Myanmar president calls for cooperation in seeking education law amendment

Myanmar President U Thein Sein on Sunday called for cooperation in seeking ways to fulfill the demand of protesting students for amending the already-approved National Education Law in a short time.

Dialogue is the only practical way to find a solution, U Thein Sein said in his regular monthly radio speech to the nation.

U Thein Sein urged the students to stop protest march to pave the way for a dialogue to take place.

He expressed worry along with the parents that if the students continue to stage demonstrations, it could affect the approaching school examination.

Following initial talks between Myanmar government delegation and protesting student representatives in Nay Pyi Taw on Jan. 28, the two sides agreed to hold quartet talks on amending the parliament-approved National Education Law.

The quartet talks, set for Sunday and would be participated by the government, the parliament, Myanmar National Network for Education Reform (NNER) and Leading Committee for Students March Protest, will touch on 11 points raised by student representatives.

The students agreed to suspend their protest on Sunday when the quartet talks starts.

On Jan. 21, hundreds of students started a protest march from Mandalay to Yangon but was stopped by the police in Taungtha town on Jan. 27.

Mymnmar students have staged demonstrations since September last year against the national education bill passed by the parliament in July that year.

The protest later spread from Dagon University in Yangon region to other universities in Mandalay and Sagaing regions.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education said it would submit a bill to the ongoing parliament session demanding amendments to the National Education Law. Endi