Chairman of State Administration Council Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing receives Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, Deputy Chair of The Elders and former Secretary-General of the United Nations
NAY PYI TAW April 24
Chairman of State Administration Council Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing met students of the 5 year Education Degree Course No (5) of University for the Development of the National Races (UDNR) at Ngu Shwewar Hall of chairman of SAC Office this afternoon.
Also present were SAC Vice Chairman Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win, SAC Secretary Lt-Gen Aung Lin Dway, Joint Secretary Lt-Gen Ye Win Oo, SAC members Admiral Tin Aung San, Lt-Gen Moe Myint Tun, Lt-Gen Soe Htut, Lt-Gen Yar Pyae, U Wunna Maung Lwin, Daw Dwe Bu, Poe Reh Aung Thein, Mahn Nyein Maung, Dr Hmu Htan, U Maung Ko, Dr Aung Kyaw Min, Dr Kyaw Tun, Khun San Lwin, U Shwe Kyein and U Yan Kyaw, union ministers, the Nay Pyi Taw Council chairman, Chief of General Staff (Army, Navy and Air) General Maung Maung Aye, senior military officers from theOffice of the Commanderin-Chief, the Nay Pyi Taw Command commander, officials, the rector and faculty members of UDNR.
The Senior General said the nation opened Academy for Development of National Races on 20 October 1964 with the aim of bringing about good education staff who will pay attention to national unity and development of national races. It was upgraded to UDNR on 10 May 1991, and the government made arrangements for nationality youths of border areas to pursue higher education. The university was established with five goals.
UDNR has produced native junior ethnic leaders who will bring socioeconomic development for people of border areas apart from the original goals. It has produced 14,058 such persons. Soon, students here will also complete their course and become reliable teachers for the nation. In this regard, required knowledge and dos and don’ts will be disseminated.
SAC is shouldering State duties in accord with the Constitution. It laid down the five point Roadmap and 12 objectives in line with the prevailing conditions and is working for the country with added momentum. SAC has overcome all challenges, such as socioeconomic hardships triggered by COVID-19 and disturbances caused by internal and external elements that are against national peace and stability. It is striving for allround national development and peace and stability in line with the adopted roadmap and objectives. In accord with the motto “Keep Moving Forward to Achieve Our Goal”, SAC will build a better nation and socioeconomic life in the interest of the nation and people. In doing so, SAC is implementing the two adopted national tasks -- “national prosperity and food sufficiency” and two adopted political programs – “to strengthen genuine and disciplined multiparty democracy and to build a Union based on democracy and federalism.”
As for the national prosperity, SAC will prioritize peace and stability and the rule of law and work towards greening the environment, public happiness and socioeconomic development. In accord with the initial plan, it will strive for national progress through the effective use of natural resources. Production businesses based on the wellestablished farming industry will be upgraded till they can export basic social goods after fulfilling the local demand. The country will achieve sustainable development only if the environment is preserved in utilizing the natural resources.
Food security is the most basic and important for development of the nation and socioeconomic development of the people.
If a country can sufficiently consume drinking water and easily and sufficiently buy healthy foods at fair prices, such a country can be recognized as a safe country. Myanmar in successive eras has been sufficient in foods and could export surplus from the agriculture and livestock sectors to neighbouring countries. Hence, it is necessary to maintain such a tradition with more efforts to export greater volume of products.
It is important to hold the free and fair election successfully for revitalizing the genuine, disciplined multiparty democratic system. You all know that current instabilities and terror acts in the nation were triggered by voting frauds in the 2020 election in which attempts were made to grasp the State power illegally. Election is a national duty concerned with the prestige of the State and it initiates election of the leaders for the future State. Only when the election is free and fair, will the people trust the multiparty democratic system. If so, the good political histor can be shaped and it will contribute to the enhance of prestige of the State in the international community.
The democratic system is an administrative mechanism which the people’s representatives elected by the people take responsibilities for administration on behalf of the people. The federalism is a concept to share the powers with ethnic people from regions and states in the Union through gathering living and sharing entitlements. Hence, the Union system based on democracy and federalism can be defined as living of all ethnic people in the Union together and sharing the selfadministration and powers in regions and states.
The Union Election Commission holds meetings with political parties to exercise the First Past The Post FPTP system combined with the Proportional Representation (PR) system for enabling national brethren to have rights of official talks, discussions and wide representation at relevant Hluttaws. The election must be free from intimidation, threat, forcibly urging and bullying for freely exposing attitudes of individual citizens. The government is striving for holding the election in all parts of the nation and for all citizens to be free from unfair acts.
The students are to participate in the assigned duties in the process of successfully holding a free, fair and transparent election by understanding the essence of election.
As the students have to take responsibilities for teaching the students, they have to teach youths to understand forms of genuine, disciplined democratic system. It is necessary to teach the students to safeguard the national characters and culture of the nation. Moreover, they have to teach the nature of genuine, disciplined democratic system and good practices of democracy to the students.
It is necessary to restore peace and tranquility and perpetual peace across the nation for building the Union based on democracy and federalism the entire ethnic people aspire to. The State Administration Council and the Tatmadaw set 2022 as the year of peace and invited armed ethnic organizations to hold talks about peace process
in order to end the internal armed conflicts and ensure durable and perpetual peace. So far, seven NCA signatory ethnic armed organizations and three NCA non-signatory EAOs, totalling 10 have been holding peace talks with the government. It comes out good results to go on politically peaceful process. Everybody knows the door is always open for peace talks without any restrictions to other EAOs which have not reached the peace talks yet.
The Tatmadaw issued 22 ceasefire statements and has extended it until the end of 2023.
Taking the NCA path in a peaceful manner by ending the armed struggle line and armed conflict will be able to build a Union based on democracy and federalism. You are therefore urged to cooperate with the government in the efforts for peace and stability and socioeconomic development that the State requires.
Human resources are crucial for constant development of a country. The education sector must be promoted to advance human resources, and the State must be built with educated people. Since education is instrumental to national development, we have placed emphasis on education promotion while we assume State duties.
In accord with the changing age and technology, the SAC is trying to promote the education standard by ensuring that every school-age student completes KG+9. It is the ultimate aim of the government to ensure all schoolchildren have learning opportunities and pursue education until they finish KG+9, which is basic education. And they will be able to continue their vocational training schools. Over 70 percent of the population live in rural areas. So, subjects on agriculture, livestock and technological skills will be taught for Grade-10 and Grade-12 students at 51 basic education schools in 50 districts starting the coming academic year. Then, the plan will be extended in the remaining districts in the 2024-2025 academic year.
The teacher role is important in implementing the State objectives for education promotion. The theme for World Teachers’ Day 2022 “The transformation of education begins with teachers” reflects that. The future of the State is also in the hands of the younger generation. Education pursuance is a chance as well as a duty for children and the youth. Health and education top the children’s rights adopted by the UN.
Rather than giving education, a school should be a place that provide knowledge and skills, way of thinking, the ability to distinguish right and wrong, ethics of a citizen and social ethics. Only then, can a country produce good citizens capable of serving their own, regional and national interests.
It is also necessary to train students from childhood to become fit and healthy. Good health and fitness and education promotion of every citizen are the best guarantee for the future of a country. This is why the SAC has inserted the point “the enhancement of the longevity and health of the entire national people” in its social objectives. A country can be judged whether it can progress by evaluating the health and education standards of its people. Disease outbreaks usually result from low living and health standards. So, students need to acquire health knowledge through school healthcare campaigns. Therefore, you need to train the new generation youths to become educated, be able to distinguish right and wrong and become physically and mentally strong.
As you will become teachers soon, you will have to work hard by living up to the good code of conduct for teachers such as “train, discipline and protect their students”.
Teachers are required to admonish their students not only to be outstanding in their studies but also to be polite and moral in accordance with the responsibilities of teachers stated in new Marga Deva verses, “True teachers are those who admonish their students by upholding compassion and sympathy and kindness and actually pointing out their mistakes to their benefit without reserve.” Teachers are also urged to foster good citizens who are instilled with wisdom, knowledge, a strong desire for learning and goodwill and fulfill their responsibilities of students such as being united and active, following the advice of teachers, greeting and helping teachers and learning, analysing and reciting their lessons.
As Myanmar is a union resided by more than 130 national races, it is important to uphold the genuine union spirit. When the country struggled to regain independence, the unity of the entire union was proved by the Panglong Agreement. The union spirit is the foundation for building the future union based on democracy and federalism. The union spirit refers to the spirit of siblings among all national races who live on the same land and drink water from the same source, the spirit of siblings without discrimination between people who live in plains and mountains and the spirit of a family which endures hardship unitedly through thick and thin.The union based on
mutual friendship and respect and unity must be built for its perpetuation through the union spirit. In doing so, the most essential and important factor is Our Three Main National Causes such as nondisintegration of the union, nondisintegration of national unity and perpetuation of sovereignty.
Therefore, graduate students, being offspring trusted and fostered by the state, are urged to be loyal to the state and to nurture students in respective areas assigned by the state so that they are instilled with patriotism and love for the country, become moral and honest persons, respect laws and disciplines and serve the interests of the world by respecting cultures, traditions and religious beliefs of local national races. At the same time, all are urged to propagate the union spirit, which is the most indispensable for the country, among national races in respective areas.
I hope you to cooperate with the government for stability and socioeconomic development, which are vital for the country, to join hands with the government from respective roles in successfully implementing the two national objectives of prosperity of the country and security of food, water and basic needs and the two political objectives of strengthening the genuine, disciplined multiparty democracy system and building a union based on democracy and federal system, to instill the union solidarity spirit and the union spirit in the people by upholding our three main national causes for the perpetuation of the union, to foster students in respective schools to enable them to become competent and honest intellectuals who can be relied on by the state, to nurture them to become the new generation student youths instilled with patriotism and the love for the country who will shape the future of the country and strict followers of laws and disciplines and to perform duties out of responsibility and accountability for the development of the education sector, which is fundamental for the country, without engaging in party politics.
Then, on behalf of the graduate students of the five year education degree course of the university, Rakhine national Maung Min Khant Hlaing from Thandwe Township in Rakhine State spoke words of thanks.
Afterwards, the Senior General accepted the commemorative gifts presented by two students.
Then, the Senior General and attendees and students posed for documentary photographs. Afterward, the Senior General cordially greeted the students individually.