higher Education (DHE). the potential to elevate the public’s
perceptions of ECs and of the teaching
profession. At the time of this decision,
it was also noted that there is also some
risk of losing the emphasis on teacher
2016-17
education within the broader DHE.12
The National Education STEM and the MoE consult the NEPC • Provision of technical
Policy Commission (NEPC) as a technical reviewer of outputs of the inputs for the NEPC review
is established – followed by teacher education reform process. The (Outcomes 1 and 2)
the National Accreditation NAQAC is developing quality assurance • Organization and facilitation
and Quality Assurance measures for higher education institutes, of forums for multi-
Committee (NAQAC) in and ECs will eventually also follow the stakeholder policy-level
2017 and the National NAQAC’s framework. See the ‘Analysis discussions (Outcome 1)
Curriculum Committee of the Political Economy’ sub-section for
(NCC) and the Rectors’ further explanation of where these bodies
Committee (RC) in 2018. fit in the stakeholder landscape.
10 Due to the nature of many of these reforms, the timeline is kept deliberately broad; this is not an exhaustive list of milestones, rather
they have been selected because of the way they have helped shape STEM, and vice versa.
11 In some areas, the MoE has appointed assistant teachers from the community who are able to speak the local language.
12 Since its inception, STEM has worked with three different departments (DERPT, DTET, and DHE). The consistency since 2016 has
been a positive factor for the project.

A year of Kindergarten ECs now also need to be able to train • Advocacy for the
(KG) is introduced to KG teachers, and inclusion of content on importance of early
provide early childhood the KG curriculum and early childhood childhood education
education foundations education is included in the new EC four- (Outcome 2)
that will enhance Grade year curriculum. • Inclusion of content on
1 readiness. An integral teaching KG in the new
part of this initiative is specialized EC curriculum
the development and (Outcome 2)
implementation of a new
curriculum for kindergarten
covering six learning areas.
2016-17
The decision is also

made to add a Grade 12
year, shifting the system
from an 11- to a 13-year
programme.
The National Education STEM provided technical inputs into the • Provision of inputs into the
Strategic Plan (NESP 2016- NESP and aligns with the strategies under NESP (All Outcomes)
2021) is launched with nine Chapter 9 on teachers with a focus on • Ongoing technical
transformational shifts and improving the quality of the pre-service assistance to achieve
accompanying strategies for teacher education and teacher quality NESP targets in teacher
education in Myanmar. assurance and management. quality assurance
and management (All
Outcomes)
A revised and updated Development of the new EC syllabi • Support for the
curriculum for Basic begins in 2016/17, and the new development of the new EC
Education – which curriculum is designed to align with and four-year degree curriculum
emphasises skills such prepare teachers to teach the new Basic in alignment with the Basic
as critical thinking and Education curriculum. Education curriculum
communication – is (Outcome 2)
introduced in Grade 1.13
2017-18
Changes are made in The new EC curriculum – and the • Scaffolded support for
the National Assessment way ECs view and use assessment teacher educators to use
Policy for Basic Education – encourages a focus on formative formative assessment
and the Policy on Primary, assessment to monitor progress towards through the new curriculum
Lower Secondary and relevant knowledge and practical skills. materials and training and
Upper Secondary Student Q&A sessions (Outcome 2)
Assessment, to include
guidelines on the use of
competency-based and
formative assessment.
The Teacher Task Force The establishment of the TTF is a • Provision of coordination,
(TTF) is formed in 2019 step towards the formulation of a logistical, and technical
2018-19
to consider policy options comprehensive policy on teachers, as support for the TTF
and pave the way for the advocated for through STEM. (Outcome 1)
formation of the Teacher
Education Council.
13 To date, the revised and updated curriculum is used in Kindergarten, Grades 1, 2, 3 and 6. The new curriculum will be sequentially
introduced in the remaining grades.

The Myanmar Sustainable The MSDP 2018-2030 affirms Myanmar’s • Promotion of the
Development Plan (MSDP commitment to the global SDGs. With importance of addressing
2018-2030) is adopted. this, comes a rationale for increased equity and inclusion issues
focus on social inclusion and equity in mainstreamed through
education, which is reflected in the STEM all STEM deliverables
project. (Outcome 4)
• Assessments conducted
on equity and inclusion
in teacher education
(Outcome 4)
• Training delivered for
teacher educators on
gender equality and
Education for Peace and
Sustainable Development
(EPSD) (Outcome 4)
The conduct of the The TCSF is already being used to guide • Technical and coordination
validation study for the the formulation of the new EC curriculum support for development
TCSF provides a platform to and is being referenced in ongoing of the TCSF, including the
orient stakeholders across dialogue about promotion and teacher validation study and report
the country on the TCSF licensing/accreditation. (Outcome 1)
and represents an important
step towards finalization of
the TCSF.
Myanmar joins the Global The programme concept note for the • Development of an options
Partnership for Education GPE includes goals teacher licensing and paper on career pathways
2018-19
(GPE). accreditation as part of the workplan. for teachers in Myanmar

(Outcome 1)
The school mentoring The idea of teacher mentorship is relevant • Inclusion of the concept
program – introduced to for the work of ECs, especially in terms of and practice of teacher
support the implementation the Practicum component. The concept of mentorship in EC
of the new curriculum – mentorship leading to professional growth curriculum materials (in
reaches almost 50 per cent also underpins the TCSF. particular, the Practicum)
of townships in Myanmar. and TCSF (Outcome 2)
ECs begin to teach the Preparation for the introduction of the • 243 STEM contact days
new four-year curriculum in new programme has been a priority for spent on curriculum
December 2019, bringing the MoE, and thus for STEM. Developing development and teacher
the programme in line with the curriculum and orienting all teacher educator training, allowing
international standards for educators has comprised a significant for the roll-out of the Year
teacher preparation. proportion of the STEM workplan, 1 curriculum in 2019
particularly in 2018-2019. (Outcome 2)
A new Basic Education Law The law includes provisions to shift the • Advocacy and consensus-
is adopted. teacher promotion system away from building for Myanmar to
the ‘ladder’ system where teachers are develop a comprehensive
promoted up through grade levels. This policy on teachers
will be reflected in the comprehensive (Outcome 1)
policy on teachers. • Technical inputs and
international comparative
perspectives provided on
policy issues, including
career pathways (Outcome
1)

Analysis of the political economy
STEM is – and has always been – committed to supporting teacher education reforms that are nationally-
and locally-driven and owned. The project has been successful in upholding this commitment because
it understands and responds to the situational context (summarized above) and the political economy in
which it works. While an in-depth political economy analysis (PEA) is outside of the scope of this Phase II
final report, this sub-section provides a snapshot of how and why things work as they do within Myanmar,
including who the key actors are, and what incentives influence movement towards teacher education
reforms. Many of the factors and dynamics highlighted below are also discussed elsewhere in this report
as contributing to STEM’s success stories, partnerships, best practices, challenges, and/or lessons learnt.
Foundational Factors: Much has changed in Myanmar in recent years as the country’s democratically
elected government has taken on a wide-sweeping, ambitious reform agenda across education (described
above) and other sectors. Still, Myanmar remains one of the poorer countries in the world, ranked 148 out
of 187 countries in the Human Development Index with over 30 per cent of its population living in poverty.14
And while the GDP has grown significantly over the past eight years, there are concerns that the poorest
(70 per cent of whom live in rural areas) will not have the education and skills necessary to benefit from
this economic growth.15 For this reason, the NLD government places high priority on teacher education
and skills development.16
Traditionally, Myanmar has operated a highly centralized education system. This remains true, but the
reforms of recent years have resulted in some shifts towards more decision-making at State, Region,
and local levels as well as increasing decision-making authority for higher education institutions, of which
Myanmar’s ECs are a part. STEM has encouraged strides towards ‘bottom-up’ leadership with ECs,
acknowledging that this requires the strengthening of EC-level capacity. In response, STEM has increased
its interactions with and support for EC Principals and management staff as well as continuing to invest
in the ongoing capacity development of teacher educators through the CCT. For example, the CCT has
been supporting the Year 1 training implementation at the EC levels. In particular, during Year 1 Semester
2 training, CCT and ICT teacher educators (also trained by STEM) joined the orientation meetings to
provide further supports to the EC senior management team to come up with training implementation
plans at the EC levels.
While teacher education falls under the mandate of the DHE, the DBE – which manages deployment,
transfers, and promotions – and the Department of Educational Research, Planning, and Training (DERPT)
– which has oversight of in-service professional development – also work closely with teachers. Policies
affecting teachers and the implementation of the TCSF, for example, would therefore involve and affect
several different departments within the Ministry. Additionally, the Department of Monitoring and Evaluation
(DM&E) and the Department of Alternative Education (DAE) – which is connected with the monastic
education system – also have a stake in teacher education. STEM Phase II has made a concerted effort
to include representatives from each of these bodies in relevant workshops and trainings to make sure all
involved departments have the same information and are communicating with one another.
As highlighted in the section above, spending for education has been increasing with about 17 per cent of
the budget allocated to higher education. At the request of STEM’s Steering Committee, there has been a
doubling in the commitment of funds for teacher education, specifically.
14 Human Development Index 2019 (http://hdr.undp.org/en/composite/HDI) ; World Bank World Development Indicators (http://wdi.
worldbank.org/table/1.2#)
15 Myanmar has experienced the highest GDP growth in the last 8 years relative to neighbouring countries. World Bank Development
Indicators – Table 4.1: Growth of output (http://wdi.worldbank.org/table/4.1#)
16 National League for Democracy (NLD). 2015. Election Manifesto http://r2pasiapacific.org/docs/Events%2020152016/NLD%20
2015%20Election%20Manifesto-%20English%20pdf.pdf

Rules of the Sector: As highlighted in the section above, the National Education Law (2014, amended
2015), the Basic Education Law (2019), the NESP 2016-2021, and the MSDP 2018-2030 provide the legal
basis and guidance for development of the teacher education sector. Stipulated in these legal and policy
frameworks, several policy bodies, in addition to the MoE, play a formal role in teacher education reform
in Myanmar. The STEM team spends significant time and energy consulting and coordinating with each
of these entities:
• National Education Policy Commission (NEPC): The NEPC was established in 2016 and is
comprised of senior-level education experts who provide advice on the development of education
policy in Myanmar. NEPC members are involved in the introduction of the four-year specialized EC
degree programme and contribute to reviews of the EC curriculum and other STEM outputs such
as the policy options paper on teacher career pathways.
• National Curriculum Committee (NCC): The NCC provides guidance on any curriculum being
developed by the MoE.
• National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Committee (NAQAC): The NAQAC provides
guidance on standards and systems for quality assurance and accreditation for Myanmar’s
education system. NAQAC members are also involved in the reform of EC’s quality assurance
systems.
• Board of Studies (BoS): The BoS includes in-service and retired professors from UoEs. The
BoS has reviewed and approved the proposed EC curriculum framework and subject syllabi. The
BoS provides input on the EC curriculum through participation in the consultative meetings and
workshops.
• Myanmar Teacher Task Force (TTF): Formally established in 2019, the TTF includes representation
from in-service and retired education experts, including representatives from MoE departments,
UoEs, ECs, and teacher unions. The TTF meets bi-monthly to work on developing policy solutions
in the priority areas for teacher policy (with promotion criteria being the first on the agenda). The
TTF will pave the way for the establishment of the Teacher Education Council, as stipulated in the
NEL. STEM’s technical and coordination support for the TTF is discussed under Outcome 1.
The Universities of Education (UoEs) and the University for the Development of National Races (UDNR)
train secondary school teachers and are an important resource pool for Myanmar’s teacher education
reforms. UoE and UDNR teacher educators are involved in the TCSF Working Group as well as the four-
year EC curriculum development process, supported through STEM. At the institutional level, STEM also
works closely with EC principals and teacher educators, particularly the 106 members of the Curriculum
Core Team (CCT) and 75 ICT teacher educators. A summary of STEM’s working relationships with other
Development Partners is included in the section of this report on ‘STEM Coordination and Partnerships.’
In addition to these formalized bodies and processes, there are also informal norms and social traditions
that affect the implementation of teacher education reforms in Myanmar. Three of these informal traditions
are noted here, as identified through interviews with the UNESCO STEM team:
• Respect of hierarchical structures: Elders, teachers, and those in positions of authority are treated
with a high degree of respect and deference in Myanmar. At times, this hierarchal view of authority
can be at odds with open discussion, questions, and inputs from all levels of the system. With
the introduction of the competency-based curriculum and moves towards more decentralized
decision-making, teacher education stakeholders have been learning how to embrace both the
traditional respect for authority and experience and the opportunity for more voices to be heard
and considered.
• Communication modalities: Lines of communication within teacher education were historically ‘one
way’ with central-level setting the directives and ECs implementing the instructions received. This

has started to shift to more two-way channels of communication – ECs now submit budgets to
DHE, and the Principal is increasingly an important decision-maker at EC-level. With this, STEM’s
communication with Principals has also increased, and the STEM team now has significant
interactions with Principals as well as DHE. Through STEM activities, communication is also
facilitated between DHE and EC-levels and between the departments, bodies, and development
partners working with teachers in Myanmar.
Teacher education stakeholders in Myanmar have increasing access to ICT; however, much
communication is still done over the phone or through paper-based channels. This means that
coordinating activities and gathering information is a time-consuming and effort-intensive aspect
of STEM implementation.
• EC demographics: The majority of student teachers in ECs come from Bamar backgrounds and
are Buddhist (in some ECs, 97 per cent of student teachers are Buddhist and never less than 78
per cent, according to surveys conducted during the curriculum monitoring visits). Assessments of
equity and inclusion conducted under STEM show nascent understanding of why inclusion is an
important consideration within education at both policy and EC levels – although the awareness
of the importance of some aspects of inclusion (for example, gender equality) is more developed.
The limited diversity within ECs tends to, perhaps subconsciously, promote status quo perceptions
around key components of inclusion, including ethnicity, language, and disabilities.
Teacher Education Reform Dynamics: The response of teacher educators to the introduction of the
competency-based curriculum has been, in general, positive and enthusiastic. As many have pointed
out, the success of the new curriculum rests on the abilities of teacher educators to shift their mindsets
and practices to take on the new competency-based approach. Monitoring visits of the Year 1 Semester
1 curriculum have revealed that teacher educators are, indeed, shifting the way they teach with increased
use of formative assessment and more interactive teaching methodologies. While they have not, of course,
had the time and depth of training to master expertise in all of the pedagogies embedded in the new
curriculum, their willingness to take on this challenge and try new approaches, has been commendable.
High levels of collaboration within ECs have also been reported, as teacher educators – coming together
across what were formerly ‘academic’ and ‘pedagogy’ subjects – work together to fill in their own knowledge
or skill gaps. ICT teacher educators, who tend to be of the younger generation, are playing an important
role in helping their colleagues to gain the needed ICT competencies. This has also opened up more
dialogue and interaction between the different ‘generations’ of teacher educators.
This ethic of hard work, commitment to collaboration, and openness to change is particularly noteworthy
as many ECs face human resource shortages, which are also present across DHE. Teacher educators
and other staff members are asked to fill many roles; the CCT, in particular, is carrying their normal
teaching workload as well as contributing to the curriculum development process.
As mentioned above, in general, understanding of issues of equity and inclusion is still in beginning stages
at both policy and EC levels, as shown in the recent assessments on equity and inclusion (UNESCO,
2020). While there has been growth in the acknowledgement of the importance of inclusion, broadly
speaking, in line with the SDGs, it is not yet necessarily a priority focus for the MoE and ECs within the
wider reform agenda. With that said, smaller groups of champions have started to form through STEM
activities – for example, for gender equality or Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (EPSD).
Going forward, this circle of champions can expand as more training opportunities become available.
Drivers of Change: Teacher education reforms in Myanmar are, in part, incentivised by a determination
to bring the education system in line with international norms, whether it be in terms of expenditure on

education or the duration and approach to pre-service teacher education. There is also a commitment to
growing human capital within the country so that all people can benefit from access to opportunities for
economic growth. Myanmar is committed to the SDGs and participates in regional and global bodies for
education.
The NESP 2016-2021 (and, once developed, the NESP 2018-2030) help ensure a coherent approach
to development within the education sector. These are the documents that chart the course for reform
priorities and goals. As captured in the ‘Looking forward’ sub-section below, STEM will continue to support
the MoE in line with their strategic plans.
As the many aspects of teacher development and management are inter-linked, the need to make progress
in one area can encourage progress in another. For example, with the introduction of the specialization
tracks in Year 3 of the new EC curriculum, it will be important that student teachers know what the career
implications of the different tracks are – with this, comes increased motivation to move forward in the policy
sphere and decide upon the promotion criteria. STEM is mindful of the linkages between the outcome
areas and works to leverage these connections to drive cohesive change.
Changes in the working environment during STEM Phase II
Development is never static, and there have been several changes in the working environment during
STEM Phase II, both planned and unexpected. STEM has worked to strategically respond to these
changes in close collaboration with the MoE:
• Opening of new ECs: Three ECs (in Kyaing Tone, Hakha and Katha) were established during
Phase II, expanding the EC stakeholder base with which STEM works.
• Upgrade of all ECs nationwide: Initially, STEM was to support the pilot of the new curriculum
in two ECs. The decision to upgrade all 25 ECs during the 2019/20 academic year necessitated
additional time and effort to put in place a quality-assured Year 1 curriculum and to train all teacher
educators. Activities under Outcome 2 have, as a result, taken priority within the STEM workplan.
In the past three years, STEM has facilitated 243 contact days (workshops and meetings) to
support the curriculum development and its Year 1 implementation in all 25 ECs.
• Changes to PPTT: The MoE plans to upgrade the PPTT from a six month to a one-year
programme. While STEM would have preferred for the PPTT to be updated upon completion of
Year 4 curriculum development, so the PPTT program can be in line with the new EC curriculum,
the MoE has already decided to proceed and the decision is respected. STEM will support the
MoE’s endeavours through the development of a proposal/roadmap for the upgraded PPTT
programme. This proposal will include case studies of best practices, suggestions around the
program and assessment/evaluation schemes, and proposed weekly schedules.
• Changes within key DHE personnel. One of two Deputy Director General roles (the focal point
for STEM Outcome 3) within DHE has been vacant until only recently. The absence of a dedicated
person for STEM to work with on EC management reforms has slowed progress in this area and
underlined the need for high-level support for every outcome area.
• Initiation of Towards Results in English and Education’ (TREE): While operating with different
areas of focus and through different modalities, the DFID-funded TREE project and STEM share
common EC-level stakeholders, requiring significant coordination and information sharing with
TREE’s implementing agencies. Details of this are reported in the ‘STEM Coordination and
Partnerships’ section.
• Response to COVID-19: The global coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has required STEM to
shift activities online for the near future – something that the project has been able to take on with a
notable degree of agility given the foundation in ICT infrastructure and skills laid during STEM Phase
I and Phase II. In addition to continuing ‘business as usual’ online to the extent possible (including

curriculum development meetings and virtual training for Year 1 Semester 2 implementation),
STEM is strategically supporting the MoE to disseminate information and guidance on responding
to COVID-19 and to encourage the development of media and information literacy. The STEM
team is working with the MoE to further shape medium-term inputs to support ECs during this
uniquely challenging time.
Looking forward
The Mid-term Review of the NESP 2016-2018, which was finalized in January 2020, notes that there
have been significant positive changes for education in Myanmar over the past few years, while also
acknowledging the complexity of the task at hand. The Mid-term Review cautions that each intervention
included in the NESP is inter-related, and it will take time to be able to gauge the effects of ongoing system
changes on student learning.
As STEM looks forward to Phase III, the recommendations in the NESP Mid-Term Review provide a hint
of the sector priorities to be articulated in the NESP II, which will run from 2021-2030. These include a
strong focus on strengthening the inclusivity of the education sector, including gender equality and social
inclusion. There is also an encouragement to improve linkages with complementary education providers
within Myanmar, and an expectation that the NESP II should see greater alignment with the SDGs and
MSDP. In terms of teachers specifically, the NESP Mid-Term Review, recommends that stakeholders work
together to:
• Prioritize training for teachers in inclusive education (pre-service and in-service);

• Establish better mechanisms for teacher recruitment, deployment, career pathways, and promotion
so that quality teachers are retained;
• Support the Teacher Task Force to establish the Teacher Education Council and formulate a
teacher policy;
• Support the MoE in implementation of the Teacher Competency Standards Framework (TCSF);
and
• Address the likely interim teacher shortage resulting from the introduction of a four-year teacher
education program.
These recommendations for priority areas of focus are already being reflected in STEM’s ongoing project
planning, including in the Phase III Project Document and the STEM Strategic Programme Document, to
guide the next six years.
UNESCO’s commitment of providing relevant, timely support to augment MoE-led initiatives has been
consistent since STEM’s inception in 2014. This has resulted in an evolution of priority foci within STEM
through the years – from providing an evidence base for the direction of reforms in STEM Phase I (in line
with the CESR); to implementation of the most pressing interventions, including the introduction of a new
EC curriculum in STEM Phase II (in line with the NESP 2016-2018) and the development of the TCSF;
to consistent, but increasingly prioritised, attention to issues of teacher policy and inclusion in teacher
education, starting in STEM Phase II and moving into Phase III.
As Dr. Sai Kyaw Naing, Director General of the Department of Monitoring and Evaluation – Research, said
in a November 2019 interview with UNESCO: ‘We would like to move away from the language of ‘reform’
towards the language of a ‘national development process’ – this is a long-term effort.’ UNESCO has been
a part of this long-term effort through STEM since the early days of the reform – with all of the successes
and lessons learnt in STEM Phase II embedded within the wider story of teacher education in Myanmar.

IV. Key Findings
In this section, STEM Phase II progress and achievements are presented by outcome area with a
comparative look back at the STEM Phase II baseline for performance indicators at the end of 2016 vis-
à-vis the expected 2020 target. Each of the four outcome areas also includes a summary of the evidence
of progress and analysis of the relevance, effectiveness, and sustainability of activities along with lessons
learnt. The section closes with a reflection on STEM’s foreseeable impact on teacher education in Myanmar.
During the early stages of Phase II, STEM’s Results Matrix was revised to more clearly articulate the
programme logic with agreed upon indicators that would be used to monitor project results.17 The STEM
Results Matrix covers a six-year period from the beginning of Phase II in January 2017 to 2022, spanning
both STEM Phase II and Phase III. The tables included in this section of the report are based on the
Results Matrix, but have been simplified to present a snapshot of progress at the halfway mark – between
the December 2016 baseline and as of April 2020 (for the 2020 target). The 2020 target should be reached
by December 2020 for STEM to stay on track in delivering the desired end results by 2022. Phase III
targets are in the process of being revised in response to reduced funding and greater costs associated
with the development of the EC curriculum Year 3 and 4 specialization tracks.
Progress towards each STEM outcome and output has been evaluated based on four levels of standards
against the Results Framework:
• Below target, where progress is unlikely to meet the 2020 target by December 2020;
• Approaching target, where progress as of April 2020 has not yet met the 2020 target, but is
expected to by December;
• Meets target, where progress is at the point expected at the end of 2020; and
• Exceeds target, where progress has gone beyond expectations for 2020 (to meet 2021 or 2022
targets).
17 The revised Results Framework was first reported against in the STEM 2018 Progress Report.

Overall, at outcomes-level, STEM is in line to meet, or exceed, progress expectations for 10 of the 13
performance indicators. There are three outcome-level indicators where it is unlikely that the 2020 target
will be reached on time. This is because teacher policy formulation has proceeded much more slowly than
expected (two indicators) and the CPD Framework for ECs needs to be approved prior to the roll-out of
the CPD programme (one indicator).
At output-level, overall, only four out of 26 indicators fall below expected progress for the end of 2020.
As follows from the outcome-level results, these are the outputs that concern the establishment of the
Teacher Education Council (as it is likely that the TTF will still be leading on policy development through
2020), the status of teacher policy development, and the development and use of training modules in
management skills for EC managers.
For each outcome area, this section of the report summarizes:

• the evidence of progress;
• the relevance, effectiveness, and sustainability of work under each outcome;
• outcome-specific lessons learnt; and
• planned future work.
The anticipated impact and overall sustainability of the STEM project are also discussed as Key Findings
in this section, and participant testimonials appear as ‘Perspectives’ in textboxes. Importantly, the
declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in March 2020,
which resulted in restrictions on travel, the need for staff to adapt quickly to working from home as well as
adopt new approaches to project delivery affected the STEM project, though not significantly. STEM team
leads were able to respond quickly to the evolving situation. This is detailed throughout various sections
of the report.
Outcome 1: Comprehensive teacher policies informed

by international standards are adopted, enabling
implementation of the updated competency-based
Education College (EC) degree
Evidence of progress
Progress towards achieving the desired outcome for teacher policy falls below the expected 2020 target
for its two performance indicators, where the aim was to have a draft comprehensive policy on teachers
and an approved teacher promotion policy by December 2020. Outputs related to the formation of the
Teacher Education Council are, therefore, also below the target – in part because the MoE has decided
to use the TTF as an interim policy development body. STEM has been successful in garnering support
for a comprehensive policy on teachers across education stakeholders, but the processes and bodies for
policy development had to be determined and established prior to the actual task of policy formulation.
For example, the STEM-commissioned options paper on career pathways was submitted to the MoE in
2018 with comments from the NEPC received in 2019 and, finally, actioning of some recommendations by
the TTF in early 2020. This timeline might have been greatly compressed if the body for policy advice and
formulation had been in place at the time the options paper was completed. The establishment of the TTF
by MOE took several months with the composition of the membership taking up more time than expected.
While STEM made efforts to provide inputs to ensure inclusivity (e.g. representatives of the teacher union
and in-service teachers) in the membership, final decision was in MOE’s purview.

The most significant progress towards Outcome 1 has been the development of the TCSF, and performance
indicators related to the TCSF show on track progress – and even exceed expectations when it comes to
the State and Region participation in the validation study.
Table 3. Progress towards Outcome 1
Outcome 1: Comprehensive teacher policies informed by international standards are adopted,

enabling implementation of the updated competency-based Education College (EC) degree
Performance Indicator (PI) 2016 2020 Status of 2020 Target
Baseline Target
PI1.1. Comprehensive18 teacher policy developed No Draft Below target
PI1.2. Teacher promotion policy revised to support specialization No Approved Below target
tracks
PI1.3. Updated/new teacher policies are being used in MoE No No Target for 2022
strategies and decision-making.
Output 1.1: Teacher Education Council established to enable teacher representatives to advice and
support implementation of NESP Teacher Education and Management (NESP S1C1)
Baseline Target
PI1.1.1. Teacher Education Council established and operational No Yes Below target
PI1.1.2. Teacher Education Council leads policy development No Yes Below target
and standards setting for teacher education
Output 1.2: Teacher quality assurance system developed for assessment of teacher quality and
measurable improvement in student learning (NESP S1C2)
Baseline Target
PI1.2.1. TCSF developed including ICT-specific No Approved Approaching target
competencies
PI1.2.2. The number of states and regions taking part No n/a Meets target19
in TCSF validation study with national focus group 14 in 2019
discussions conducted
PI1.2.3. MoE-appointed TCSF Working Group leads the n/a Yes Meets target
development of the TCSF and advice on implementation
18 The UNESCO Teacher Policy Development Guide is the basis for defining a comprehensive teacher policy – it includes but is not
limited to recruitment, deployment, standards, and working conditions.
19 TCSF final draft was completed in 2017. Awareness raising sessions and discussions were organized in all 14 states and regions
as well as the Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory. In total, seven regional/state ministers and four social ministers attended these sessions
in Magway, Taunggyi, Mandalay, Chin, Bago, Irrawaddy and Yangon. This validation study brought together international and local
experts from policy, teacher education and classroom practices. The Myanmar Teacher Federation was involved in all three phases
and there was inclusion and participation of Monastic Education and Ethnic Education providers in both the teacher survey and case
study. The validation study has facilitated greater engagement with Ethnic Education providers.

Output 1.3: Design and implement an equitable teacher recruitment, promotion, and deployment
system to improve management and achieve an appropriate teacher student ratio (NESP S1C3)
Baseline Target
PI1.3.1. Teacher policy on recruitment, promotion and No Final Draft Below target
deployment developed and implemented
PI1.3.2. Teacher Task Force leads in the development No n/a Meets target
of teacher policies Yes in 2019
During Phase II, through a series of seminars facilitated jointly by STEM and the MoE, consensus was
reached that Myanmar will work towards a comprehensive policy on teachers through a phased approach
– taking on the policy pieces in order of priority and urgency.
The National Education Law stipulates the establishment of a Teacher Education Council, which will be
the vehicle of policy formulation. There have been ongoing discussions about the nature of the Teacher
Education Council, including where it should be positioned within (or independent of) the MoE and
other policy-level bodies. At this point, a proposal for a Teacher Education Council has been developed,
but the body has not yet been established, primarily due to ongoing deliberations about the roles and
responsibilities of the Council.
Instead, as an intermediate step leading to the establishment of the Teacher Education Council, the MoE
appointed a Teacher Task Force (TTF), which was formally inaugurated in July 2019. STEM Phase II has
supported the TTF through technical inputs – such as an options paper on career paths and guidance
on the Terms of Reference for the group – as well as coordination and logistical assistance.20 UNESCO
also facilitated the participation of TTF representatives in the December 2019 International Task Force on
Teachers for Education 2030 meeting as observers, which allowed them to learn from the global task force
model. Discussions are ongoing as to Myanmar’s potential membership in the International Task Force on
Teachers for Education 2030.
The MOE has facilitated four official meetings of the TTF to date in July, October, and January 2019 and
May 2020. During the January meeting, the TTF decided to approach teacher policy development by first
tackling the four priority areas highlighted in the STEM-commissioned options paper related to teacher
promotion. This decision is in line with the Basic Education Law (2019) and feedback from the NEPC
on the options paper, who counseled that the promotion policy should be urgently considered.21 The
promotion policy is a time-sensitive component of a comprehensive policy as specializations in primary
and middle school will be introduced in Year 3 of the new EC curriculum (to be initiated in December 2021).
With this, student teachers will need to know the implications of their specialization choice for their career
prospects.22
The MOE also arranged for a representative from the Thailand Teacher Council to make a presentation to
the TTF during the May 2020 meeting. TTF members noted the usefulness of learning from the experiences
of other countries in the region and requested UNESCO’s continued technical support to establish the
Teacher Education Council and to move forward on the development of the key criteria for the promotion
policy. UNESCO will take these two tasks forward in 2020.
20 The options paper was translated into Myanmar language and presented to the Union Minister of Education in April 2019.
21 Chapter 9 of the Basic Education Law highlights teachers’ rights, duty, qualifications and capabilities.
22 There has been concern that the majority of student teachers will choose middle school, due to historical perceptions that the higher
the grade taught, the higher the teacher status. However, a survey administered during curriculum monitoring visits to over 500 student
teachers across 25 ECs showed that a little more than half of the STs intend to teach in primary schools.

The TCSF Working Group was formed at the end of STEM Phase I and the development of the TCSF
has continued through Phase II. The TCSF for all levels of teachers is drafted, and the final versions
of the TCSF and the validation study were submitted to the DHE in May 2020. Ministerial approval for
these documents are expected by July 2020 and the TCSF implementation plan is drafted and due to
be finalized also in July. This are positive steps as the MTE expressed concerns over the TCSF’s delay
and reiterated the need to have a working document readily available, which will enable work to progress
on CPD activities for basic education which has been developed by UNICEF. The ICT competencies for
teachers have been drafted and are included as an Annex to the TCSF, with plans to further integrate them
into the TCSF itself, as relevant.
The validation study for the beginning-level TCSF included three components:
• Expert review and revision, involving 51 educationalists from academic and practice-based
backgrounds.
• A survey of approximately 5,000 teachers (including basic education, monastic, and private
schools) accompanied by an MoE-led public communications campaign in all states and regions
with over 2,600 participants (2019); and
• Case studies from ten schools in five states/regions.
The public communication and teacher survey distribution at state and regional levels were led by the
MoE, who also appointed a research team to support the TCSF validation study. Members from the TCSF
Working Group joined the public communication campaign to understand public opinion on the TCSF and
to support the MoE team. Throughout the process, STEM has supported the Working Group to develop
the TCSF by providing technical guidance, capacity building, and coordination support.
The validation study found that teachers in Myanmar are, overall, largely positive about their ability to
understand and to use the TCSF minimum requirements in their practice. Their perceptions of their current
abilities in relation to the TCSF are somewhat lower than their understanding of the value of the TCSF,
suggesting that teachers will need support to augment their teaching practice as the TCSF is implemented.
With STEM support, the MoE has developed a draft TCSF implementation plan that positions the TCSF
within wider reforms, establishes the principles on which implementation is based, and lays out the roadmap
for a phased and participatory introduction of the TCSF. As part of this exercise, the MoE completed a
comprehensive stakeholder coordination mapping, which provides a basis of ensuring representation and
reach across diverse stakeholder groups.
The TCSF has already been used to guide the development of the competency-based curriculum in ECs.23
The TCSF will impact the entire teaching workforce in Myanmar as it reflects a common understanding
of what effective teaching looks like at the different stages in a teacher’s career.24 The hope is that all
teachers, including those serving in monastic, ethnic, and private schools, will be able to use the TCSF as
a professional learning tool.
23 The latest draft beginning level TCSF has already been referred to in the new EC Year 1 curriculum which started being used in
December 2019. The latest draft beginning level TCSF has also been shared with relevant development partners, such as UNICEF,
JICA, ADB, TREE and AERS (under MUPE), so that they can refer to the latest version in their work relating to teacher competencies,
in line with Recommendation 1 in the STEM Phase II Mid-Term Evaluation.
24 The hope is that all teachers, including those serving in monastic, ethnic, and private schools, will be able to use the TCSF as a
professional learning tool. See the results under Outcome 4 for a summary of engagement with ethnic school providers through the
validation study.

Relevance, effectiveness, and sustainability
Relevance: STEM is the only Development Partner supporting the upstream work of
teacher policy development. UNESCO is well-positioned, through STEM, to continue to
meet the demand for technical inputs and a comparative perspective on teacher policies.
STEM has been able to feed into the MoE’s deliberations on their policy processes
and priorities by bringing in international experts to share comparative examples from
other country’s experiences in teacher policy.
The TCSF is the central tool of the MoE’s strategy to strengthen teacher quality assurance
and management, as articulated in the NESP 2016-2021. The MoE’s commitment to the
roll-out of the TCSF is evident through the intensive public communication and orientation
campaign they conducted in all States and Regions.
Effectiveness: Policy development must be government-led, and STEM’s role has always
been as a technical partner, rather than the lead. STEM is responsive to requests from the
MoE for inputs, advice, or the provision of external expertise. At the same time, UNESCO
promotes government leadership, ownership, and accountability by employing a capacity
development and partnership approach in all STEM activities with the goal that all results will
be internally sustained within the MoE. Many, if not, most of the critical technical suggestions
proposed by UNESCO through STEM under Outcome 1 have been taken up by the MoE –
for example, the development of a competency standards framework and consensus on the
need for a comprehensive policy on teachers. UNESCO through STEM has been able to
offer specific technical inputs, such as the options paper on teacher career paths, as tools
for a MoE-led process of determining the best policy options for Myanmar. Through STEM,
UNESCO has facilitated MoE leadership in reaching out to regional guest speakers and
in trust-building amongst many different professionals within the TTF, including those
from academic and teacher education background. UNESCO has provided advice
and documentation support to help give the TTF a firm grounding as members take
on these new responsibilities.
Extending the timeline for the TCSF to be finalized has allowed for a robust validation of
the framework in tandem with the MoE’s communications campaign. This will help ensure
the purpose of the TCSF is understood to be developmental, rather than punitive. The
timeline for the TCSF development has mirrored other countries’ experiences in developing
similar frameworks, which often takes between three to five years.
The TCSF validation study provided a starting point for the DHE, DBE, and ethnic education
providers to begin to establish a trust-based relationship. One ethnic education provider
participated in Phase 2 of the study (teacher surveys) and one in Phase 3 (case studies) as
members of the research team. This precedent can be extended to TCSF implementation
going forward, providing a platform for government and non-government actors to work
together.

Sustainability: The MoE has led the development of the TCSF through the highly committed
TCSF Working Group, comprised of in-service and retired national educationalists. TCSF
members have raised the visibility of the TCSF through multiple articles in Myanmar journals
and newspapers and at international conferences.25 All official messaging around the TCSF
has always come from the MoE.
The lived reality of MoE leadership and ownership of the TCSF has gradually increased
through the process of developing and validating the TCSF. The validation study was led by
the MoE who were able to grow their internal capacity by taking on state and regional level
advocacy efforts and survey distribution. The internal research team for the study, who led
the case study development, will also be able to take these skills forward.
The MoE contributed venues for the TCSF workshops and trainings in all States
and Regions, including Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory and also covered the cost for
the mass printing of the TCSF awareness and survey questionnaires. These in-kind
contributions illustrate the MoE’s commitment to implementation of a validated TCSF
Framework. STEM has already begun handover discussions to this end, and it is a task
the MoE is ready to take on.
The Myanmar TTF is also a MoE initiative and body, and UNESCO is not an official member
of the TTF. STEM assistance to MOE in this area helps fill a gap in human resourcing
through logistics and technical support so that TTF members can focus on their priority
tasks. The TTF is taking the lead in making the decisions on which policy areas need
priority attention; for example, the TTF has decided to first take on the issue of teacher
promotion and is moving forward on this decision, with MOE facilitating the discussions
and UNESCO through STEM providing technical advice and inputs such as background
documents, relevant literature and access to international experiences and networks.
Outcome 1 lessons learnt
The following four lessons learnt have emerged out of challenges faced during implementing STEM Phase
II, Outcome 1:
1. Determining policy processes is as necessary an undertaking as making decisions on

specific policies. While the NLD government has successfully introduced a number of policy
reforms, there remains the overall challenge of ensuring a well-coordinated change management
and policy process, particularly streamlining approval processes and deciding on specific policy
solutions. While this has understandably also impacted the development of policies relating to
teachers, there is also the added challenge that developing teacher policies are often complex by
nature and require adequate consultation with diverse stakeholders, often with competing interest
that need to be harmonised. Indeed, when the TTF was established there was initial disagreement
among the members on which policy areas should be focused on. This has since been resolved
and the MoE has now empowered the TTF to work on priority policy dimensions with the intent
to form a Teacher Education Council in the future. With this, some degree of clarity has been
reached, but it has also taken time for the TTF – especially given the diverse representation within
the body – to internally determine their mission and scope of work. This process has underscored
25 TFor example, the “Development of Regional Competency Framework for Teachers in South East Asia” in Bangkok (April 2017).

the complexity and multi-faceted nature of reforms across education sub-sectors, which require
diverse stakeholder groups to work together to find technical solutions that are feasible and
harmonized. UNESCO has encouraged the MOE to have a comprehensive teacher policy to
address the complex issues which require not only a cohesive response, but a comprehensive
and system-wide reform strategy and policies.
2. Inter-departmental, inter-ministerial, and inter-institutional collaboration is required for

teacher policy formulation. An often-cited challenge to making progress on policy development
is the siloed approach between departments and across ministries. While there are some
collaboration mechanisms in place, more inter-departmental and inter-ministerial exchange of
ideas and information would benefit the sector. STEM has encouraged this by engaging all relevant
departments within the MoE, other policy bodies, and Parliamentarians in the policy seminars
and other STEM-supported activities under Outcome 1. However, as long as the Union Civil
Service Board continues to administer rules and regulations relating to all civil servants, including
teachers, and the Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment has a role in advising or approving
administrative/management structures and proposals with implications for the payroll, it is clear
that closer engagement and dialogue with both institutions will be required as the development
of policies related to career pathways of teachers evolves. Relatedly, any disagreement within
the TTF, where membership has been drawn from a mix of institutions and backgrounds, must be
counteracted through dialogue and shared purpose. The agreement on beginning to work on the
four areas highlighted in the options paper represents an important step towards productive work
by this body.
3. Small steps will lead to big progress on teacher policy. Attempting to reach consensus on the
bigger policy picture can be overwhelming and actually hinder progress. Rather than taking on a
whole policy area (for example, the promotion policy), this task can be broken down into concrete
steps, such as determining the key criteria for promotion. This is the approach the TTF is now
following, which is likely to result in more concrete outputs, sooner.
4. External partnerships with sub-contractors under STEM must be carefully managed to

mitigate the risk of delays. STEM worked with MY-EQIP and ACER as partners in the TCSF
validation study. While this appears to have worked successfully for the expert review and teacher
survey components, staffing changes and issues with the hand-over within the ACER team
resulted in minor delays to the case study data collection (which had to be pushed back due
to the lack of availability with ACER consultants) but was ultimately delivered within the agreed
timeframe. In addition, there seems to have been gaps in communication between MY-EQIP and
ACER with questions only raised to UNESCO at the last minute, and pertaining to elements of the
project that were not within UNESCO’s scope of work. With all consulting firms utilized for STEM
implementation, systems of monitoring and oversight need to be clearly established to ensure that
quality and timeliness of the work produced.
Future work
Immediate next steps for work under Outcome 1 include supporting the TTF in its fourth official meeting
and providing technical inputs to help the TTF determine the key criteria for teacher promotions. STEM will
also work with the MoE to internalize and roll-out the implementation plan for the TCSF.

In STEM Phase III, UNESCO plans to continue support for the development of key criteria for the teacher
promotion policy to improve the effectiveness and equity of teacher education and management, through:
• engagement with the MoE to ensure that TCSF receives ministerial approval by the end of July
2020.
• adoption of the TCSF implementation plan and roll-out of TCSF for beginning level. The roll-out of
the TCSF should be guided by the recommendations contained in the implementation plan.
• development of the TCSF assessment tools and an awareness-building campaign.
• development of a comprehensive policy on teachers -- with support for the development of key
criteria for the teacher promotion policy as a first step.
• professional exchanges (e.g. overseas visits and meetings) for TTF members.
Outcome 2: Education College (EC) two-year diploma

upgraded to specialized programs with competency-based
teacher education curriculum
Reflective of MoE priorities, Outcome 2 has seen the most progress as per the Results Matrix. Progress
exceeds expectations towards Outcome 2 as the new four-year EC curriculum has now been introduced
nationwide with nearly all teacher educators receiving 10 days of direct training, provided by STEM, in
preparation for Year 1, Semester 1. All outputs related to Outcome 2 are expected to meet, or have already
met or exceeded, the 2020 targets.
Outcome 2: Education College (EC) two-year diploma upgraded to specialized programs

with competency-based teacher education curriculum (NESP S2C2)
Baseline Target
PI2.1. Number of ECs that use the updated competency-based 0 4 Exceeds target
curriculum
PI2.3. Competency-based teacher educator guides are being used No Yes Meets target
by Teacher Educators in implementation of new reform
Output 2.1: Competency-based curriculum for four-year EC degree developed with support of the Curriculum
Core Team (CCT)
Baseline Target
PI2.1.1. Competency-based curriculum framework for 4-year No In use Meets target
degree is developed
PI2.1.2 Number of participative curriculum building workshops held 0 2 Exceeds target
with the CCT members
PI2.1.3. Syllabi, textbooks and teacher educator guides are 0 28 (Yr.2) Approaching target
developed, for year 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the new curriculum
PI2.1.4. CCT members participate in decision making in the n/a Yes Meets target
development of the EC materials

Output 2.2: Teacher Educators supported in delivery of competency-based curriculum and required pedagogies
for implementation of the new EC degree program
Baseline Target
PI2.2.1. % of Teacher Educators trained in competency-based 0 30 Exceeds target
curriculum, including ICT
PI2.2.2. Number of training workshops held on ICT with ICT teacher 0 1 Meets target
educators from all ECs
PI2.2.3 Number of orientations in ECs completed about the upgrade 0 12 Exceeds target
PI2.2.4. E-portal is developed with access to course modules and 0 Phase 2 Approaching target26
other selected teaching and learning resources, and shared with complete
all ECs
PI2.2.5. Framework for Continuous Professional Development 0 Approved Meets target
(CPD) for Teacher Educators developed
PI2.2.6. Training modules for Teacher Educators developed for 0 3 Meets target
selected modules
PI2.2.7. Teacher Educators use the ICT equipment, e-library and n/a Yes Meets target
other digital resources to improve their teaching
During Phase II, the Education College Curriculum Framework (ECCF) was revised and agreed upon
during the Board of Studies’ meeting in June 2019. As of February 2020, all 25 ECs are using the updated
competency-based curriculum for their Year 1 Semester 1 cohort of student teachers.
Year 1, Semester 1 curriculum materials – including the 14 subject syllabi, student teacher textbooks, and
teacher educator guides – were distributed to all 25 ECs by December 2019. Data from four rounds of
monitoring visits, during which each of the 25 ECs were visited twice, shows that teacher educators are
using the teacher educator guides to prepare for nearly every lesson. For most of the teacher educators,
using the guides has been a positive experience with an overall mean score of 3.8 on a scale between ‘1—
Not convenient at all’ to ‘5 – Very convenient.’ Curricular materials for Semester 2 of the Year 1 curriculum
have been developed and are available on the E-library.
Year 2 EC curriculum subject syllabi have been developed and the second draft of the Year 2 student
teacher textbooks and teacher educator guides are underway. Piloting of the Year 2 EC curriculum was
held in January and February 2020 in four ECs, which were selected to represent the regional, size, and
ethnic diversity of Myanmar’s ECs.
Since the beginning of STEM Phase II, CCT members have participated in approximately 50 participatory
curriculum building activities, including training workshops on curriculum development and ICT; drafting
workshops to develop and review the Year 1 and Year 2 syllabi, student teacher textbooks, and teacher
educator guides; and piloting workshops. In total for STEM Phase II, 243 contact days have been spent
on Outcome 2 workshops – all facilitated through a participatory and capacity strengthening approach.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the modality for the curriculum development activities has changed
from face-to-face to virtual meetings using online platforms. Over 60 online sessions for subject group
meetings as well as a webinar on inclusion were conducted between April and June 2020. Overall, the
feedback on these virtual meetings has been largely positive. Seventy-six out of the 149 participants
responded to a survey about their experiences with the virtual meetings. All respondents found the
26 Activity was reoriented to developing an E-learning function as part of the EC E-library platform instead as funds under Phase III would
not allow for the full development of the e-learning portal.

teleconference was either “very or somewhat well prepared and organised” and either “very useful”
or “useful” for reviewing the student teacher textbooks and teacher educator guides. Nine per cent of
respondents stated that their internet connectivity during the teleconference was “excellent”, 58 per cent
stated “very good”, 32 per cent stated “fair,” and 1 per cent stated “poor.” While there are concerns around
internet connectivity and power outages, particularly during rainy season, 78 per cent of respondents were
in favour of using teleconferencing for future events.
CCT members are participating in decision-making in the development of the EC materials. CCT members
regularly provided feedback to authors on the student teacher textbooks and teacher educators guides for
the Year 1 and Year 2 EC curriculum. The Year 2 EC syllabi were drafted and further refined by the CCT,
with facilitation by STEM.
Over 98 per cent of all teacher educators (1,674 in Session I and 1,829 in Session II) received direct
practice-based training on the new competency-based curriculum through two five-day sessions in October
and November 2019. In their roles as CCT members, five per cent of teacher educators have been trained
in more depth on the competency-based curriculum, including ICT and EPSD. In addition, 30 per cent of
CCT members supported the training as facilitators, who were responsible for their group and provided
assistance to both the head trainers and their fellow teacher educators as needed.27
Due to Covid-19, the 10-day Year 1 Semester 2 training was delivered to all teacher educators using
various videos and online platforms. The training multi-media training packages, which included the training
manual (hard copy) and the DVD (12 videos, PPTs and other relevant documents), were delivered to all
teacher educators in May 2020. Two orientation sessions (1 day) were held online in late May to help the
STEM project team, EC Senior Management Team, CCT and ICT teacher educators to plan and prepare
for the dissemination of the training packages, monitoring and follow-up, and Q&A sessions. Ninety-nine
of the 237 participants completed a survey on their experience with the teleconference. The majority of
respondents found the teleconference was either “very or somewhat well prepared and organized” (97 per
cent) and either “very useful” or “useful” (99 per cent). The majority were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” (94
per cent) in having their comments addressed and were “confident” or “somewhat confident” to implement
the training (19 and 80 per cent, respectively). Most respondents had good internet connection, and 88
percent felt that teleconferencing would be useful for future events, although noting potential logistical
issues around connectivity and power outages.
Teacher educators studied the Year 1 Semester 2 materials for six days (15-20 June) followed by
participation in a series of six Q&A sessions (3 days) at the end of June. The training was well received
by TEs, who adopted a flexible approach to studying the training materials, either individually or as part
of a group. This training helped them to utilize learner-centered approaches, where learners themselves
decide the most suitable modality of learning. A TE from Dawei EC commented, “I find this training far
more effective as it includes video lessons and training manual which we can repeatedly watch and
study until we get familiarize. We also practice submitting questions after every lessons and most of the
questions raised are addressed through peer-learning.”
The CPD Framework for ECs has been developed through a 16-member CPD Working Group and
validated by the MoE. Its formal endorsement by the Minister of Education is expected soon, paving the
way for a system of professional development that will continue to support teacher educators to grow in
the skills they need to effectively implement an inclusive, quality degree programme. The delay in the
formal endorsement by the Minister of Education is due to other urgent priorities, particularly the reopening
of basic education schools in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
27 These trainings provide a foundation for successful implementation of the Year 1 curriculum with ongoing professional development
to be provided under the CPD Framework for ECs, in line with Recommendation 6 in the Phase II Mid-Term Evaluation.

Relevance: Given the ambitious timeline for introducing the new four-year degree cur-
riculum in all 25 ECs in December 2019, this outcome area has been the MoE’s prior-
ity-of-priorities for teacher education during Phase II. STEM’s human resourcing and
budget has therefore been largely focused on achieving Outcome 2 with more contact
days spent on developing and rolling out the curriculum than all other outcome areas
combined (and triple the days spent on Outcome 1, as the next most active work-
stream).
Effectiveness: It is too soon to evaluate the effectiveness of the new curriculum on student
teacher outcomes; however, monitoring visits have revealed positive trends in the Year 1,
Semester 1 implementation. Both student teachers and teacher educators are generally
positive about the Year 1 curriculum and appreciate the more interactive teaching and
learning style (at this point, largely characterized by group discussion). In class observations,
most of the teacher educators encouraged relevant group activities, gave clear directions,
and walked around the classroom to ensure participation of all student teachers. Almost all
student teachers were observed to be actively participating in classroom discussion (almost
three quarters of observed student teachers asked questions in a small group setting). This
represents a major shift from the traditional classroom dynamic of lecture and memorization.
As a result of the new curriculum, there is also a significant increase in the degree to
which formative assessment is being used in ECs, although some misunderstandings
around types and purposes of assessment were also reported. To address this, STEM
organized two online sessions on assessment strategies to 400 principles, deputy
principles and teacher educators in the 25 ECs. While use of the E-library to access
additional resources is still nascent, student teachers are increasingly using the
internet (particularly during the Practicum) as well as the EC library to supplement
their learning resources. At the end of Phase II, there were 4,613 new users accessing
the E-library with 80,191 page views.
Initially, there were significant concerns over the effects of merging the academic and
pedagogical subjects (and teacher educators), but this has largely been positive with
accounts that these former subject teachers are mitigating their own weaknesses by
learning from their colleagues’ areas of strength.28
More collaboration has also been reported between different generations of teachers around
ICT-related lessons or activities, where the younger teacher educators have an opportunity
to help their older colleagues. In general, morale has been high around the introduction of
the new curriculum with a spirit of working together towards producing effective teachers
for the good of the country.
28 For example, former academic subject teachers are learning pedagogy from the former pedagogy subject teacher educators, and
former pedagogy teacher educators are learning subject terminology and knowledge from the former academic teacher educators.

It is clear from the monitoring feedback that, as expected, teacher educators still need
support to deepen their understanding of the competency-based and inclusive approaches
promoted through the curriculum. Some teaching strategies are still rarely used; for
example, virtual tools, KWL charts, role-playing, workshops, concept map, Venn diagrams,
and T-charts.
There are also steps that can be taken to increase the user-friendliness and clarity of
the student teacher textbooks and teacher educator guides; for example, ensuring the
appropriate amount of content, alignment between the student teacher textbooks and the
teacher educator guides, adequate and accessible teaching and learning resources, and
quality translations. UNESCO is working to address this – in part through a horizontal
and vertical mapping of the Year 1 and Year 2 curriculum to be used to inform the
development of Years 3 and 4 and in future curriculum revisions.
The Mid-term Evaluation of STEM Phase II raised concerns about the levels of
preparedness for implementation of the new curriculum. Information for the Mid-
term Evaluation report was gathered in April and May 2019, ahead of the distribution of
the Year 1 Semester 1 curriculum materials and the conduct of the trainings, which – as
mentioned above – were attended by over 98 per cent of teacher educators. At the time
of the research for the Mid-term Evaluation, there was understandable nervousness and
a sense of uncertainty amongst many stakeholders. In line with the Mid-term Evaluation
recommendation to increase preparedness efforts, direct training was chosen over a
cascade model with time for self -study given between each of the 5-day training periods. As
described above and in the ‘analysis of political economy,’ due to the enthusiasm and hard
work of teacher educators, this training model was largely successful – as demonstrated in
training surveys and in the four rounds of follow-up monitoring visits.
Sustainability: DHE works collaboratively with UNESCO to plan for the EC curriculum
development and has taken full ownership of decisions as to how to work with partners in
support of their curriculum reforms. Excitement amongst CCT members to be part of the
core curriculum team – and for their own professional development – has already proved to
be an important asset for the intensive undertaking of developing a new EC curriculum. By
working with the same CCT for well over a year prior to the start of actual drafting of syllabi,
student teacher textbooks, and teacher educator guides, UNESCO has been able to foster
a high degree of buy-in and an understanding of the significance of a competency-based
approach to curriculum – important prerequisites for the success and sustainability of
activities. Through the curriculum development, a number of templates and guides
have been produced that will help future MoE-led curriculum development processes.
ICT teacher educators also show great growth in using ICT for education and being able
to support their colleagues. They have, for example, made online tutorials (screencasts)
on basic ICT skills, available on the E-library, to help support colleagues and the EC ICT
curriculum. STEM has begun to train selected DHE staff and ICT teacher educators to be
administrators and managers of the E-library. In time, they will be responsible for running
back-end system and the creation and maintenance of user accounts. Given that the use
of ICT for research requires students to self-practice skills as per the instructions in the
student textbooks, STEM has been advocating ECs and MOE to allow the computer rooms
to be kept open after school hours and on the weekends.

Perspectives: Teacher Educator and CCT member (Science
Group), Daw Hla Thida
Daw Hla Thida is a Lecturer in the Physics department at Bogalay EC and a CCT
member who has contributed to drafting the science subject materials. Daw Hla
Thida has also helped facilitate trainings for the Year 1 Semester 1 curriculum
implementation.
According to Daw Hla Thida, because of her involvement with the CCT and STEM,
her teaching practice has shifted from teacher-centered to learner-centered. Student
teachers are now using active learning, rather than passive learning. Daw Hla Thida
gave an example of how these shifts look in her classroom: “In one lesson, we
discussed problem solving, and in the next lesson, they had to solve a problem
based on a current situation. I asked them to collect the data on the topic before
the lesson, and then two groups debated in the classroom. They presented their
opinions by using collected data.”
Daw Hla Thida is also helping her colleagues to adapt to the innovative approaches
in the new curriculum. At Bogalay EC, the science teachers meet to discuss how to
make sure the lesson differentiates for the different learning styles of student teachers. “We discuss the challenges
of time management and limited teaching resources,” said Daw Hla Thida. “If my colleagues need support for ICT
and searching for teaching resources, I help them however I possibly can.”
Daw Hla Thida has ambitions for her own professional growth as well. She would like to study the science curriculum
used in other countries and explore more of their teaching and learning materials. She looks forward to more online
or offline opportunities to be trained in curriculum development.

Perspectives: Year 1 Student Teacher, Mg Mann
Mg Mann has wanted to become a teacher since he was very young. So far, in his
first year of study at Mandalay EC, he has enjoyed learning about ICT in education
and teaching strategies.
Mg Mann likes the group work, presentations, and practical lesson activities in the
Year 1 curriculum. His best memories of the year have been the micro-teaching
activities, where he gets to discuss lessons with his peers and practice applying the
teaching and learning methods.
His EC studies have not, however, been without difficulty for Mg Mann. “Most of
us are from rural areas and new to technology and computers,” he said. “It’s not
enough for us to study ICT just once a week because we are starting from the very
beginning. We just need more time.” Mg Mann also noted that sometimes they must
do self-practice activities in the student teacher textbooks, and it can be difficult for
him and his classmates to get the additional information on the internet and in the
library.
Overall, Mg Mann has enjoyed the first semester of his pre-service teacher training. In the coming years, he looks
forward to learning more about child psychology, effective teaching and learning methods, and the use of ICT in
education as he prepares to be a teacher in Myanmar.

1. The remit of CCT members must strategically maximize their valuable expertise while
protecting them from overload. The official mandate of CCT members is strictly to provide
inputs to the curriculum development process. Many CCT members are, however, informally using
the additional training they have received through STEM to assist their colleagues in aligning
teaching methods with the competency-based curriculum. They also serve in an ad hoc manner
as curriculum champions and communication focal points within their ECs. The STEM Phase II
Mid-Term Evaluation noted that more explicit delineation of the CCT members’ responsibilities
would help systematize their multi-faceted contributions to the process. However, any change to
the CCT mandate will need to come from DHE, who has indicated that the formal role of the CCT
cannot be expanded as they also need to fulfil their responsibilities as full-time teacher educators
in their respective ECs. The workload of CCT members needs to be respected and protected.
At the same time, CCT members should be encouraged to continue to deepen their expertise
in curriculum development (and specific areas such as EPSD or gender) and recognized as a
valuable resource within ECs.
2. Best practices for developing the curriculum are still a work-in-progress, particularly in
terms of utilizing local subject authors and facilitating English-Myanmar translations. STEM
has tried several combinations of international sub-contractors and local hires in the attempt to
discover the recipe for developing a curriculum that is based in international best practices while
also maintaining local relevance, applicability, and ownership. It has been difficult for UNESCO
to find local subject authors who can produce quality work in English, requiring additional inputs
and quality assurance from the UNESCO STEM team. It has also been difficult – given time
constraints and the subject matter – to commission quality Myanmar translations of the EC
curriculum materials. This matters greatly as, on a practical level, the Myanmar version is the one
being used in ECs. The second most challenging aspect of the new curriculum, as reported during
the monitoring visits, is understanding the Myanmar language translation – as perceived by more
than 50 per cent of teacher educators and two thirds of student teachers.
3. Teacher educators would benefit from more guidance on how to manage and prioritize
the best use of lesson time. In the monitoring surveys, around 80 per cent teacher educators
indicated that time management is a key challenge in successfully implementing the curriculum.
Most teacher educators have not been able to complete all of the activities suggested in the guide
within 50 minutes and, as a result, are truncating opportunities for reflection and feedback. While
this may be an indication that the guides are overloaded or that the teaching schedule could be
adjusted, teacher educators also need to be supported to view the guides as a tool (rather than
a prescriptive step-by-step manual) and to prioritize and select those activities that will lead to
achievement of the learning outcomes within the allotted class time. Using blended classroom
techniques, where content is read by student teachers prior to class, can also free up time for
discussion, reflection, and feedback. The training for Year 1 Semester 2 is already taking this
point into consideration and includes a session on effectively using the teacher educator guides.
This session encourages teacher educators to view and use the guide as a flexible tool for their
teaching, rather than a prescriptive one.
Future work
Immediate next steps for work under Outcome 2 include the development of online modules to help ECs
respond to COVID-19, including training on digital literacy and online teaching.

In STEM Phase III, UNESCO plans to continue to support EC graduates to ‘meet the beginning level
teacher competency standards using inclusive and equity-based approaches,’ through:
• Development, review, revision, implementation and monitoring of the EC curriculum for all four
years of the programme.
• Development, training, and roll-out of the e-learning platform, if additional funding becomes
available.
• Design, development and implementation of CPD for teacher educators.
• Technical assistance on policy and practices on ICT in teacher education.
Outcome 3: Strengthened management and administration

of Education Colleges
Despite delays in instating the new management structure within ECs, progress has been made towards
achieving Outcome 3 through the upgrade of ICT infrastructure and equipment and support for the MoE
in planning for teacher education needs – both of these outcome-level indicators meet their anticipated
targets. The percentage of management staff who have received training falls below the target, largely
because this training will take place as part of the implementation of the CPD Framework.
Similarly, at output level, the two indicators (out of four) measuring progress towards evidence-based
planning meet the 2020 target while progress towards the development of training modules falls below
target. This gap can be overcome, however, as the CPD Framework has now been developed and is
ready for the next implementation step.
Outcome 3: Strengthened management and administration of Education Colleges (NESP

S2C4)
Baseline Target
PI3.1. New management structures to support upgrade of 4-year n/a In use Approaching target
degree implemented
PI3.2. % of EC management staff trained in management skills No 20 Below target
PI3.3. Projections of teacher needs used in planning No Yes Meets target
PI3.4. EC managers make use of the ICT equipment to perform No Yes Meets target
management tasks
Output 3.1: Comprehensive plan for upgrade of Education College (ECs) to 4-year degree institutions
developed and implemented
Baseline Target
PI3.1.1. Master Plan developed for implementation of the new EC No Approved Meets target
degree, including enrolment and cost projections
PI3.1.2. Physical facilities in relation to ICT equipment and internet No Yes Meets target
access improved

Output 3.2: Capacity development plans implemented with training of Education College manage-
ment staff
Baseline Target
PI3.2.1. Framework for Continuous Professional Development 0 Approved Approaching target29
(CPD) for EC management staff developed and used
PI3.2.2. Training modules in management skills developed for se- 0 2 Below target
lected modules
During Phase II, the MoE submitted a proposal for new management structures within ECs that is being
revised based on comments from the Ministry of Planning and Finance.
Under STEM Phase II, STEM provided capacity development and technical expertise for developing
simulation models to project teacher needs, and DHE took ownership of the simulation model in May
2019. The projections were used in the national resource plan for the EC reform, with scenarios revised to
project resources needed depending on the speed of upgrading ECs. Additionally, STEM provided technical
support and capacity development in the preparation for the roll-out of the four-year degree programme at
four ECs (Mandalay, Taungoo, Thingangyun and Myaungmya ECs). This included projecting infrastructure
need, mapping student teacher enrolment, and EC staff recruitment.
The Mid-Term Evaluation recommended that STEM support the MoE to coordinate each EC’s creation and
delivery of an action plan covering the next six months of preparation for the new program. An action plan
and milestones for Year 1 of the reform was developed between DHE and STEM. The development of the
action plan at DHE-level made it clearer their key role in coordinating the reform with ECs. The action plan
also called for discussion of preparations at EC level with each EC principal. It will take time to develop
the capacity at EC-level to independently make preparations for the reform and their role in preparations
is ultimately the decision of DHE; however, capacity building for ECs in this regard will be planned under
the CPD Framework for ECs.
All 25 ECs (including the new Katha EC which was inaugurated in December 2019) have been equipped
with broadband Internet facilities and are connected to the fiber Internet at 8Mbps. In each EC, wireless
Internet access is available in ICT rooms, the principal’s room, teacher preparation room, and the library.
The MoE successfully arranged with the mobile network operator for their provision of fiber Internet free-
of-charge for the ECs and is in the process of negotiating with the mobile network operator to expand the
bandwidth and provide wider internet coverage. At present, most student teachers are using data on their
phones as wireless internet is not available in the hostels, limiting their ability to do research after school
hours. The library is also closed after classes and on Saturdays. STEM has been advocating ECs to keep
the computer classroom and library open after school hours and on the weekends to allow students to
access computers and internet.
Each EC has received at least five laptops and three tablets provided by STEM. An additional 100 laptops
and 50 projectors were delivered to ECs in February 2020. All teacher educators and student teachers can
access the E-library through its website or its mobile application. The E-library server is currently under
MoE ownership; a backup server is set up in DHE’s office. Interviews in 2019 indicated that some EC
Principals are using the equipment for management tasks.
29 Leadership and Management modules will be developed in November 2020. For the time being, the requirement for Human Resources
and Administrative Handbooks for Education Colleges, which were recommended in the CPD framework, are being developed and
sensitisation/ orientation sessions on the use of these Handbooks, once approved by the MoE, would be provided in October 2020.

EC management staff have not yet received training in management skills. These future trainings will
be based on the national CPD framework for ECs, which has been finalized and validated by the MoE.
The Framework was approved by the Minister on 14th August 2020, with orientation sessions led by DHE
delivered to EC principals and vice-principals on 20th August.
STEM is currently supporting the development of a human resources and administrative handbooks for all
ECs, which will provide guidance to management staff in managing ECs under the reforms. The handbooks
reinforce inclusive and equitable approaches, and, if they are approved by MoE, senior leadership and
management at ECs will be trained and sensitized on how inclusive practices should be integrated into
the execution of their daily functions and decision-making. For instance, senior management should
give attention to the inputs of employees whose backgrounds differ from their own, foster collaboration
among diverse staff, facilitate constructive arguments, give actionable feedback, and facilitate two-way
communication (not a top-down approach).
Relevance: The upgrade of ECs to offering a four-year degree programme has significant
implications for staffing and budgets. The anticipated shift of management structures will
also require people to refine their skill sets for revised roles and responsibilities. STEM
is helping to lay the groundwork for these management reforms to be successful by
improving the ICT infrastructure of ECs, providing capacity development in simulation
modelling and planning, and setting up a clear HR and Administration Handbook to help
guide policies and procedures.
Effectiveness: The EC upgrade is underway and STEM support has been effective in
helping DHE to plan for this process. More inputs are still needed to build a strong team
of teacher education planners, and the professional development programme for EC
managers is yet to be implemented.
STEM has been effective in ensuring the provision of adequate ICT infrastructure and
equipment. The benefits to this are already being seen as activities must move online
during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, continued advocacy is needed for MoE to
negotiate with the service provider for increased bandwidth and ECs to keep the libraries
and computer room open after school hours and on weekends
Sustainability: Management and administration structures will exist into the foreseeable
future, and STEM’s work is making sure they are set up for success. The focus on improving
administration capacity and human resource practices will have a long-term impact towards
improving the efficiency of ECs. The work under Outcome 3 deliberately focuses on both
DHE and EC management levels to build an overall system that will be sustainable in
the long term.
DHE has contributed staff time and meeting and workshop venues to advance
work towards Outcome 3; for example, Diamond Jubilee Hall has been used for a
seminar in December 2019 as well as meetings with the Technical Working Groups for
the development of CPD Framework for ECs. DHE has also supported printing costs for
meetings conducted under Outcome 3. The simulation model for the upgrading of the ECs
based on the projected teachers needs was handed over to MoE.

Perspectives: DHE Budget Department Director,
Daw Khin Htwe
Daw Khin Htwe serves as Director in the Budget Department of the DHE, where she
is responsible for calculating estimated budget plans, allocating the budget for ECs,
and managing DHE’s contributions to teacher education workshops and activities
conducted in partnership with STEM. At the moment, she is busy calculating the
estimated budget plans for the 2019-2020 and 2020-21 fiscal years, using her
knowledge of simulation modelling gained through STEM workshops.
Daw Khin Htwe has participated in three STEM workshops about simulation
modelling and planning where she learned how to develop and revise scenarios
to fine-tune the projection of the costs and the speed of upgrading ECs. She now
knows how to elaborate scenarios based on the indicative budgets and to calculate
projected costs for human resources and infrastructure (in selected ECs with the
support of UNESCO).
“It is crucial to train the staff from ECs about simulation modelling and planning,”
she said, “so we can develop master plans or action plans for the four-year degree
programme and report these to the Minister.” As a first step, Daw Khin Htwe suggests
a basic training for EC staff so they can understand the use of simulation modelling for calculating teacher-student
ratios, infrastructure, and budget allocation.

From STEM’s Phase II work on EC management and administration, the following three lessons learnt
have emerged:
1. As ECs gain more responsibility for decision-making autonomy, it is increasingly important

for there to be open communication, clear expectations, and professional trust between EC-
and central-levels. The division of roles and responsibilities between EC- and central-levels have
already begun to shift. Trust and two-way communication is crucial to clarify processes and new
ways of working together. The role of the EC Principal is, in particular, taking on more significance
with implications for the level of communication required (between STEM and Principals as well as
Principals and DHE) and for the type of management professional development required.
2. The right people in the right jobs will be what ultimately leads to strengthened management
and administration. The human resource shortages, which can be felt across DHE and ECs,
are perhaps most pronounced in the areas of management and administration. Early in Phase II,
one of the two DDG DHE roles was vacated (until November 2019), so that STEM did not have
a dedicated focal point for Outcome 3, making it difficult to make significant progress. STEM has
also struggled to make sure the right people – with the requisite baseline Excel skills and relevant
jobs – are present at the simulation modeling workshops. Management and administration posts
at ECs are often vacant as well with individuals working across roles, and many times in positions
that they have not been trained for. Capacity development is needed both in basic ICT skills and
also planning and management to make sure the right people can be placed in the right positions.
3. Simulation models are most effectively used for planning when valid data is readily available
and departments work together to provide clear guidance. Although improved from past years,
the data (or estimates) needed to better target simulation model projections can be difficult to
come by. This is partly due to the availability of data and partly due to sensitivities around sharing
financial data – and specifically in receiving the unit costs. This challenge may also reflect a lack
of confidence in defining targets that link to the EC’s vision and mission and DHE’s policies and
then proposing estimates for the desired targets. Issues around the simulation models are best
taken on through an inter-departmental approach, particularly in planning for teacher needs as
ECs (under DHE) prepare the incoming cohort of teachers, and DBE manages their deployment.
Future work
Immediate next steps for work under Outcome 3 include initial research and consultations to better
understand the existing HR and Administrative arrangements in ECs. Capacity development for individual
ECs to make use of the simulation model to project resource needs is also planned for 2020.
In STEM Phase III, UNESCO plans to continue to ‘support management and administration staff within
DHE and ECs to more efficiently and equitably manage ECs,’ through:
• Ongoing support for the development and implementation of a resourced master plan.
• Design, development, and implementation of CPD for management staff.
• Development of Human Resource and Administration Handbooks.
• Professional exchanges (e.g. overseas visits and meetings) for DHE and EC managers.

Outcome 4: An inclusive education approach mainstreamed
through teacher policies, teacher education curriculum, and
Education College Continuous Professional Development
(CPD) programs
Outcome 4 is a relatively new focus of work for STEM, and all activities started from a baseline of very
little, or no, awareness or understanding of issues of inclusion and equity at the beginning of 2017. STEM
has, however, made significant progress since that point in moving towards a more inclusive education
approach throughout all policy, curriculum, and CPD work. The project is meeting, or approaching, all 2020
Outcome 4-level targets.
Progress towards outputs is also on track as equity and inclusion assessments have been conducted.
Steps have also been taken to ensure an inclusive approach throughout the new EC curriculum and as
policies are considered and developed.
Outcome 4: An inclusive education approach mainstreamed through teacher policies,

teacher education curriculum, and Education College Continuous Professional
Development (CPD) programs
Baseline Target
PI4.1. Updated curriculum, syllabi and textbooks demonstrate n/a Yes Meets target
awareness on gender equality, human rights, and peace education
PI4.2. Updated teacher policies demonstrate awareness on gender n/a Yes Approaching target
equality, human rights and peace education30
PI4.3. CPD programme demonstrates awareness on gender n/a Yes Approaching target
equality, human rights and peace education
PI4.4. Teacher educators, policy makers and MoE officials promote n/a Yes Meets target
an inclusive approach in teacher education
Output 4.1: Baseline assessments on inequalities in teacher education in Myanmar informing the
teacher education reform process
Baseline Target
PI4.1.1. Baseline assessments of inequalities in teacher education n/a In use Approaching target
conducted and informing planning of reform activities
PI4.1.2. Inclusion issues mainstreamed into policy, curriculum, and n/a Yes Meets target
training programmes across Outcome 1-3 project activities
30 The criteria for exception of disability has been removed from the recruitment policy of student teachers at Education Colleges. The
discriminatory practice in selecting industrial science and domestic science, only for boys and only for girls respectively, was removed
as a policy in 2018 – 2019 academic year.

Output 4.2: Ministry of Education and Education College staff supported in capacity building and
promotion of inclusive approach in teacher education
Baseline Target
PI4.2.1. CCT members are supported during the curriculum n/a Yes Meets target
development workshops to include gender equality, human rights
and peace education throughout materials
PI4.2.2. Awareness raising and training modules on gender n/a Draft Approaching target
mainstreaming, gender and education, gender sensitive pedagogy
teacher hand book, peace education and human rights in CPD
programme for MoE staff, ECs staff and CCT members to implement
inclusive approach in teacher education
During Phase II, the Year 1 EC curriculum was reviewed by UNESCO International Bureau of Education
(IBE), who provided advice on how to better integrate an inclusive education approach to the materials,
and through a gender equality lens by the Gender Working Group. IBE’s comments were focused on
inclusive pedagogy and the use of language across the curriculum. In the introductory sections of all
Year 1 teacher educator guides, a section on “Gender equality and inclusivity in classroom” was added to
provide general guidance to inclusive practice.
Four workshops on education for peace and sustainable development (EPSD) have been held with 25
CCT members and members of the basic education curriculum development team. EPSD workshop
participants reviewed the first draft of the Year 2 curriculum, which will also be reviewed by the Gender
Working Group.
The comprehensive teacher policy has not been drafted, but discussions about inclusion continue to be
part of teacher policy discussions.
The CPD programme has not been initiated. However, the training manual for gender mainstreaming in
teacher education was finalized in 2019 and trainings on HIV/AIDS awareness and sexuality education for
student teachers and Life Skills subject teacher educators were delivered to 23 ECs from July to August
2019. Both will be integrated in training modules on inclusion to be part of CPD.
STEM has acted as a platform to promote discussions around issues of equity and inclusion. In interviews,
teacher educators, policy makers and MoE officials have demonstrated a young, but growing, awareness
of the importance of inclusive education, acknowledging the importance of access to quality education for
all. There are plans in place to work on the development of an EPSD online module, including a chapter
on equity, to raise additional awareness among teacher educators. MoE officials coordinate with state/
region basic education offices to identify teacher needs and to recruit teachers with increased attention
to local needs.MoE has made key changes to the admission criteria for student teachers, in an attempt to
promote greater inclusion and equity. A prior policy position that made persons with disabilities ineligible
for admission has been removed.
The assessment report on gender equality in teacher education was approved by DHE, translated into
Myanmar language, and is ready for publication. The findings of this report, along with advocacy by STEM
led to a change in who was eligible to pursue certain specialisation subjects. Since 2019, male and female
student teachers are allowed to choose either industrial or domestic science. Prior to this, the latter was
only offered to females, while industrial science was only available to males.
In 2019, a comprehensive inclusive education mapping was conducted through 50 stakeholders interviews
and the profiling of 37 national and international organizations involved directly or indirectly in activities
related to inclusive education in the formal sector. STEM is taking into account recommendations from the

mapping to include teaching strategies and classroom considerations for local languages, local histories,
local geography, and other topics, with an overall aim to make education more inclusive in the teacher
education curriculum as well as giving more considerations to building bridges with complementary
education systems.
Inclusion issues are also being mainstreamed in curriculum through directly addressing inclusive
education, disability inclusion, and peace education in the Educational Studies student teacher textbooks,
as well as mainstreaming an inclusive education approach throughout all textbooks and teacher educator
guides. Over 98 per cent teacher educators participated in capacity development for inclusive education
during the training for teacher educators to prepare for the Year 1 curriculum implementation in October
and November 2019. As part of Year 2 curriculum process, both inclusion and gender frameworks were
developed, and all student teacher textbooks and teacher educator guides were reviewed against the
indicators of the frameworks. An inclusion webinar was also held in May 2020 to strengthen the capacities
of the CCT and the curriculum authors in mainstreaming inclusion across the curriculum. The draft national
CPD framework for ECs being developed has a specific focus on equity.
Relevance: Myanmar has committed to the SDGs and the MSDP 2018-2030. With this
comes a commitment to increased equity within the education system to leave no one
behind. Issues of inclusion and equity have not historically been a priority for the
MoE, but there is a growing understanding that quality education is education that
is inclusive. Nonetheless, there are still systemic, social and political barriers to
inclusion and equity which are regarded as sensitive such as MTB-MLE, recognition
of ethnic education, gender equality, sexuality education and persons with disabilities.
CCT members have demonstrated interest in deepening their skills in mainstreaming
inclusion in the EC curriculum.
Effectiveness: The very existence of Outcome 4 within STEM has promoted dialogue with
the MoE on issues of inclusion and EPSD. The CCT members who have been trained in
EPSD are enthusiastic proponents of education for peace and sustainable development,
and the Gender Working Group has also been proactive advocates for gender equality
within the new EC curriculum. All textbooks and teacher educator guides mainstream
inclusive education approaches with targeted content on EPSD and inclusion also
included in relevant subject textbooks (Life Skills, Educational Studies). The recent
assessments of equity and inclusion at policy and EC levels fill in a gap in evidence and
will be a useful tool for promoting ongoing dialogue and discussion.
Sustainability: Through STEM, templates and guides – including guidance and frameworks
for mainstreaming inclusion -- are being created to help make processes more sustainable
as the MoE can use these tools in the future. There is now a unit in Educational Studies
focused on peace education every year, ensuring that each cohort of student teachers
has a grounding in EPSD. The CPD programme will have a strong focus on inclusion,
enabling teacher educators and EC managers to pass on the competencies needed
to promote whole-school approaches to inclusion to student teachers. Additionally,
recognising that there is a need for a common vision and understanding of inclusive
education at DHE and other departments of MoE to sustain inclusive approaches, a
policy dialogue will be organised by STEM to create a space for relevant stakeholders
to discuss and come up with a shared understanding of inclusion. When there is a shared
vision on inclusion, this will further ensure mainstreaming inclusion into curriculum.

Perspectives: Teacher Educator and CCT Member,
Helen Mark
Helen Mark is a teacher educator at Loikaw EC in Kayah State. She began teaching
at ECs in 2016, but she has worked as a teacher for over 11 years.
Helen Mark’s experiences growing up as part of a minority ethnic group in Kayah

State taught her first-hand the importance of countering gender bias and stereotypes.
In her community, it’s traditional that only males are able to inherit the family
properties. Members of her community that wish to marry someone of a different
ethnicity often face family and community excommunication. She has felt the effects
of cultural and religious discrimination her whole life. For these reasons, Helen Mark
believes that gender equality is important, and that issues of equality must be taught
in the classroom: “I teach students that diversity is not a problem and to respect the
different cultural values.”
Helen Mark also had some background understanding of Education for Sustainable
Development (ESD), gained during her Masters’ degree studies in 2015. Through
the STEM training, however, she came to better understand how EPSD can be
integrated into classroom lessons. “It’s very good to have modules on EPSD in the new curriculum,” she said, “That
way students can continue to learn more about it in the coming years as well.” She also feels it is crucial for teachers
who studied under the old curriculum to understand EPSD.
While EPSD was a component of the orientation training in the new curriculum, Helen Mark feels that more training
for teacher educators in this area is needed: “I share with other teacher educators what I have learned about
EPSD, but it would be great international experts can come and give more trainings on how to integrate EPSD into
classroom lessons.”

Perspectives: CCT member (Social Studies)
and Teacher Edcuator, Daw Thu Zar Shein
Daw Thu Zar Shein is the Vice-Principal of Myaungmya Education College and a
CCT member for the social studies subject area.
Through her involvement in STEM, Daw Thu Zar Shein has come to understand
the importance of gender equality: “Education is a basic human right and gender
equality is fundamental to its full realization. So, girls and boys need to have equal
access to learning opportunities.” She said that it’s been exciting, through STEM,
to learn about gender issues that she didn’t realize before including key concepts
around sex, gender, gender stereotypes, gender roles, gender division of labour,
gender discrimination, gender inequality, and gender-based violence.
In working to mainstream gender equality in the EC curriculum materials, Daw Thu

Zar Shein said that she analyses whether there are gender equality perspectives in
the content, the teaching and learning approaches, the language, the illustrations
and graphic design, and the assessment. She is able to do this based on what she
learned from the gender awareness sessions provided by the STEM project.
“As a teacher educator, I also apply my learning by making sure there is equal participation of all male and female
student in the classroom and that they get equal chances to contribute,” said Daw Thu Zar Shein. “I can also
emphasize that thinking about gender equality issues should apply in staff management matters too.”
Daw Thu Zar Shein would like to see more awareness raised that policies on gender need to be included and
implemented at every stage in teacher education. “It should be a prioritized plan to include gender and inclusive
education in the CPD Framework,” she noted. “We need training programmes and awareness sessions about gender
equality for teacher education policymakers, senior officers from the ECs, teacher educators, and management staff.
We should also have knowledge sharing programmes about gender and education for all pre-service and in-service
teachers through social media and public and private media channels.”

From STEM’s Phase II work to mainstream equity and inclusion in all other outcome areas, the following
four lessons learnt have been identified:
1. Trust must be built to expand the circle of inclusion. Representatives from complementary
education providers participated in the TCSF validation study surveys and case studies (Mon
and Kayin, respectively). However, setting up this limited engagement alone required the pursuit
of several different pathways for contact before the two groups agreed to be a part of the study.
Both the MoE and some complementary education providers have hesitations around greater
interaction and collaboration. These concerns need to be better understood and then strategically
and mindfully addressed.
EC management and teacher educators have also expressed concern that persons with disabilities
will not be able to effectively serve as teacher role models. This prevailing perception needs to
be countered for ECs to become more inclusive of student teachers and teacher educators with
disabilities.
2. While the content of the textbooks and teacher educator guides is increasingly inclusive,
the pedagogy used is equally important. Inclusive content needs to be taught using inclusive
methods so as not to undermine the ideas. Teacher educators have shown an openness to new
ways of teaching. Their understanding and ability to shift their own practices will need to be
consistently fostered through professional development and peer support.
3. If regional projects are embedded within STEM, the aims and activities of these projects
must fully align with STEM priorities. STEM is part of a regional gender in teacher education
project, managed through the UNESCO Bangkok office. This project served as a useful impetus
and funding source for the conduct of the gender needs assessment in teacher education and the
establishment of the Gender Working Group. At this stage, however, the regional project appears
to have stalled due to personnel issues at the regional level and concerns over the third component
on developing a gender in teacher education module. STEM has stipulated that any module
development needs to fit within the CPD Framework for ECs, and it remains to be seen if this can
be accommodated with the regional project. In general, engagement with regional initiatives needs
to be strategic so that they add value to the core STEM objectives.
4. Concrete frameworks and guidance can help stakeholders better understand new concepts
such as inclusive education. The four ESD pillars seem to be an effective tool to help the core
EPSD team integrate sustainable development into the curriculum. The EPSD CCT members
often refer to this framework as they work on subject syllabi, textbooks, and teacher educator
guides. STEM is also working on more explicit templates for authors as practical guides to help
them mainstream inclusion and equity in the curriculum materials.
Future work
Immediate next steps for work under Outcome 4 include a series of webinars, facilitated by international
consultants, to support curriculum writers from the 14 subject groups to mainstream inclusion within their
subjects. UNESCO will also be holding an online discussion to determine the criteria for selecting ECs to
be Centres of Excellence for EPSD – an initiative that will be introduced in Phase III.
In STEM Phase III, UNESCO plans to continue to work towards ‘policy, management, teaching and
learning in pre-service teacher education that is more inclusive, equitable, and oriented to promotion of

peace and sustainable development,’ through:
• Researching with civil society and complementary education providers to understand their position
on key policy issues and the TCSF.
• Piloting initiative on education integration at the township level to better understand and identify
ways that the MoE and complementary education providers can work together.
• Providing advice and review of the EC curriculum for inclusion.
• Designing and implementing CPD on inclusion in close consultation with DHE and ECs to avoid
duplication of on-going efforts by TREE.
• Establishing individual ECs as Centres of Excellence in specific areas of inclusive education.
• Assisting ECs and the DHE to set up mechanisms and processes for identifying and reducing
barriers to inclusion.
• Building capacity for the systematic collection, analysis and usage of disaggregated data on
access and participation in ECs.
• Consult DHE on conducting a pilot project that actively recruits student teachers from under-
represented groups into ECs.
STEM’s Anticipated Impact on Myanmar’s Teacher

Education Sector
The true impact of STEM on teacher education in Myanmar will need to be evaluated over the medium- to
long-term – as comprehensive, equitable policies on teachers are developed and enacted; as the TCSF is
rolled out as a tool for professional growth for teachers nationwide; and as graduates of the four-year EC
degree take up posts as primary and middle school teachers across the country.
STEM directly benefits EC student teachers, teacher educators, and management staff as well as the
DHE. In numbers, at present, the project impacts approximately 2,538 EC staff (1,829 teacher educators
and over 700 non-teaching staff). Yearly, approximately 3,500 student teachers will graduate (the first
cohort of four-year degree programme student teachers will graduate in 2023). These student teachers,
after graduation, will provide better quality of basic education to over nine million students across the
country.
Three aspects of STEM’s work to date are regularly flagged by stakeholders as already making a difference
in Myanmar’s teacher education system:
1. The Teacher Competency Standards Framework (TCSF) for Beginning Level teachers is
completed and validated. In the process of development, the MoE has shown significant degrees
of ownership and commitment to stakeholder participation through State and Region-level
consultations that engaged nearly 3,000 education officials and teachers. The TCSF will impact
the 400,000-person teacher workforce nationwide and will have long-term impact on teaching and
learning and on teacher professional development.
2. The roll-out of the new Year 1 curriculum in all ECs represents a major shift in the way
teachers are trained in Myanmar. The duration of pre-service teacher education is now in line
with international standards. The curriculum is competency-based and allows for specialization
in primary or middle school teaching. Monitoring visits have shown that both teacher educators
and student teachers are enthusiastic and positive about the curriculum; there is increasingly
active teaching and learning taking place and growing awareness of inclusive education. This
is expected to be strengthened further as teacher educators feel more comfortable with the new
curriculum and gain greater confidence in applying the new teaching methods as they continue to
implement the 4-year curriculum.
3. STEM’s Phase I and Phase II investment in ICT is bearing fruit. Many ICT teacher educators have
grown into confident peer leaders; other CCT members are also becoming more comfortable using
ICT – this has enabled activities to continue online to a significant degree during the COVID-19
pandemic. The E-library shows great promise in increasing access to quality teaching and learning
resources and professional development opportunities.
These three components of STEM alone are already resulting in shifts in the way teachers are perceived
and trained in Myanmar. Over time, they will make a major difference in the Myanmar’s teaching and
learning landscape. STEM Phase II activities have fostered:
• A common understanding of what effective teaching in Myanmar looks like through the development
and validation of the TCSF.
• Emphasis on communication and consultation through participatory processes and information
sharing (see the section on ‘Communication’ below).
• Realization of the importance of primary-level teachers through introduction of specialization
tracks and proposed changes to the promotion system. Incidentally, a little more than half of the
500 student teachers surveyed reported that they intend to teach primary school level.
• Promotion of learner-centred teaching that is inclusive and differentiated through the new EC
curriculum.
• Emphasis on formative assessment to monitor and encourage learning through the new EC
curriculum. The most frequently used types of assessments reported on the survey of over 100
teacher educators were all formative: Q&A, observation, journal log/reflection paper, and peer
assessment.
• Understanding of the importance of reflection and practice in teacher preparation. Initial monitoring
visits indicate that more practice is happening with opportunities for reflection still an area for
further strengthening.
• Promotion of collaboration and discussion in classrooms. Within EC classrooms, high levels of
interaction were reported through the monitoring visits – a striking shift from the predominate
former use of lecture and memorization-dominated methodologies.
• Growing understanding that quality education is education for all. Awareness of the importance
of equity and inclusion can still be significantly deepened, but a surface-level understanding is
present, thanks to messaging mainstreamed throughout the new curriculum.
• Increasing use of ICT as a tool for communication, professional development, management, and
teaching and learning. ECs now have the infrastructure and equipment to increasingly use ICT for
learning and administration. ICT teacher educators have been able to support their colleagues,
and use of ICT is expected to continue to increase – as necessitated at present due to COVID-19
and also encouraged with the development of the E-library and E-learning platform.
• Expanded representation in teacher education reforms. STEM has always advocated for inclusive,
participatory processes. The project has been able to engage a wider range of stakeholders at
policy and curriculum development workshops and events. In Phase III, additional efforts will be
made to understand and respond to complementary education providers.

Perspectives: Deputy Director General, Department of Higher Education,
Dr. May San Yee
Dr. May San Yee is Deputy Director General of DHE and works closely with the
UNESCO STEM team as the MoE’s focal person for the project.
According to Dr. May San Yee, there have been many changes in teacher education
in Myanmar, based on the Comprehensive Education Sector Review and the NESP
2016-2021. In the past, teachers would begin to work after completing the two-year
diploma and then need an additional four years of distance education in order to earn
a degree, delaying their promotion opportunities and learning process. The new EC
programme will allow them to earn a degree in four years and also to specialize in
primary or middle school education.
In collaboration with the STEM project, there have been a number of successful
shifts in teacher education in recent years. In Dr. May San Yee’s view, these have
included the development of the TCSF for beginner level and the introduction of
the TCSF to DBE teachers in all States and Regions across the country. “The new
EC curriculum has been developed, and we provided training for teacher educators
for Year 1, Semester 1,” said Dr. May San Yee. “We were also able to conduct two
seminars on the comprehensive teacher policy (2017 and 2018) and create the Teacher Task Force before building
the Teacher Education Council.” Dr. May San Yee also mentioned the formation of the CPD Working Group and
development of the CPD Framework for ECs.
Although admitting she initially had concerns about her role in working with international partners, Dr, May San Yee
says she is proud of the work she has done for teacher education reform and its importance for the future teachers
of the country: “I really thank the STEM team for the continuous support as it is too much work to take on alone due
to workload and time limits. I am grateful for their support of the action plan for the whole year. I acknowledge that
we were able to go this far thanks to STEM support.”
Dr. May San Yee noted that, at present, the actual involvement in the EC curriculum development rests about 75 per
cent on STEM and 25 per cent on the MoE. This is something that should shift to 50/50 in the future and is a concern
for Dr. May San Yee. She also wants to see the capacity of teacher educators and HR personnel at ECs raised. “Only
a small per cent of staff at ECs are active, innovative, and motivated,” she said, noting that the CCT members are
the ones with the higher levels of capacity and understanding. In terms of HR, many senior staff have retired, and it
is difficult to find the right staff with the right backgrounds and abilities.
Raising the capacity of HR and administration and ongoing curriculum development and continuous professional
development are the teacher education priorities going forward, according to Dr. May San Yee. “We cannot stop the
curriculum development for teacher education and must continue to ongoing professional development after the
four-year programme has been developed.”

Overall Project Sustainability
At its heart, STEM’s approach to sustainability is based on the
idea of working alongside the MoE through national counterparts
and working groups, helping to strengthen capacity at individual,
organizational, and institutional levels. STEM’s intentionality
towards building capacity can be seen in the 381 direct contact
workshop or meeting days over the past three years (over one
third of the total project time/days). No STEM activity is done in
isolation, but rather through participatory processes that engage
the MoE as the duty bearers and owners of all reform efforts.
More than anything, STEM Phase II has been characterized by

positive and intensive engagement with the MoE towards the
realization of STEM outcomes. This level of interaction is made
possible by the long-term and committed national leads for each
STEM outcome area, who interact with DHE and EC personnel
on a nearly daily basis.
The specific ways in which the MoE has taken up activities

under each outcome area are covered in the sections above.
See the section on ‘Planning, oversight, and governance’ below
for information on the STEM Steering Committee, an MoE-led
decision-making body that helps ensure that the MoE is driving
STEM activities and priorities and monitoring results.
As discussed in earlier sections, STEM Phase II has directly

aligned with the priorities and strategies in NESP 2016-2021.
Phase III will continue with this approach as the NESP II is
developed. Phase III is also based on the STEM Strategic
Programme document that provides a six-year strategy to
support teacher education reforms in Myanmar in line with
national and global frameworks.
The STEM Strategic Programme Document and all programme

documentation makes it clear that the role of STEM vis-à-vis
the MoE is to provide target technical and capacity building
support for MoE-identified priorities that they, in the short term,
are not able to fill. The strategy also suggests exit criteria which
STEM will continue to support the MoE and other stakeholders
to progressively move towards; the achievement of these
exit criteria indicate a high likelihood that the impacts and
achievements of STEM will be sustained and built upon following
the conclusion of the project.
58 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR

MYANMAR 2020
V. Management and
Implementation Systems
Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (ME&L)
The framework for monitoring the STEM project is the six-year Results Framework, which was revised
early in Phase II to better capture progress towards outputs and intermediate outcomes. The Results
Framework, in its current form, focuses largely on the effectiveness of project components in achieving
the desired outputs and outcomes in a sustainable manner.
The Results Framework is being revised again for Phase III of the project – firstly, to respond to the
reduced funding situation, as thus far only one donor has committed funding and secondly, to include
indicators that allow for an assessment of Value for Money (see the section, below). Consequently, STEM
has also revised the Theory of Change for the project as it moves ahead to Phase III, the applicability of
which is discussed in the section on ‘Challenges and Lessons Learnt.’
A full-time ME&L Specialist joined the STEM team in early 2020 to help provide a ‘whole project’ focus on
monitoring across outcome areas and in line with a recommendation in the Mid-term Evaluation of Phase
II. At present, STEM outcome leads report monthly on activities, outputs, and steps taken to mainstream
equity and inclusion. Annually, STEM produces a report to summarize progress and lessons learnt. An
external Mid-term Evaluation of Phase II was conducted in 2019, and STEM has been and will continue
to be responsive in addressing the recommendations from this evaluation, as highlighted throughout this
report. A detailed assessment of progress made against the MTE recommendations, as at 30th June 2020,
is presented in Annex C.
The monitoring of the Year 1 curriculum has included four rounds of EC visits (with each EC visited twice)
with the conduct of a teacher educator and student teacher survey and classroom observations. These
results are being used to guide the curriculum development, training, and implementation going forward.
Feedback from participants is gathered via surveys after every training or event. This feedback is then
summarized and used to inform and adjust project activities. Due to COVID-19, many training sessions
and workshops are taking place using online modalities which call for a continuous assessment of how
effectively these enable participants to meet the desired learning outcomes. Surveys administered to
participants now include questions regarding their experience with online modalities – such as, adequacy
of internet connectivity, the facilitator’s capacity to adapt instruction mechanisms to a distance-learning
environment, challenges experienced and their experience engaging in virtual breakout groups. Based on
the responses received this will enable STEM team leads to adapt accordingly to ensure that quality is not
compromised.
STEM has identified areas for further strengthening of ME&L practices going forward including additional
analysis and usage of disaggregated data on access and participation in ECs and modalities to streamline
internal data collection and management.

Planning, Governance, and Oversight
Governance
UNESCO Myanmar is a project office under the administrative and technical oversight of the UNESCO
Regional Bureau in Bangkok. UNESCO Myanmar makes decisions on the day-to-day programme
implementation with administrative oversight from the Regional Bureau in Bangkok and Headquarters.
The STEM Steering Committee was established under Phase II to provide project oversight and ensure
strong linkages between the department involved in teacher education. The STEM Steering Committee
comprises of the Union Minister of Education, the DG of DHE, the DDG of DHE and representatives from
DBE, DERPT, NEPC, NCC, NAQAC, STEM donors, and UNESCO, with UNESCO serving as Secretariat
of the Committee. Observer members from UoEs, ECs, and STEM-supported Working Groups are invited
to meetings, if relevant given the agenda. The first Steering Committee meeting was in February 2018,
and the Committee has met on a quarterly basis since that time.
As pre-service teacher education falls under the mandate of DHE, the department serves as the main
focal point for planning, coordination, and implementation of STEM project activities. In particular,
UNESCO works closely with the DDG of DHE, who plays active roles in the planning and conduct of all
STEM activities, including providing leadership and technical inputs for the development of the TCSF and
national CPD framework for teacher educators and management staff, revisions to the EC curriculum, ICT
in teacher education initiatives, and equity and inclusion assessments and activities.
Since Phase II, DHE has been taking greater ownership through in-kind contributions of venues, printing
costs and participants’ allowances for workshops and meetings. As of Phase III, DHE has also agreed
to assume the curriculum finalization costs which will include translation into Myanmar, copyediting, and
layout and design of the textbooks and teacher guides. Discussions are also underway for DHE to take
on some of the curriculum development cost of contracting directly the local authors. STEM will continue
to provide the technical expertise and ensure the quality assurance of all the curriculum materials working
closely with the CCT.
UNESCO is also accountable to the donors of the STEM project, namely the Governments of Finland,
Australia, and the United Kingdom as well as its own Organizational protocols and guidelines. The STEM
team regularly consults and shares information with the project donors, who also sit on the Steering
Committee, through email and in-person meetings. The STEM project adheres to UNESCO’s rules and
regulations for budgeting, contracting, and reporting as well as mainstreaming gender and inclusion.
Risk Management
As an organization, UNESCO convenes a Risk Management Committee that conducts annual reviews
of corporate risks and identifies new threats/opportunities in light of the current context, latest trends,
and findings from oversight bodies such as the Internal Oversight Service, External Auditor, and Joint
Inspection Unit. The results of this review are submitted to UNESCO Senior Management Teams for
discussion and then to the Director-General for final approval.
For STEM, UNESCO Myanmar prepares risk analyses and a risk mitigation plan as part of the project
proposals; see both the Phase II and Phase III project proposals. In response to the COVID-19 global
pandemic, an updated risk matrix was prepared with appropriate mitigation plans to guarantee the safety
and well-being of staff and the continuity of STEM activities without adverse disruption. As a general
principle, UNESCO Myanmar handles operational risks internally and through discussion with the STEM

Steering Committee. The escalation of risks from an operational level for consideration and treatment at
the corporate level is detailed in UNESCO’s Risk Management Policy.
STEM is part of wider UN strategy for Myanmar, as well as part of UNESCO’s global strategy on education.
Additionally, UNESCO is a member of the UN Country Team (UNCT) in Myanmar which regularly assess
risk management of UN operations in the country following its internal protocols and procedures in this
regard. As mentioned above, as part of the UN system, UNESCO has a strong budget management
system, with financial auditing undertaken annually by external auditors which is shared with the UN
General Assembly and made publicly available.
Due to the strong commitment from the Government and MoE to improve the quality of teaching in the
ECs and the positive reputation that STEM has gained through Phase I implementation, Phase II of the
project was deemed to be a low risk/high benefit project, and it is anticipated that Phase III will retain this
same categorization. The project continues to be justified by the scale of its broad impact at the systems
level and across all ECs.
UNESCO will continue to pursue discussions on risk management with the STEM Steering Committee
on an as needed and iterative basis going forward, based on the risk analysis presented in the project
documentation.
Safeguarding
As an organization, UNESCO has policies and practices in place to ensure a ‘do no harm’ ethic to all
activities.
UNESCO endeavours to protect the quality and diversity of the environment, and Suppliers have the
obligation to comply with the UNESCO General Conditions, which contain certain specific provisions
on social responsibility. Since the UNESCO General Conditions form an integral part of every contract
between UNESCO and a supplier, the supplier, by signing the contract with UNESCO, confirms that they
adhere to the provisions of the General Conditions. Moreover, the UN is committed to doing business
only with those suppliers sharing its values of respect for fundamental human rights, social justice, and
human dignity, and respect for the equal rights of men and women, enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations. Suppliers have the duty to respect prohibitions regarding child labour, mines production and
sexual exploitation, as well as key obligations concerning health and safety, working conditions, freedom
of association, environment, non-discrimination, human rights, and anti-corruption measures. The above
environmental considerations and social responsibility expectations are included in the Administrative
Manual for all staff.
UNESCO has zero tolerance for acts of sexual abuse and exploitation and an Organization-wide policy
on protection against sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) is in place and being implemented. The
PSEA Coordinator has been the Ethics Adviser since 2015. Staff members have received in-person 3-day
training on human rights principles and an inclusive work environment by the Ethics Advisor in December
2019. They have also completed the online mandatory training on PSEA.
STEM Phase II did not impact any key natural resources or areas of important wildlife, nor did it negatively
impact the well-being of indigenous peoples or specific social groups or people with protected characteristics
and their land. To the contrary, the project works to promote and mainstream inclusive education on
human rights, peace education and education for sustainable development into different outcome areas of
the project. No funding or activities caused safety concerns for people living in affected communities or for
any contracted workers that might be impacted by the implementation of the project.

UNESCO abides by several policies and documents that lay out the standards and guide for human-
rights based programming that safeguards all stakeholders. These include Standards of Conduct for the
International Civil Service and UNESCO Regulations and Rules, which are widely disseminated both in
the Field and at Headquarters.
Staffing
UNESCO Myanmar is a project office under the Regional Bureau in Bangkok. UNESCO Myanmar makes
decisions on programme implementation with technical and administrative support from the Regional
Bureau in Bangkok and Headquarters.
The Head of UNESCO Myanmar Office is a UNESCO fixed-term staff member. The Head of UNESCO
Myanmar Project Office oversees the management of the office on the day-to-day basis and monitors the
implementation of all projects and has regular meetings with the project managers. The STEM project
manager monitors the implementation of the project and addresses programme management issues. With
the transfer of the project manager, the Head of Office has taken the responsibility of providing guidance
to the STEM team with the support of the finance and budget officer and the senior national programme
officer. In addition to the project manager, the STEM Phase II team comprised of four national project
officers, who were leading each of the outcome areas, two associate national project officers, 3 programme
assistants and two international specialists in inclusion and M&E, and in curriculum respectively.
The STEM project team holds internal weekly meetings to go over programme implementation progress
and discuss and propose way forward on any issues raised.
STEM Coordination and Partnerships

UNESCO is a visible and active member in the coordination mechanisms, put in place under the NLD
government, to support cohesive partnerships between the MoE and Development Partners. These groups
include: the overarching Education Technical and Vocational Sector Coordination Group (ETVSCG),
which has representation across MoE departments and DPs, and the seven Sub-Sector Working Groups
(SSWG), including the Teacher Education and Management SSWG. Within these Working Groups, STEM
jointly presents with the MoE on the initiatives supported by STEM as a means of information-sharing,
consultation, and consensus-building among key stakeholders.
STEM’s working relationships within the MoE extend beyond its focal points in the Section of Teacher
Education and Training of the Department of Higher Education (DHE) to officials from the DBE and
DERPT. To foster collaboration and clear communication across departments and bodies, workshops
and meetings are deliberately inclusive. For example, beyond the CCT and DHE, activities pertaining
to the curriculum development often include participants from DBE, DPERT, the BoS, NEPC, UoEs and
Development Partners (see below). This is also in line with recommendations in the Mid-Term Evaluation
of Phase II to clarify roles and lines of communication between all actors in curriculum development and
teacher education reforms.
In STEM Phase II, UNESCO also worked with the following partners:
• UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP): IIEP has supported STEM in
simulation model development and trainings to project teacher needs in Myanmar.
• University of College London (UCL): UCL supported STEM by providing training for CCT
members in 2017 as well as inputs into the subject syllabi.

• International Teacher Task Force on Teachers:
As of April 2019, the International Task Force on
Teachers for Education 2030 – which focuses on
advocacy, knowledge creation and sharing, and country
support and engagement – includes 137 members
from Governments, intergovernmental organizations,
international non-governmental organizations, bilateral
and multilateral international development agencies and
global private sector organizations and foundations.31
With STEM’s Phase II support, the Myanmar TTF is is
considering becoming a member and has participated in
annual meetings and policy dialogue forums to exchange
ideas on teacher policy development.
• Myanmar Education Quality Improvement Program
(My-EQIP): My-EQIP was a partner in conducting the
validation study of the TCSF. In the future, there may
be additional partnership opportunities related to the
quality assurance of ECs with linkages to School Quality
Assurance Standards Framework (SQASF).
• Asia Development Bank (ADB), Equipping Youth
for Employment (EYE) project implementing
organisations, and Secondary Curriculum
Development Team (CDT): STEM works closely with
ADB, the EYE implementing firms, and the Secondary
CDT to ensure alignment of the new middle school
curriculum (Grades 6-12) and the EC curriculum.
• Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
Curriculum Reform at Primary Level of Basic
Education (CREATE) Project and Primary Curriculum
Development Team (CDT): STEM collaborates with
the JICA CREATE team and Primary CDT to ensure
alignment of the new primary school curriculum and EC
curriculum.
• UNICEF and Local Curriculum Committee members
by State/Region: STEM consults with UNICEF and
Local Curriculum Committees at State/Region level
to ensure alignment between the KG curriculum, local
curriculum, and the new EC curriculum.
• Towards Results in Education and English
(TREE) Project Implementing Organizations: The
implementing organizations under the DFID-funded
TREE project’s implementing organizations – namely,
the British Council, VSO, Open University and Montrose
– plan to support English, inclusion, CPD, and research
within ECs. TREE will provide additional ground-level
assistance in line with the CPD framework for ECs
developed through STEM. STEM meets regularly with
TREE partners to ensure the activities of STEM and
TREE align and complement with each other.
31 In ASEAN, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand

and Viet Nam are members.
UNESCO MYANMAR
MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 63
• Local Organizations and Associations for Special Needs Education: Representatives from
associations supporting special needs education in Myanmar such as Myanmar Special Education
Association participated in STEM activities to ensure that the EC curriculum prepares student
teachers to provide quality education to children with special needs.
• International and National Academic Experts: International academic experts are engaged by
STEM to draft, review and advise on EC curriculum materials, providing quality assurance in line
with international good practices. National academic experts are engaged by STEM to provide
input, review, and advise on curriculum materials, to providing guidance on the contextualization
and alignment with the standards of other Myanmar educational institutions.
• Myanmar Teacher Federation: STEM works with the Myanmar Teacher Federation in the areas
of teacher policy and the TCSF. The Myanmar Teacher Federation has posted about STEM work
on the TCSF on their Facebook page. UNESCO will continue to collaborate with the Teacher
Federation to raise awareness on the rights and responsibilities of teachers.
• Ethnic Service Providers: UNESCO is member of Ethnic Education in State and Region (EESR),
which was initiated by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency Myanmar (ADRA) and the
Myanmar Education Consortium (MEC) in mid-2018 in response to demand for a “safe and neutral
space” for dialogue and discussion relating to topics of mutual interest and coordination between
organizations supporting ethnic education in Myanmar.
• Myanmar Education Consortium (MEC): UNESCO coordinated with MEC – who support
the provision of education for marginalized, underserved children – and their partners for their
involvement in the development of the TCSF implementation plan. UNESCO will continue to work
with MEC to facilitate increasing levels of engagement between ethnic education providers and
the MoE .
• Mon National Education Committee (MNEC): MNEC provides educational services for children
in the Mon communities in Mon and Karen States and in the Taninthayi Region and Thai-Myanmar
Border Areas. UNESCO initiated to contact and engaged with MNEC for field testing the TCSF
in 2016. For the for TCSF validation study in 2019, UNESCO facilitated through the with MoE
for MNEC’s involvement in the study. UNESCO will continue to invite MNEC’s participation in
developing the TCSF implementation plan.
• South East Adventist Seminary (SEAS): SEAS, which is located in Hlaing Bwe, Kayin State,
provides education for children in its locality. SEAS participated in the TCSF case studies and,
through this, has increased its engagement with the Basic Education Office in Hlaing Bwe.
• Other National Institutions: STEM works with other policy bodies such as the TTF, BoS, NEPC,
NCC, and NAQAC. The description of these entities is highlighted in the ‘Analysis of the political
economy’ section of the report.
Project Communication, Outreach, and Visibility

One aspect of inclusive, human rights-based programming is ensuring that all stakeholders have access to
relevant, transparent information about teacher education reforms, as well as mechanisms for contributing
to development processes. UNESCO has worked to strengthen STEM communications, through the
appointment of a National Communications Officer (October 2019) and development of a needs-based
Communication Strategy, in line with the recommendations in the Phase II Mid-Term Evaluation. The
Communication Strategy was developed through participatory processes – including missions and
interviews at six geographically diverse ECs – and is based on the expressed and observed communication
needs of teacher education stakeholders.32 These measures have led to increased advocacy, visibility
and awareness of the STEM project as well as sensitisation on the new four-year degree curriculum
among its beneficiaries. This has helped to address questions raised in the MTE around the branding and
widespread impact of STEM communication initiatives.
32 ECs visited include: Yankin EC, Mandalay EC, Pathein EC, Taungoo EC, Thingangyun EC, and Myitkyina EC.

The following informational deliverables have been produced during Phase II to bolster understanding and
confidence in the teacher education reforms, raising their visibility with a range of stakeholders:
• Informational Kit and Information Brief on the teacher education reform process;
• Three animated videos on: education reform, EC curriculum development, and the TCSF;33
• “Great Schools Start with Teacher” feature story in the Myanmar Times;
• Video on teacher educator reform, showcased at the UN General Assembly and through UNESCO
Bangkok and UNESCO Myanmar’s social media network;34 and
• Other informational bursts through posters, Powerpoints, and photo essays, disseminated through
social media.35
Facebook has a wide membership within DHE and teacher educators and is an effective channel for
circulating information about STEM. At present, STEM shares information through three Facebook groups:
1. UNESCO – Strengthening Pre-service Teacher Education in Myanmar (STEM): This overarching

group has 1,539 members with additional membership requests being received on a daily basis.
This group is open to the public and acts as a platform to update wider audiences about the
development of the new curriculum or, more recently, information about the COVID-19 pandemic.
There were 700 direct shares of a post announcing that the new teacher educator guides and
student teacher textbooks for Semester 2 are available on the E-library.
2. Curriculum Development for Pre-service Teacher Education in Myanmar: This is a private group
with 295 members from the CCT and DHE. It is used for more targeted sharing of information
relevant to this group; for example, details about upcoming curriculum development workshops or
meetings.
3. Myanmar Education College ICT Teacher Educators: This is a private group with 125 members –
all ICT teacher educators and other stakeholders involved in ICT in Teacher Education. Through
this group, ICT teacher educators across the country network with each other for support and
resource sharing.
The E-library, which features a place to post ‘News’ is another channel for keeping teacher educators and
student teachers informed about ongoing activities and relevant updates.
In Phase II, STEM has raised the visibility of the project and its donors through consistent branding using
the STEM and donor logos on agendas, banners, and materials distributed at events. The E-library and
wider online learning portal will also be a platform for the logos associated with the project.
STEM activities are regularly covered in Myanmar radio and TV coverage, and these links are shared out
through UNESCO’s social media and webpages and available for the donors as well. On the UNESCO
website, STEM regularly posts media articles which always reference the STEM donors and share these
articles with the donors as well.
Improvements in communication within STEM are hindered at times by bureaucratic approval processes
that result in lengthy delays. Human resource constraints within DHE can also be felt in this area, and
communication and information can get lost in a stretched and unclear system for handling communication
and information.
33 See the curriculum development animated short at: https://www.facebook.com/kokhaingmye/videos/3441206242562586/

34 This STEM video can be viewed at: https://www.facebook.com/kokhaingmye/videos/3185800328103180/?t=4)
35 View the photo essay at: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VS6m2j3r4sG2U1tnc53MUGirdljYB2IC

UNESCO sees great potential for ECs in Myanmar to learn and support each other and, through STEM,
continues to look for ways to foster greater networking between ECs to share best practices and strategies.
UNESCO is also working on strategies to support clear communication channels between central-level
DHE and ECs – and where possible with complementary education providers – for better planning,
management, and curriculum delivery.
Financial Performance
Implementation of STEM Phase 2 began on 1 January 2017, with funding support of EUR 3.25 million
(approximately USD 3.46 million) from the Government of Finland. Funding support of USD 2.25 million
from the Government of Australia and USD 1 million from the Government of the United Kingdom was
further provided to UNESCO in April and September 2018 respectively. The funding support from the
Government of Finland ended on 31 December 2019. UNESCO is in the process of discussing with donors
for their possible financial support of Phase III of the project. The implementation rates (as percentage of
total expenditure) of the STEM Phase II funds as of October 2018 and December 2019 were as follows:36
Table 7. STEM Phase II implementation rates
Funding source Implementation rates Funding period

2018 2019
The Government of Finland 51.75% 99.18% January 2017 – December 2020
The Government of Australia 22.52% 95.95% April 2018 – June 2020
The Government of the 6.01% 88.60% September 2018 – August 2020

United Kingdom
UNESCO follows strict organizational administrative and financial management guidelines that include
a multi-layered approval process for the use of project funds. Records of all spending are meticulously
documented and subject to auditing processes. UNESCO reports regularly to senior management and the
project donor on funding disbursements.
The full certified Financial Status Report, including overview of disbursed and obligated funds, is provided
by UNESCO Headquarters as a separate attachment to each donor. The table below shows the expenditure
in 2019 by outcome areas contributed by different donors, MoE and UNESCO.
36 At the time of 2017 reporting, implementation of the allotted Year 1 funds from the Government of Finland was at 68 per cent (31
December 2017).

Expenditure from 2017 to 2019 by outcome areas contributed by different donors, MoE and UNESCO and budget estimates for 2020
NESP Expenditure (including obligated) Estimated budget from July
Components, STEM STEM Estimated budget from January 2020 to June 2020
from January 2017 to 31 December 2019 2020 to August 2020
Chapter 9: Outputs activities
Teachers Finland Australia UK UNESCO MoE Total Finland Australia UK UNESCO MoE Total UK UNESCO Total
NESP Strategy 1: Quality Assurance
and Management
STEM Outcome 1: Comprehensive
teacher policies informed by
international human rights, gender
UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

equality, and rights of teachers are 166,899 - - 126,692 15,010 308,602 6,000 - - 70,000 5,000 81,000 - 6,000 6,000
adopted, enabling implementation
of an updated competency-based
EC degree programme
NESP Strategy 2: Pre-Service
Teacher Education Quality
Improvement
STEM Outcome 2: ECs supply all
States/Regions with high quality,
specialised, primary and middle
school teachers trained through
an updated competency-based 1,443,472 945,189 235,599 104,670 100,000 2,828,930 45,020 185,046 121,941 26,100 10,000 388,107 21,434 10,000 31,434
curriculum, in line with international
norms and standards, that meets
the varied demands of diverse
learners in Myanmar
STEM Outcome 3: Increased
efficiency of human resource and
financial management systems in
98,235 20,165 12,392 39,561 - 170,352 - - 38,865 30,000 - 68,865 1,135 - 1,135
ECs supporting the implementation
of an updated competency-based
degree programme
STEM Outcome 4: Increased
awareness of issues of inclusion
in teacher education creating an
enabling environment for teacher
education reform to be developed 220,728 85,835 37,234 140,531 - 484,328 1,069 10,000 10,000 65,000 - 86,069 - 44,000 44,000
and implemented in line with
international standards on rights of
teachers, gender equality, human
rights, and peace education
Programme Management 944,836 440,203 144,498 86,471 - 300 152,065 147,749 - - 300,114 - - -
1,616,008
Monitoring and Evaluation 187,948 54,756 20,000 - - 262,704 21,707 40,000 - - - 61,707 50,649 - 50,649
Equipment and maintenance 157,440 49,690 39,127 - - 246,257 500 19,488 873 - - 20,861 - - -
Other expenses 36,756 19,384 13,719 - - 69,859 - 19,616 34,282 - - 53,898 - - -
Programme support costs 424,621 209,979 45,231 - - 679,831 - 48,871 37,338 - - 86,209 - - -
STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report

TOTAL 3,680,935 1,825,201 547,799 497,924 115,010 6,676,869 74,596 475,086 380,399 191,100 15,000 1,136,180 73,218 60,000 133,218
67
* This document is prepared by UNESCO Myanmar Project Office in order to provide the donors with an overview of multiple funding sources to the STEM project. This information is prepared
manually as the financial system cannot generate reports in this format.
The implementation rates of the total expenditure of the STEM Phase 2 funds as at 31 December 2019
are as follows:
Funding source Implementation rate Duration of agreement
The Government of Finland 99.18% January 2017 - December 2019

The Government of Australia 95.95% April 2018 - June 2020
The Government of the United Kingdom 88.60% September 2018 - August 2020
In addition to the funds from the Governments of Finland, Australia and the United Kingdom, UNESCO
funds contributed to Phase II under Outcome areas 1, 3 and 4, related to the TCSF validation study, the
development of the costed national resource plan for ECs and the fine-tuning of a simulation model for
calculating teacher needs; the work with UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok on Myanmar’s participation
in the regional gender equality in education initiative and the regional initiative to build capacity related to
ICT Competency Standards for teachers.
UNESCO also received funds as part of a joint UN project to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and sexuality
education and from UNESCO’s global initiative on promoting education for sustainable development.
UNESCO funds from the Headquarters and regional level will continue to be available to support the
implementation of the STEM project as indicated in the 2020 budget estimates (see table above).
Value for Money (VfM)

STEM has always strived to provide excellent value for money towards the greatest benefit for its many
layers of stakeholders – from DHE, to teacher educators, to student teachers, and ultimately to all students
in Myanmar. In response to a Phase II Mid-Term Evaluation recommendation, UNESCO has been working
towards better analysis of STEM’s VfM through the development of a Framework with VfM indicators,
structured around the ‘4Es’:
1. Economy: An analysis of the extent of which procured inputs are economical. This component
seeks to encourage cost consciousness and competition.
2. Efficiency: An analysis of the transformation of inputs, by sets of activities, to outputs. The focus
of this component is on evidence-based decision-making and proportionality (meaning that the
program is designed with a clear understanding of transaction costs, measured against the
potential benefits).
3. Effectiveness: An analysis of the whole results chain from inputs through to end of program
outcomes and/or impact. At present, the STEM Results Framework is largely focused on capturing
programme effectiveness, in line with Results-based Management. This component also includes
analysis of risks and of opportunities for innovation.
4. Equity: An analysis of how fairly the benefits of the programme are distributed and the extent to
which benefits will reach marginalised or vulnerable groups This may include analysis through the
lens of gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and geography amongst other factors.
A draft VfM Framework has been developed, shared with donors, and then revised based on donor
feedback. The revised draft will be further discussed with the Government of Finland to determine suitability
of use during Phase III. Once approved, the VfM indicators will be integrated into the Phase III Results
Framework and utilized to monitor STEM’s VfM, helping ensure the best use of resources to contribute to
positive and significant change.

Using the draft VfM Framework as a general guide, the following points speak to the VfM provided through
STEM Phase II:
Economy: UNESCO’s internal financial procedures are structured on the principle of best value for
money. In acquiring inputs for the project, UNESCO is required to demonstrate competitive processes by
advertising Requests for Proposals widely and providing comparative CVs and written justification of any
selected consultants. UNESCO’s procedures for evaluating proposals use both technical and financial
rubrics to quantify and select the contractor that represents the best value for money. UNESCO also places
caps on the daily and monthly rates it pays consultants – based on levels of experience and the type of
assignment – and on DSA, travel, and other expenses. UNESCO engages in Long Term Agreements
(LTAs) with selected service providers to increase cost efficiency following a competitive procurement
process which allows for the order of specified goods or services at a fixed price, at the best quality/price
ratio, on agreed terms and conditions, for a definite period of time but with no legal obligation to order any
minimum or maximum quantity. It is a cost efficient way for UNESCO to procure frequently needed goods
and services, since the competitive process is only carried out once, and the award process is simplified.
This leads to reduced transaction costs, decreased bidding and delivery times.
UNESCO seeks to leverage resources through partnerships to acquire project inputs. The MoE has
contributed significant in-kind resources for Phase II, including workshop venues, travel, and printing
costs. UNESCO has also brought in resources from the regional office and Headquarters in support of
STEM aims (as described in the financial management section above).
Plans to transfer cash to MOE through an Implementation Partners Agreement for payment of travel
allowances for EC participants of workshops was approved by DHE but it has been put on hold when
COVID-19 struck and all events moved online. Now with less funding under Phase III, discussions are
underway with DHE to include these costs in their annual budget.
Efficiency: STEM’s work planning is done in collaboration with DHE to ensure strategic alignment
of efforts towards efficient delivery of teacher education reforms. There have been low attrition rates
within the key groups through which STEM works – for example, the CCT or TCSF Working Group. The
consistent participation and inputs from the membership of these groups has allowed STEM’s capacity-
building approach to efficiently deliver on outputs.
STEM has been required to adjust budgets and workplans to best respond to the MoE’s priorities and
emergent needs. When this has been required, STEM project management has initiated transparent
discussions with the relevant donors and/or the Steering Committee. STEM produces an annual progress
report for the donors and MoE stakeholders, ensuring that monitoring results and lessons learnt are
regularly documented. The Steering Committee meets every quarter to discuss progress and challenges
and make decisions that allow STEM to efficiently move forward with activities.
Whenever possible, UNESCO conducts activities under multiple outcomes through one workshop or event,
allowing for more efficient travel and use of DHE and EC staff time; for example, using the curriculum
development forum as a platform for training in ICT or EPSD. The COVID-19 pandemic has required
activities to shift online, and this has worked well for activities, such as the curriculum workshops and
trainings or meetings with DHE. In the future, more online meetings may be held to save on travel time
and costs associated with in-person events.
Evidence of STEM’s progress from activities to outputs is presented throughout this report under each
outcome as well, showing that project activities are, in general, on a timely track towards full achievement
by 2022.

Effectiveness: As mentioned, STEM’s Results Framework is geared towards monitoring project
effectiveness. STEM Phase II outputs were deliberately aligned to the NESP, and Phase II has resulted
in a number of concrete products, including the TCSF for Beginner Level, an options paper on career
pathways, the CDP Framework for ECs, all Year 1 student teacher textbooks and teacher educators guides
(with Year 2 in progress), and the E-library. STEM’s capacity strengthening approach aims to effectively
embed all progress within government structures for sustainable achievement over the long term.
STEM has also been effective in building a cohort of participants from the CCT, TCSF Working Group, and
other related departments/bodies who participate in activities across STEM outcome areas. This helps
ensure an integrated approach to the different components and broadens the base of individuals who
understand the many facets of teacher education reform.
As highlighted in the section on coordination and partnerships, STEM regularly consults with other agencies
and donors and actively participates in Myanmar’s education sector coordination groups.
The STEM Phase II project document included a risk matrix, and the analysis of risks and mitigation
strategies is even more detailed in the Phase III project document. The STEM team keeps abreast of
all developments within the education sector (and teacher education, specifically) through extensive
communication and collaboration with DHE and EC Principals. Working so closely with the MoE allows
STEM to be responsive to the latest information and to adjust any activities as needed.
Equity: STEM records the participation of women and men in STEM activities such as workshops
and capacity building sessions and promotes gender balance whenever possible. In Phase II, STEM
conducted two assessments of equity and inclusion in teacher education, at policy and EC levels. These
assessments are an important first step in better understanding – and then responding – to existing
barriers to equity and inclusion, a major concern highlighted in the MTE. Ongoing exploration of these
issues will help UNESCO to better target its support through STEM to ensure that marginalised, or more
needy, groups benefit from the project.
Through the monitoring visits of the Year 1 curriculum implementation, STEM is beginning to collect more
detailed information on the number of EC-level stakeholders representing ethnic minorities and other
marginalised and vulnerable groups. In Phase III, STEM will explore further modalities to solicit feedback
on its programme from vulnerable and marginalised groups.
At present, STEM largely treats all 25 ECs equally, providing the same opportunities for engagement
and training across all ECs. In the future, further disaggregating data by EC – for example, on access
to the E-library – may help identify which ECs are struggling with uptake of the new programme or new
technologies. From there, STEM might consider providing more targeted support to those EC principals
or teacher educators.

VI. Overall Project
Learnings
Applicability of the Theory of Change
STEM’s Theory of Change was updated in late 2019 and is included in the STEM Phase III Project Document
to capture the project’s logic – from the modalities of implementation, to the outputs, intermediate and end
outcomes, and desired impact as well as the key assumptions that the change model depends upon.
In practice, the Theory of Change used by STEM in Phase II was the Results Framework. The evaluation
team for the Mid-term Evaluation reconceptualized the Results Framework into Theory of Change format,
suggesting the logic behind the project could be captured in the graphic below:
Students learn critical thinking

and problem-solving skills
Teaching in schools improves
Teachers assessed
against Student-teacher Primary teaching is
New teachers deliver new BE
and incentivised to ratio incentivised & curriculum effectively
adopt TCSF improves attractive
competencies
Student teachers better prepared
Teacher policy on
TCSF implemented, TEs teach competency-based
recruitment, promotion
inculding curriculum effectively
and deployment
assessment
implemented
Teacher Educators
Comprehensive teacher (TEs)
policies informed by develop skills in EC management &
international standards are teaching new administration
implemented pedagogies improves
Outcomes
Outputs
[Outcome 1] [Outcome 2] [Outcome 3]
Comprehensive teacher Education College Strengthened
policies imformed by (EC) two-year management &
international standards are diploma upgraded administration of ECs
adopted
[Outcome 4]
An inclusive education approach mianstreamed through teacher policies, teacher education curriculum,
and Education College Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programs
While the overall flow of this logic holds, this model has been revised for Phase III to more clearly frame
the intermediate and end outcomes, impact statements and to account for the reduced funding scenario in
Phase III. It also more explicitly emphasizes equity and inclusion as a core component of each end outcome
(see Annex D). Moving ahead to Phase III, the revised Results Framework has been strengthened to

capture data on frequency of monitoring, responsible parties (who will measure the indicators) and lesson
learnt. STEM will also need to adjust some of the indicators to reflect the project’s revised TOC. Overall,
these changes will help to address some of the weaknesses inherent in Phase II’s Results Framework,
which were flagged for improvement in the MTE. Further changes are likely once the Results Framework
is sent to Phase III’s existing donor for additional review.
STEM Phase III carries forward the main areas of Phase II support, as envisioned in the six-year Results
Framework, towards implementation of: an equitable and comprehensive teacher policy; TCSF for
professional development; the full four-year EC degree programme; a robust system of CPD for EC teacher
educators and managers; and whole school approaches to equity and inclusion. These workstreams
have been affirmed by stakeholders within the MoE and reflect the six-year STEM Strategic Programme
Document, the NESP 2016-2021, and the Mid-term Review of the NESP 2016-2021.
Based on lessons learnt in STEM Phase II, suggestions for ways in which STEM Phase III can best
support the MoE in achieving the end outcomes and desired impact, as captured in the Theory of Change,
are highlighted in the ‘Recommendations’ section below.
As STEM Phase III is grounded in Phase II, the table below reviews the key assumptions included in
the Phase III Theory of Change and analyses their validity based on the lessons learnt and challenges
encountered in STEM Phase II.
Table 8. Analysis of Key Assumptions
Key Assumptions Insights from Lessons Learnt in Phase II

STEM Phase III ToC
Sufficient evidence is available to Sensitivities around data sharing do remain an operational challenge,
inform policy development although to a lesser degree than at the inception of the project. There are
also still gaps in the availability of disaggregated data to help inform and
target equitable policies. It is anticipated that the completion of the HR and
HE modules of EMIS will help mitigate some of these challenges.
Outcome 1
The TCSF is primarily There has been discussion of the risk that the TCSF be used for evaluation
implemented for teacher purposes (too soon, if at all) throughout the development process. The
improvement, rather than high- messaging about the TCSF as a tool for professional development has
stakes assessments been consistent; from the validation study, it seems that stakeholders do
not currently perceive the TCSF as punitive or for evaluation. This message
should continue to be emphasized during future communication campaigns
and trainings.
Teacher educators use of Teacher educators are excited about the new curriculum and are already
competency-based approach attempting to shift their teaching practices in line with the competency-based
supports use of the same among approach. It will take some time and additional training for this to be done
student teachers well by all teacher educators. However, the monitoring visits show promising
signs, while also highlighting the need for a robust programme of CPD that
will allow for this transformation.
Outcome 2
Sufficient time is allocated The new curriculum is built upon reflection and practice. More support
for reflection and practice in is needed to embed reflection in each lesson – teacher educators have
curriculum and classrooms acknowledged that reflection is the first element to go if they do not have
enough time for the lesson. There are also reports that the Reflective Practice
and Essential Skills subject area is being used to finish other work or lessons.
The scores for usability of the Practicum materials increased during the
course of the monitoring visits as teacher educators and student teachers
became more familiar with the expectations around the Practicum.

ICT is in place and expected STEM has provided ECs with the ICT infrastructure and equipment needed
to be used in planning and to increasingly use ICT for management and administration. Capacity
management development is still needed to enhance basic ICT skills and higher-level
planning skills so that ICT can be leveraged for more efficient planning and
management.
Outcome 3
Union-level guidelines are The new EC management structure has not yet been approved, and it
supportive of efficient EC remains to be seen whether it will promote or hinder efficiency. There is an
management and administration opportunity within the HR and Administrative Manual, which will be developed
under STEM, to increase efficiency of administrative practices by clarifying
roles, responsibilities, and procedures.
There is increasing space STEM has started to carve out a space for more discussions on equity and
to address inclusion and inclusion. The bigger risks, perhaps, are stakeholders’ heavy workloads and
the promotion of peace and competing priorities, which many perceive as leaving limited time to focus on
sustainability these issues.
Outcome 4
There is greater diversity in the This is an area in need of greater attention – to target, attract, and fully
population of EC management, support more diverse representation at MoE and EC levels. At present, STEM
teacher educators and student tends to provide equal support across all ECs. A future consideration may be
teachers, as well as greater to identify individual ECs where more targeted support would be beneficial.
ability to support diversity at MoE
and EC level
Analysis of Areas for Improvement

As highlighted in the findings for each outcome area, progress in two areas is slower than planned: 1) the
development of the comprehensive and equitable policy on teachers and 2) professional development for
EC managers based on the CPD Framework.
1. Teacher Policy Development: As mentioned in the findings for Outcome 1, after consensus was
reached on the need for a comprehensive, inter-locking policy on teachers, the MoE still had to
internally decide upon and formalize the policy development processes and bodies. The result of
the MoE’s deliberations was the establishment of the TTF to begin work on policies and pave the
way for the Teacher Education Council. The TTF then had to spend time figuring out their mandate
and scope of work before beginning to take on the actual task of formulating policy solutions. At
present, the TTF has reached agreement to begin a phased approach to policy development by
tackling the priorities identified in the options paper (commissioned by STEM) on teacher career
pathways. The TTF members must navigate new working dynamics as they come from diverse
backgrounds (including both academic and teacher education institutions as well as teacher
unions); many members are also already balancing heavy workloads due to other professional
commitments.
STEM has been able to provide coordination, logistical, and technical support for the TTF, taking
the pressure off individual members so they can focus on the priority tasks at hand. This approach
seems to be working, and the options paper has been well-received. Although policy formulation
is never an easy process, the TTF is gaining clarity as to their Terms of Reference and progress
towards Outcome 1 is expected to pick up in 2020/21.

2. Professional Development for EC Managers: Strong
EC leadership is crucial for the success of the EC
upgrades, and more focus is needed on the development
and delivery of priority modules for EC managers and
administrators. The CPD Framework for ECs has been
developed and will be approved in line with the 2020
target in the Results Matrix. Ideally, however, the CPD
Framework would have been completed earlier in Phase
II to allow for the professional development programme
for EC managers to be initiated. With only one DDG
DHE focal point for most of Phase II, rather than two,
attention was diverted from Outcome 3 to Outcome 2.
The most often-voiced challenge of implementing STEM
is the lack of human resources (and the related time and
workload constraints) within DHE and ECs which make
it difficult to pursue all of STEM’s intended outcomes
with the same levels of effort.
Within other components of the project, although on track and

successful overall, the UNESCO STEM team has identified
additional areas where there is room for improvement. They are
working to find solutions to the following issues in Phase III:
• Taking a more systematic approach to encouraging CCT

members to become experts in specialist areas. This
would help the development of specialists to lead work
going forward, enhancing the sustainability of curriculum
development efforts.
• Conducting disaggregated analysis of access to the
E-library to provide better support to ECs where there
is more need. This principle holds true of other activities
as well where variations between ECs could be further
analyzed and used to direct more targeted support.
• Promoting a consistent team within STEM by reducing
the number of short-term contracts in favour of medium-
to longer-term engagement. At times, consultants are
being hired in tandem with delivering of the activity. This
recruitment is labour intensive and impedes consultants’
consistent involvement with the project.
• Catering to both Myanmar and English-speaking
stakeholders, which has not yet become a smooth
process. Local authors have trouble drafting in English,
just to be translated back into Myanmar, yet both versions
are needed for quality assurance processes. Finding the
right translator and allowing enough time for translation
will help save effort over the longer term.
• Providing more guidance on what it looks like to integrate
inclusion into the textbooks and teacher educator guides.
In general, understanding of equity and inclusion issues
remains superficial in ECs and at central level. Progress
74 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR

MYANMAR 2020
has been made in advocacy for a focus on inclusion, but there are still misconceptions and
misgivings. Further clarifying a systematic and strategic approach to Outcome 4, in collaboration
with the MoE, will help STEM make progress across the different elements of equity and inclusion.
Identified Good Practices

In analysing UNESCO’s ‘ways of working’ through STEM, three good practices, in particular, stand out that
have aided and allowed for the successful delivery of Phase II:
1. STEM has a strong team of national staff, who work closely with the DHE and EC Principals. Everything
STEM does is jointly planned and discussed with DHE with outcome area leadership by national
staff members. STEM is not a project that relies on international staff or follows the traditional model
of international aid delivered to beneficiaries. Instead, it is structured around building capacity and
utilizing national teams. It is STEM’s good relationships – and the mutual trust it shares with DHE and
ECs – that helps it achieve success and make strategic impact.
STEM has committed a great deal of time and energy towards building the capacity of national teams
in both policy and curriculum areas as well as in EPSD and gender. This approach takes time, but it
also works to ensure sustainability and ownership. At this stage, the progress is evident and Working
Groups, such as the TCSF WG, CCT, and ICT teacher educators, are able to make constructive inputs
to the teacher education reform process.
2. STEM has been strategic in its responses to challenges faced due to the operational context. This can
be seen in the COVID-19 response, where most activities are going forward thanks to the groundwork
laid for ICT connectivity and capacity. Another example would be the switch from supporting a Master
Plan to ECs, requiring the MoE to allocate funds and release sensitive financial information, to
supporting development of Resource Plans that works backwards to look at what ECs need.
3. STEM workshops and meetings have increasingly included participation across different relevant
departments and bodies. This helps to promote better exchange of information and collaboration
between the departments and bodies (NEPC, BoS) involved in teacher training.

VII. Recommendations
As STEM moves into Phase III, UNESCO is encouraged to prioritize the following workstreams based on
the progress made and lessons learnt during Phase II. Many, if not all, of these elements are in the project
plan for Phase III; they represent a logical continuation of the work initiated under Phases I and II and are
highlighted here as a reminder of the key take-aways from Phase II for UNESCO’s future support through
STEM:
1. Based on the TTF’s guidance and workplan, provide targeted technical inputs – grounded in
comparative international experiences – to assist the TTF in formulating the pieces of the policy
puzzle through a step-by-step approach. It is important that STEM’s support for policy development
continues as a comprehensive, equitable policy on teachers acts as the bedrock for the successful
implementation of the new EC curriculum, particularly given the specialization tracks.
2. Continue the planned, phased handover of full TCSF implementation to the MoE. Implementation
plan for TCSF should articulate the steps of this systematic shift of responsibilities. A great deal
of time and effort has been invested in the development of the TCSF and this needs to be seen
through to full implementation for the full realization of the TCSF as a valuable tool in promoting
quality teaching and learning.
3. Prioritize the continued development and roll-out of all four years of the new EC degree programme.
This is a flagship STEM initiative that will impact how teachers are trained in Myanmar for years
to come. Development of the specialization tracks in Years 3 and 4 will bring new opportunities
and challenges, requiring cohesive and collaborative efforts between STEM outcome areas and
between the many teacher education actors in Myanmar. Given the foundation of STEM Phases
I and II, UNESCO is uniquely positioned to help navigate the complexities and to suggest sound
technical solutions to support implementation of EC curriculum reforms.
4. Support teacher educators and EC managers and administration to thrive in upgraded ECs through
implementation of the CPD Framework. This includes strengthening competencies in ICT, English,
pedagogy, inclusive education, and educational planning and leadership.
o For teacher educators: Continue to encourage full uptake of the approaches championed in
the new EC curriculum, including: use of a wide range of learner-centred and differentiated
teaching methods, opportunities for reflection and practice, and the effective use of
formative and summative assessment.
o For EC managers and administrators: Priority areas for training include ICT, educational
planning, human resource and financial management, and whole school approaches to
inclusion.
5. Advocate for a whole school approach to inclusion and EPSD. Whole school approaches for
inclusion go beyond the CPD modality alone to encourage regular consideration of issues of
inclusion in all EC policies and practices.
6. Pursue strategic actions to increase the diversity within ECs. This may involve a pilot initiative to
recruit and support (academically, socially, and emotionally) student teachers from ethnic areas
and/or accommodate student teachers with disabilities.

VIII. Conclusions
With STEM Phase II support, the MoE in Myanmar has taken
momentous steps towards ensuring its teacher workforce has
the competencies needed to deliver inclusive quality education.
STEM Phase II has had nationwide reach in its assistance for the
upgrade of all 25 ECs and the development of the TCSF.
Overall, STEM is on track for the realization of the 202337 targets

stipulated in the Results Framework. This will, however, require
accelerated progress on teacher policy development and the
CPD programme for ECs, underpinned by consistent, prioritized
attention to issues of equity and inclusion in all activities.
STEM Phase II has been a timely and relevant source of technical

and coordination support for the MoE at a time of ambitious sector-
wide educational reforms. By working in close partnership with
the MoE through modalities that develop the capacity of national
teams, STEM Phase II has laid the foundation for sustainable
change.
Furthermore, Phase II was an opportunity for STEM to sharpen

its ability to react with agility and flexibility to key decisions by
the MoE which had significant impact on the planning, budgeting
and staffing of the project. For instance, at the start of Phase
II, MOE had initially thought of piloting the new curriculum in
a limited number of ECs prior to rolling it out to all 25 ECs and
to provide all textbooks and teacher guides in only English.
However, when decisions were made to roll-out to all 25 ECs
and to provide textbooks and teacher guides in both English and
Myanmar, UNESCO-STEM rapidly responded to ensure the full
implementation of these decisions. Based on the experience
gained and lessons learnt, Phase III implementation is expected
to be much smoother.
The UNESCO STEM team acknowledges the dedication of

colleagues within DHE and of teacher educators in ECs, who have
embraced their own professional learning with enthusiasm. It is
their efforts and growth mindset that will allow primary and middle
school teachers to provide quality education for all learners in
Myanmar. STEM remains a committed partner in working towards
a strong and equitable education system in Myanmar that is built
around reflective, competent, and qualified teachers.
37 ESTEM Phase III programme will end in December 2023.
UNESCO MYANMAR
MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 77
IX. Annexes
Annex A: Interview List
Individuals within the UNESCO Myanmar office were virtually interviewed during the weeks of 20 and 27
April 2020:
1. Min Jeong Kim, Head of Office, UNESCO Myanmar

2. Antony Tam, STEM Senior Project Officer
3. Sandar Kyaw, Outcome 1 and Outcome 4 (Gender equality and HIV/AIDS sexuality education
activities)
4. Kalayar Than, Outcome 2 (Year 1 curriculum finalization)
5. Hyekyung Kang, Outcome 2 (Year 1 implementation and 2 curriculum development)
6. Soojung Ko and Marlar Kyi, Outcome 2 (Year 1 curriculum implementation monitoring)
7. Kay Thi Oo, Outcome 3
8. Dolly Shein and Emily De, Outcome 4 (Education for Sustainable Development activities)
9. Aye Win Myint, Communications and Outreach
10. Nwe Ni Win, ICT for Education
11. Atiba Xavier Johnson, Monitoring and Evaluation
DHE and EC-level stakeholders were also interviewed for the development of this report, including:
1. Dr. May San Yee, Deputy Director General, Department of Higher Education
2. Daw Khin Htwe, Directory, DHE Budget Department
3. Daw Hla Thida, CCT member (Science Group) and teacher educator at Bogalay EC
4. Daw May Thu Htun, ICT Teacher Educator at Meiktila EC
5. Helen Mark, CCT Member and teacher educator at Loikaw EC
6. Daw Thu Zar Shein, CCT member (Social Studies Group) and Vice-Principal of Myaungmya EC
7. Mg Mann, Year 1 Student Teacher at Mandalay EC

Annex B: Key Documents Consulted
Background and 1. Myanmar National Education Law 2014, amended 2015 (The Republic of the
Context Union of Myanmar Government, 2014/15)
2. National Education Strategic Plan 2016-2021 (Ministry of Education, 2016)
3. Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan 2018-2030 (Ministry of Planning and
Finance, 2018)
4. Mid-term Review of the National Education Strategic Plan 2016-2021 (2019/20)
5. Mid-term Review High-level comments from Development Partners (2019)
Project 6. STEM Phase II Project Document (UNESCO, 2016)

Documents and 7. DFAT- STEM Project Document (UNESCO, 2018)
Progress Reports 8. DFID – STEM Project Document (UNESCO, 2018)
9. STEM Project Progress Report (UNESCO, 2017)
12. STEM Phase II Key Milestones and Workplan
13. STEM Results Matrix (UNESCO, updated 2019)
14. STEM Phase III Project Proposal (UNESCO, 2019)
15. STEM Strategic Programme Document (UNESCO, 2019)
16. Steering Committee Meeting Minutes (2017-2019)
17. STEM Key Milestones and Workplan, January to June 2020 (UNESCO, 2020)
18. VfM Framework (UNESCO, draft 2020)
19. Introduction to Value for Money (Clear Horizon, 2018)
20. STEM Activities in May (UNESCO, 2020)
External 21. STEM Phase II Mid-Term Evaluation Report (Oxford Policy Management, 2019)
Evaluations 22. Management Response to the Mid-Term Evaluation Report (UNESCO, 2019)
Outcome 1 23. Seminar on A Comprehensive Teacher Policy to Support Teacher

Education Curriculum Reforms in Myanmar: Summary of Proceedings and
Recommendations (2017)
24. Reforming the Teacher Promotion Structure in Myanmar: An Options Paper
(UNESCO, 2018)
25. Seminar on Recruitment, Deployment, and Career Paths for Teachers in Myanmar
(2018)
26. Teacher Competency Standards Framework: Beginning Teachers (draft 2.2, MoE,
2018)
27. Teacher Competency Standards Framework Validation Study Report (STEM and
MY-EQUIP, draft 2020)

Outcome 2 28. Education College Curriculum Review Report (UNESCO, 2016)
29. Capacity Development Plan for Teacher Educators (UNESCO, 2016)
30. Assessment of Pedagogical Practice and Practical Teaching Experiences in
Myanmar’s Education Colleges (UNESCO, 2016)
31. E-library Overview (UNESCO, 2018)
32. Education College Curriculum Framework for 4-Year Degree (MoE, 2019)
33. Towards Results in English and Education (TREE) Technical Proposal (British
Council, 2019)
34. TREE Situation Analysis (British Council, 2019)
35. Needs Assessment of Former EfECT Teacher Educators (British Council, 2019)
36. Final Report: E-library System for Education Colleges in Myanmar (UNESCO,
2020)
37. Monitoring the Implementation of Year 1, Semester 1 of the New Education
College 4-year Specialized Degree College (four monitoring reports by Nielsen
MMRD for UNESCO, 2020)
38. Summary of Monitoring Feedback (STEM, 2020)
39. Continuing Professional Development Framework for Education Colleges in
Myanmar (UNESCO, 2020)
40. Evaluation Survey Analysis for Year 2 Curriculum Development Teleconference
(UNESCO, 2020)
41. Myanmar’s online pre-service teacher education reform offers new opportunity
(UNESCO, 2020)
42. Survey report on Year 1 Semester 2 Curriculum Training Orientation Meeting
(UNESCO, 2020)
Outcome 3 43. STEM Rapid Assessment Report of ICT in Education Colleges (UNESCO, 2015)
44. ICT Training for Pre-service Teacher Education in Myanmar Professional
Development: Proof of Concept Short Course (2015)
45. ICT Framework for Education Colleges in Myanmar (2016)
46. Competency-Based Teacher Training Reforms to Facilitate ICT-Pedagogy
Integration: Myanmar Engagement (UNESCO Bangkok, 2017)
47. Management of Education Colleges in Myanmar: Review Report and Proposed
Capacity Development Plan (UNESCO, 2016)
48. Summary of Simulation Model (UNESCO, 2018)
49. Report on Preparation and Readiness of Using ICT by Teacher Educators in
Myanmar’s Education Colleges (UNESCO, 2018)
50. Draft ICT Competency Standards for Teachers in Myanmar (2018)
51. Note on the use and need for ICT Equipment in Education Colleges (UNESCO,
2019)
52. Report on the Seminar on Development of National Continuing Professional
Development Framework for Management Staff and Teacher Educators in
Education Colleges (UNESCO, 2019)

Outcome 4 53. Situation and Training Needs Analysis for Gender Mainstreaming in Teacher
Education in Myanmar (UNESCO, 2018)
54. Gender-sensitive Policy Making, Teacher Development, and Pedagogy in
Myanmar (UNESCO, 2019)
55. Mapping inclusive education in Myanmar (UNESCO, 2019)
56. Embedding ESD in Subject Syllabi: Review Tool 1 (UNESCO, 2019)
57. Embedding ESD Review Tool 2: Considerations for ESD Content (UNESCO,
2019)
58. Agendas for four ESD workshops (UNESCO, 2019)
59. Group ESD plans for Curriculum Development (UNESCO, 2019)
60. Assessment of Equity and Inclusion in Pre-service Teacher Education in
Myanmar: At the Policy Level (UNESCO, 2019)
61. Assessment of Equity and Inclusion in Pre-service Teacher Education in
Myanmar: At the Education College Level (UNESCO, 2019)
Communications 62. STEM Needs-based Communication Workplan (UNESCO, 2020)

63. STEM Communication Strategy Timeline (UNESCO, 2020)
64. Information Brief: Four-Year Education College Reform in Myanmar (UNESCO,
draft 2019)
65. Animated videos on education reform, EC curriculum development, and the TCSF
(UNESCO, 2019)
66. Great Schools Start with Teachers (Myanmar Times, 2019)
67. Photo Essay on a Student Teacher (UNESCO, 2019)
68. STEM Informational Video (UNESCO, 2019)

Annex C: Progress made as at 30 June 2020 in response
to the recommendations and actions outlined in the Mid-
Term Evaluation Report
Action
Accepted/
completed/
partially
in
Recommendation from accepted/ Timeframe
Progress made by June 2020 progress/
the report not and next steps
not
accepted by
initiated by
UNESCO
UNESCO
1. STEM to support the Accepted The beginning level TCSF was In progress The TCSF is
MoE to generate and finalized and submitted to Ministry approved by
use a working version of of Education on 29th May 2020. The third week of July
the TCSF, as it pertains Minister endorsed and forwarded and launched by
to the beginning teacher to NEPC for final feedback before second week of
emerging from the new EC approval. The awareness raising August.
degree program of TCSF is underway through the
Ministry’s e platform and STEM’s
Facebook page.
2a. Urgently discuss with Accepted After consulting DG of DHE, DDG of Completed N/A
the DDG of DHE the DHE responded that there would
possibility of providing be no need for STEM to provide
additional units of additional human resource based in
resource in her office, her office.
based in NPT, to assist
work planning and
prepare for the EC degree
program
2b. Appoint a STEM/MoE Accepted A national consultant for Completed N/A

Communications Officer to communications joined the STEM
support EC preparations project team in October 2019.
and roll out of the
new degree course – a
Myanmar language
speaker
2c. STEM supports MoE Partially An action plan and milestones Completed N/A
to coordinate each EC’s accepted covering implementation of Year
creation and delivery of 1 of the reform was developed
an action plan covering between DHE and STEM. The
the next six months of development of the action plan
preparation for the new at DHElevel made it clearer their
program key role in coordinating the reform
with ECs. The action plan called for
discussion of

Accepted/
Action
partially
completed/
accepted/ Timeframe
Recommendation in progress/
not Progress made by June 2020 and next
from the report not
accepted steps
initiated by
by
UNESCO
UNESCO
preparations at EC level with each
EC principal. It would take time to
develop the capacity at EC level to
independently make preparations
for the reform and their role in
preparations would ultimately be the
decision of DHE, but it is anticipated
that capacity building for ECs in this
regard would take place over 2020.
3. Strengthen STEM’s Partially Frequent discussions, both in person In progress Q4 of 2020 or

senior-level engagement, accepted and via phone calls, occur between 1st quarter of
for example with the the STEM Senior Project Officer and 2021 should
appointment of a senior the DDG leading pre-service teacher additional
education adviser education reform, and the UNESCO funding be
Head of Office regularly meets with available.
the DG of DHE and the Union Minister Meantime, Head
for Education. In addition, UNESCO of Office and
has plans to recruit a senior national Senior National
project officer based in Nay Pyi Taw to Programme
have more senior-level engagement Officer as well
with MoE, subject to the funding as Curriculum
availability in Phase 3 of the project. Specialist are in
A strategic engagement plan is also to regular contact
be developed. with the DDGs of
HED for updates
and exchange of
information.
4. STEM/MoE to Accepted CCT members were divided into two Completed N/A
recognise the important teams,
skill-set of the Core one to focus on Year 1 curriculum
Curriculum Team (CCT) implementation support (including
cadre in the new EC facilitating training of the new
program, identifying curriculum with teacher educators)
developmental roles for and the other one to focus on Year 2
them within each EC, curriculum development. Both teams
and reflect the intended further have a role in providing peer
outcomes of STEM’s support when the ECs are
support to the implementing the new curriculum
CCT in the Results Matrix starting in December 2019. The role
of CCT members in achieving STEM
outputs and outcomes was made
explicit in the Results Matrix of Phase
3 of the project.

Action
Accepted/
completed/
partially
Recommendation Progress made by June in progress/ Timeframe
accepted/not
from the report 2020 not and next steps
accepted by
initiated by
UNESCO
UNESCO
5. STEM/ Accepted Some CPD modules for TEs are In progress The CPD Framework
MoE to ensure being developed. These include has been completed
implementation of communication strategies and awaiting final
the comprehensive among teacher educators approval by MoE.
professional and student teachers using
development plan existing mobile platform; video/
for all teacher audio recording of teaching
educators in ECs using mobile application;
receives sufficient assessments for all TEs;
priority, so that teaching by modeling for
teacher educators’ Non-ICT TEs; and media and
capacity to deliver information literacy for all TEs.
the new course is
not left neglected in
favour of the more
visible aspects of EC
preparation
6a. STEM to Accepted Before STEM developed the first Completed Basic education
ensure the Years draft of Year 2 EC curriculum for Year 2 curriculum
2-4 curriculum of all subjects, basic education curriculum development
development process curriculum development team development team members
includes consultation members attended the first and and Year 3-4 will continue to
with basic education second EC Year 2 curriculum curriculum be involved in
subject authors development workshops in July process has the EC curriculum
and other actors in and September 2019 to provide been initiated. development process,
curriculum before feedback on aligning the basic particularly before
developing first drafts education curriculum and the developing the first
Year 2 EC curriculum. During drafts of Year 3 and
small subject group meetings to Year 4 curriculum
develop and to review the first in mid-2020 and
draft of Year mid2021 respectively.
2 EC curriculum between
October and December
2019, some basic education
curriculum development team
members participated in the
discussions and provided input.
In addition, basic education
curriculum development
team members of all subjects
participated in the workshops
on Education for Peace and
Sustainable Development
(EPSD), in which EC Year 2
subject syllabi were reviewed
to ensure EPSD was considered
across subjects.

Accepted/ Action
partially completed/
Recommendation accepted/ in progress/ Timeframe
Progress made by June 2020
from the report not not and next steps
accepted by initiated by
UNESCO UNESCO
6b. Further clarify Accepted STEM clarified the roles and lines of Completed N/A
roles and lines of communication between UNESCO,
communication CCT and
between all actors curriculum authors when they
in curriculum met together for Year 2 curriculum
development, development in September
particularly for 2019. STEM recruited curriculum
curriculum development coordinators for different Year 2
contractor(s) subjects to ensure sufficient human
resources exist within the project
team to address coordination of
various stakeholders and especially
external stakeholder involvement with
CCT.
6c. Clarify role and Accepted STEM continued to meet with CREATE Completed N/A
required use of CREATE’s bilaterally to update on the curriculum
Teacher Education development and clarified the role
materials and use of their teacher education
materials in Year 1 curriculum. The
CREATE team has a limited role in Year
2 curriculum development given its
focus on lower secondary education
curriculum, whereas CREATE is
supporting development of the
primary education curriculum. STEM
continued to be in touch with the
CREATE team to provide updates and
prepare for the primary specialization
track to be developed for the Years 3-4
EC curriculum.
7. Identify STEM’s Accepted STEM revised its theory of change In progress The revised
intended changes looking ahead to Phase 3 of the Monitoring
(outcomes), reflect project. The revised theory of change and Evaluation
these in results matrix was shared with donors and more Framework will be
(with an appropriate clearly states expected changes with shared with Phase
measurement plan). improved linkages between end III current donor
Develop an operational outcomes, intermediate outcomes, for feedback.
MEL plan outputs, and modalities. The revised
theory of change also accounts for the
reduced funding in Phase III. A revised
Results Framework was developed in
April 2020, for use in Phase III

Accepted/ Action
partially completed/
accepted/ in
Recommendation Progress made by June Timeframe
not progress/
from the report 2020 and next steps
accepted not
by initiated by
UNESCO UNESCO
8. Define and agree Accepted Draft indicators for economy, In progress A draft VFM Framework
Value for Money efficiency, effectiveness and along with indicators
indicators equity were proposed for donors’ was developed following
consideration. feedback from the
donors. The Framework
has been further refined
in preparation for
STEM Phase III which
commences on 1st July
2020 and will be discussed
with the current donor for
feedback.
Disability: a. STEM to Accepted The current indicators for the In progress MTE was finalized in
support inclusion of beginning level TCSF already and on-going August 2019 and while
explicit mention of mention supporting students it was accepted that
disability inclusion in with different abilities, learning this recommendation
the TCSF difficulties, and special needs. was important, it was
According to members of the also noted that it was
TCSF Working Group, relevant not the right time to
sections of the TCSF cover make changes to the
disability inclusion, namely, A.1.2 TCSF document as it was
( Demonstrate understanding of undergoing its 2nd phase
how different teaching methods of validation.
can meet student’s individual
learning needs ) and C. 3.1 Therefore, close
(Demonstrate a high regards for monitoring of the TCSF
each student’s right to education implementation through
and treat all student equitably) the assessment tools be
developed in September-
December 2020 will
include explicit reference
to disability inclusion.
Disability: b. Develop Accepted According to Equity and Inclusion Not initiated Due to the funding gap,
Special assessment, EC staff do not have an online module on
Education Needs/ any specific training on inclusion. inclusive education was
disability awareness And most of them demonstrated postponed. However,
training for EC a negative perception of disable TREE project is currently
management students implementing IE training
for teacher educators.
Should additional funding
be available, STEM will
ensure SEN awareness
training will complement
TREE’s efforts.

Disability: c. Provide Partially Teacher educators are not In progress As there currently
pathways & learning accepted trained on teaching for disable does not exist any
opportunities for students. Types of disability and specialization programme
educators wishing to scope of teaching disability have in SEN available in
specialise in SEN to be identified clearly. Myanmar, STEM will
include aspects of SEN
in the teacher education
curriculum. However,
pathways and learning
opportunities would have
to be considered until
there is a clear decision
that specialization
programme in SEN will be
established.
Disability: d. STEM Accepted An external expert was hired to In progress The review of the
to support greater review the new EC curriculum and on-going new Year 1 and Year
emphasis on SEN in the for direct instruction and 2 curriculum for
curriculum mainstreaming of inclusive Year 1 and 2 direct instruction and
education. Year 1 and Year 2 curriculum mainstreaming of
curricula have been reviewed review inclusive education
and revised addressing the completed. has been completed.
comments. Inclusion webinar Year 3-4 A series of webinars of
was held (8 May) to build the curriculum inclusion (MTB-MLE,
capacities of the subject authors development comprehensive sexuality
and Curriculum Core Team (CCT) process education, Education for
in mainstreaming inclusion into initiated. Peace and Sustainable
the Year 2 curriculum writing. Development, gender, etc.
are planned to strengthen
the capacities of the CCT
and the subject authors.
Inclusion framework is
being developed and
will be shared with the
authors and the CCT
in prior to the Year 3-4
curriculum development,
to ensure that the
curriculum is built upon
inclusive values and
practices.

Accepted/ Action
partially completed/in
Recommendation Progress made by June Timeframe
accepted/not progress/not
from the report 2020 and next steps
UNESCO UNESCO
In partnership with the STEM will continue to
TREE project, STEM ensures explore how SEN may
inclusive education is a focus be emphasized in the
of student teacher practicum; curriculum.
for example, the lesson
observation tool for practicum
will have a strengthened
section on inclusive practice.
The aim of STEM’s work on
inclusive education will not
only be improving teacher
educators’ inclusive education
practice, but ultimately
student teachers’ capacity to
consistently apply inclusive
education in their schools and
communities.
Ethno-Linguistic: a. Accepted Strategies when teaching In progress and STEM acknowledges the
Develop practical students whose mother tongue on-going importance of supporting
strategies in is not Myanmar language second language learners
the curriculum is included in Year 1 of the in Myanmar, and will
for teaching Myanmar language subject, strengthen the content
students whose and further information on and provide practical
mother tongue mother tongue based learning strategies on teaching
is not Myanmar as well as the appreciation of those not learning in
language, such as ethnolinguistic diversity is part their mother tongue in
introductions to of the Year 1 Local Curriculum Years 3-4 curriculum.
speech/second subject. Supporting student
language acquisition teachers to develop solid
among children literacy instruction will
and on speech also include information
impediments on identifying and
supporting students with
speech impediments.

Ethno-Linguistic: Accepted The focus on inclusion and In progress The use of EMIS in ECs,
b. Strengthen equity in development of to take place by end
institutional capacity the CPD framework for 2020, will systematize
to support language both teacher educators and disaggregated data
diversity EC management included collection, including
language diversity. DHE has data on ethnicity and
issued instructions to all ECs language among student
to complete the Education teachers. The data entry
Management Information for student teacher is
System (EMIS) data form which expected to finish at the
includes disaggregated data on end of this year. The
ethnicity and language. Data initiation of training for
entry of HR (EC staff) module HE module and
in EMIS is underway while for data entry for HR (staff)
student teachers, the training module has been delayed
for HE module, will be start due to the pandemic.
next month. Mechanisms STEM will support
to capture data on race and those responsible
language are included in both for EC management
modules to use disaggregated
data to strengthen
Also, in the new curriculum, equity outcomes within
teaching second language preservice teacher
acquisition is included and education, including
teachers are trained on MLE. equity among those who
do not speak Myanmar as
their first language.
Gender: Expand and Accepted The five-day module on gender In progress The manual can be used
coordinate gender mainstreaming on teacher by facilitators as well
mainstreaming education was developed as self-learning for all
and published. Furthermore teacher educators and
gender focal points from ECs will be available on the
received awareness on gender E- Library by the end of
mainstreaming in teacher June.
education. CCT members
have also received gender
awareness during curriculum
development and training
for year one curriculum
implementation.

Accepted/ Action
partially completed/in
Recommendation Timeframe
accepted/not progress/not
from the report and next steps
UNESCO UNESCO
Communications: Accepted STEM advised DHE that CCT In progress and STEM will continue
Create a coordinated should play a more important on-going to work with DHE to
communication role in transferring knowledge strengthen and clarify
strategy between and attitudes about inclusive the role of CCT members,
CCT and ECs to education and the overall particularly when the
influence transfer teacher education reform. communication strategy
of knowledge and is. This will include
attitudes CCT supported the better identifying how
implementation of the Year 1 CCT can communicate
Semester 1 training (Oct-Nov and transfer knowledge,
2019) as facilitators for the attitudes, and skills
fellow teacher educators. related to inclusive
education as well as the
Additionally, CCT has been overall reform.
involved in the orientation
meetings for the Year 1
Semester 2 training (May-June
2020), together with the EC
Senior management team
(EC principals, Vice principals,
HoD) and the ICT teacher
educators. CCT’s engagement
and support at the EC level is
appreciated at most ECs. The
involvement of CCT at each EC
depends largely on the way in
which and the degree in which
each EC Senior Management
Team delegates the roles and
the responsibilities to their
CCT.
CCT also invited some other

teacher educators to attend
inclusion webinar (8 May),
so other teacher educators
can also be benefitted from
the webinar and have better
understanding in inclusive
education.

Annex D: Phase III Theory of Change
1. Primary and middle school teachers adopt new approaches to providing inclusive quality education and take an active
Impacts
role in achieving an equitable education system.

2. Students in Myanmar are better able to access and participate in quality education, improving their learning outcomes
and developing the five strengths: intellectual, physical, moral and ethical, social, and economic.
EO1. Evidence-based EO2. Graduates from EO3. Managerial and EO4. Teacher promotion
teacher promotion pol- ECs are better prepared administrative staff within policies as well as
icies, including quality to meet the beginning Education Colleges more management, and teaching
End Outcomes
assurance, improve the level teacher competency efficiently and equitably and learning in pre-service
effectiveness and equity standards, through an manage the Education teacher education is more
of teacher education and inclusive and equity-based Colleges. inclusive, equitable, and
management. approach. better oriented to the
promotion of peace and
sustainable development.
IO1.1. Revised policies IO2.1. Student teachers IO3.1. Managerial and IO4.1. Teacher promotion
on teacher promotion increasingly use compe- administrative staff within policies and quality
have direct consideration tency-based teaching and ECs increasingly use ICT, assurance incorporate
of improved equity and assessment strategies. including data from EMIS and emphasise equity and
Intermediate Outcomes
effectiveness IO2.2. Student teachers and simulation models, inclusion

IO1.2. Implementation increasingly apply reflec- to plan, administer, and
of the TCSF improves the tive habits/techniques manage IO4.2. Student teachers
capacity and confidence and skills to improve their IO3.2. EC managerial increasingly demonstrate
of teachers to use student- teaching and administrative staff competencies in inclusive
centred approaches IO2.3. Teacher educators improve human resource education and EPSD
increasingly use compe- management
tency-based teaching and IO3.3. EC managerial IO4.3. Teacher educators
assessment strategies. and administrative increasingly demonstrate
staff improve financial inclusive education and
management EPSD practices in teaching
-Sufficient evidence is -Teacher educators’ use -ICT is in place and expected IO4.4. ECs improve peace
available to inform policy of competency-based ap- to be used in planning and and sustainable practices in
development on teacher proach supports use of management every aspect of the school
promotion the same among student -Union-level guidelines governance, teaching and
-The TCSF is primarily teachers are supportive of efficient learning, campus, and
community partnership
Key Assumptions
implemented for teacher -Sufficient time is allocated EC management and

improvement, rather than for reflection and practice administration through a whole school
high-stakes assessments in curriculum and class- approach
rooms
-There is increasing space to address inclusion and the promotion of peace and sustainability
-There is greater diversity in the population of EC management, teacher educators and student teachers, as well as greater
ability to support diversity at MoE and EC level
- The shift to online modalities such as Zoom and Skype, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, facilitates a similar level
of engagement and capacity strengthening as face-to-face capacity building activities

-Increased knowledge and -Curriculum Core -EC staff have increased -Increased knowledge for
capacity on formulating Team assume greater access and skills to use ICT integrating inclusion and
and implementing teacher responsibility for tools, such as EMIS and equity among key advisory
promotion policies among curriculum development simulation models bodies and decision makers
key advisory bodies and and oversight -EC staff increase basic -Curriculum documents
decision makers -4-year curriculum knowledge and skills contain and facilitate
-TCSF implementation including e-library fully in human resource inclusive education and
strategy developed implemented management EPSD
-All further levels of TCSF -Teacher educators -Human Resources and -Teacher educators
field-tested increase awareness, Administration Manuals improve knowledge
Outputs
knowledge and skill are approved and utilized and skills for inclusive
in competency-based -EC staff increase basic education and/or EPSD
teaching and assessment knowledge and skills in -Communications products
-Communication products financial management raise knowledge of
improve knowledge of the inclusive education and/or
4-year degree EPSD
-Guidelines and manuals
for ECs integrate inclusion,
equity, sustainability and
peace
-Data strengthens equity
in ECs
-Technical assistance and capacity strengthening to key advisory bodies, MoE, EC management, CCT, and teacher
Modalities
educators, through face-to-face and online mechanisms

-Design, development, and delivery of CPD modules for EC management and teacher educators
-Coordination, monitoring, and quality assurance to support reform, implementation and sustainability
-Evidence generation to support decision-making

Annex E: Terms of Reference
Background
As detailed within the National Education Strategic Plan (NESP) 2016 – 21, the Government of Myanmar
has identified teacher education and management as one its key priorities as it pursues a number of
widespread education reforms. The government recognizes that improvement in the quality of teachers is
essential to quality education and positive student learning outcomes. In this regard, UNESCO, through
the “Strengthening Pre-service Teacher Education in Myanmar” (STEM) project since 2014, has been
working with the Ministry of Education in Myanmar to improve the pre-service teacher education system.
The project addresses four fundamentally important aspects of pre-service teacher education: to formulate
a policy framework of pre-service teacher education and identify standards for quality assurance; to improve
a system of pre-service teacher training institutions - Education Colleges (ECs) - by restructuring and
redesigning the curriculum and building networks amongst them for knowledge and experience sharing;
to develop institutional and human resource management capacities of ECs; and to mainstream inclusion
and equity issues in teacher education.
Phase II of the STEM project which commenced in 2017 will come to an end in June 2020. A final narrative
report outlining achievements attained during Phase II across the various project outcomes, outputs and
activities is to be prepared. The Report will be presented to the STEM Steering Committee, which consists
of the Ministry of Education and the project’s three donors – namely Australia, Finland and the United
Kingdom, with UNESCO as the Secretariat.
Assignments
Under the overall authority of the Director of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education and the direct supervision of
Head of the UNESCO Myanmar Project Office, working in close collaboration with the Senior Project
Officer and the team members for the STEM Project in UNESCO Myanmar, the Individual Specialist shall
develop a final narrative report based on project implementation documentation and consultations with
relevant stakeholders. The Individual Specialist shall carry out the following tasks:
• Undertake a desk review of all relevant documents including the reports of the project, progress
updates, and outputs of activities that were published or issued in the course of project
implementation. These include, but not limited to, the Mid-Term Evaluation Report; the Management
Response to the Mid-Term Evaluation Report; the STEM Phase II Project Document; the STEM
Phase II Work Plans and Annual Progress Reports;
• Conduct virtual interviews with the Head of Office, the Senior Project Officer and other key project
staff of the STEM Project;
• Summarize and assess the activities undertaken, key outputs, outcomes and progress against
the STEM Phase II Results Framework. This should include an analysis of the project’s impact so
far, identification of lessons learnt and assessing combined contribution of outputs to achieving
various outcomes;
• Develop impact stories and select pictures of key events, with draft interview manuscripts provided
by the STEM Project Team;
• Develop infographics to visualize content if appropriate;
• Provide an overview of the project’s Value for Money (VfM) during Phase II against key domains –
economy, effectiveness, efficiency and equity; and

• Develop a detailed narrative report for Phase II, covering the period from January 2017 to June
2020, as per the reporting requirements under the funding agreement of STEM with the three
donors.
Deliverables
1. An inception report which outlines the methodology to be employed, a list of reviewed documents,
a synopsis of the project’s situational and operational context during the reporting period from
January 2017 to June 2020 drawn from desk study and a list of persons to be consulted.
2. Draft narrative report of no more than 35 pages, excluding annexes.
3. Final narrative report of no more than 35 pages, excluding annexes which should be structured
as follows:
Ø Executive Summary
Ø Situational and Operational Context
Ø Methodology
Ø Key Findings and Results:
§ Outcome 1
§ Outcome 2
§ Outcome 3
§ Outcome 4
§ Impact Stories
Ø Partnerships and Cooperation
Ø Project Visibility
§ How was the visibility of the STEM Project and communication approaches during
the reporting period? What were the main successes and challenges?
Ø Financial Performance
Ø Value for Money (VfM)
Ø Lessons Learnt
Ø Recommendations
Ø Conclusions
Ø Annexes (including but not limited to Results Framework, interview list, data collection
instruments, key documents consulted, Terms of Reference)
The deliverables must be submitted in English and in an editable format (such as MS-Word format)
to UNESCO, who shall remain the owner of all deliverables. In line with UNESCO’s overall gender
mainstreaming strategy, the Individual Specialist is expected to integrate a gender perspective in all
activities and apply gender analysis and mainstreaming concepts whenever feasible.
Timeframe
The assignment is expected to start on 1 April 2020 with a completion date of 30 June 2020.
• Inception report: by 17 April 2020

• Interviews with STEM team: by 11 May 2020
• Draft narrative report: by 25 May 2020
• Final narrative report: by 26 June 2020

Location
• This consultancy is home-based. No mission to Myanmar is anticipated.
Proposed payment arrangements
The fee is payable in the following proposed payment instalments upon certification by UNESCO of
satisfactory performance by the Individual Specialist of the work corresponding to each payment. All
payments shall be effected by bank transfer. UNESCO shall be responsible for its own banking fees
but any possible intermediary banking fees, as well as the beneficiary’s own banking fees, shall be the
responsibility of the Individual Specialist.
Percentage of the
Payment Upon submission to and approval by Latest date of payment instalment
no. UNESCO of the following work submission of the total contract
amount
1 Deliverable1. Inception Report 17 April 2020 30%
2 Deliverable 2. Draft Narrative Report 25 May 2020 30%
3 Deliverable 3. Final Narrative Report 26 June 2020 40%

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Education

2 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

UNESCO MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 3

In implementing STEM, UNESCO works closely with personnel within

The UNESCO-STEM Project team also puts in incredible time and

4 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

UNESCO MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 5

6 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

UNESCO MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 7

3,500 75 tablets provided to ECs ECs developed.

8 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

4 workshops on EPSD held for 25 25 Gender Focal Persons

UNESCO MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 9

10 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

• a comprehensive rights-based policy on teachers;

UNESCO MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 11

STEM STEM STEM

2014 - 2017 2017 - 2020 2020 - 2023

12 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

Information has been drawn from:

UNESCO MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 13

STEM’s Situational and Operational Context

14 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

UNESCO MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 15

Government Education Budget Allocation (2018)

16 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

Teacher Education Budget Allocation

A short history of Myanmar’s education reforms (and the STEM project)

UNESCO MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 17

18 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

Teacher Task Force

Basic Education Law approved.

Myanmar joins the Global partnership for

NEPC, NCC, and

UNESCO MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 19

Reform Milestone Implications for STEM Value added by STEM

Evidence for Myanmar’s STEM is initiated as a means of • Advocacy on the

(2014, amended in 2015) mother tongue-based multilingual teacher deployment and

education within the broader DHE.12

20 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

The decision is also

UNESCO MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 21

(GPE). accreditation as part of the workplan. for teachers in Myanmar

22 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

UNESCO MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 23

24 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

UNESCO MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 25

Changes in the working environment during STEM Phase II

26 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

• Prioritize training for teachers in inclusive education (pre-service and in-service);

UNESCO MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 27

28 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

For each outcome area, this section of the report summarizes:

Outcome 1: Comprehensive teacher policies informed

UNESCO MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 29

Table 3. Progress towards Outcome 1

Outcome 1: Comprehensive teacher policies informed by international standards are adopted,

30 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

UNESCO MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 31

32 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report UNESCO MYANMAR 2020

UNESCO MYANMAR 2020 STEM Phase II Final Narrative Report 33

Outcome 1 lessons learnt