‘Forgotten’ democracy, student activism, and higher education in Myanmar: past, present, and future

Abstract

This paper is a historical examination of higher education in contemporary Myanmar, and its relationship to the students, the most important and visible actor in higher education. Reflecting upon dramatic socio-political transitions from the five decades of military rule to partly constitutional democracy that led to major reform and liberation in education, this paper traces the development and destruction of generations of student activists in major Higher Education Institutions since 1962, as well as the emergence of a new generation of youth who are deeply disconnected with their history since 2010. By examining major literature combined with direct observations and in-depth interviews in Myanmar, the authors argue that celebrating heroic student activists is perhaps essential in order to mobilize the public to remember the historical importance of democratization in Myanmar, but it is, at the same time, dangerous to only emphasize the stories of ‘student heroes and martyrs’ without deeply questioning the vulnerabilities of education philosophy, policy, and the very meaning of higher education institutions against regime changes. By examining the exogenous relations with democracy in the wider society of Myanmar, it argues that the future of democracy can only be nurtured, debated, and learned when the endogenous relations to democracy of Myanmar in higher education institutions within are valued.