Caught between COVID-19, coup and conflict-what future for Myanmar higher education reforms?

Abstract

On 1 February 2021, Myanmar military dictators seized power from the elected government and halted the country’s budding reform process. This article explores how Myanmar’s higher education (HE) sector was affected by the coup and COVID-19 and how this has resulted in societal conflict. The article reviews first the history of military coups, then the education reforms in general and what was done in HE, before discussing the effects of COVID-19 and the coup on the sector. Voices from HE teaching staff show the tension in the role of HE as a vehicle for reform and promulgation of those in power. The article argues that the national vision propagated by Myanmar’s HE sector is juxtaposed to that propagated by the Tatmadaw, both claiming to represent Myanmar’s future. This research highlights the dual forces of the COVID-19 pandemic and military coup at a crucial time for HE reforms in a fragile, conflict-affected state, with the future of the reform goals of equity and equality of the sector at stake.