Rakhine State Action Plan: Why It Failed to End the Rohingya Issues in Myanmar

Abstract

Myanmar government’s denial of granting Rohingyas citizenship and from allowing them to enjoy full rights as other ethnics in the country has led to many issues between the Rohingya ethnic and Myanmar government and as well as among other ethnics in the Rakhine state. The clashes between two sides have resulted in vast destructions of Rohingya villages along with the death of Rohingya people, military personnel and innocent people and mass migrations of Rohingya people to neighboring countries, especially to Bangladesh. Myanmar governments have responded by taking different actions in order to solve this conflict. Remarkably, “Rakhine State Action Plan” was drafted by Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) government. However, the Rakhine State Action Plan has proven “problematic” and ineffective: problematic because it consisted of “highly problematic” elements and ineffective because the Rohingya issues have been still protracting. This paper investigated why and how this action plan failed to end the issues of Rohingya. The findings aimed to provide insightful ways to understand the causes of the failure of the policy as they would serve as assets of knowledge for academics and policy-makers. The study was conducted in qualitative approach given the intractability of the issue, so as to understand the underlying causes and perspectives of the Myanmar students on the ineffectiveness of the Action Plan. Content analysis and survey were deployed in this study. As found, the Rakhine State Action Plan did not respond to the demands of Rohingyas. The Action Plan itself consisted of problematic elements such as the policy of resettlement that set out the relocation and encampment of the internally displaced Rohingya people to unspecified rural sites in the state with no prospect of returning to their homes and the citizenship verification that required the Rohingya ethnic to register as Bangalis. However, Rohingyas wanted to gain full citizenship as Rohingya ethnic and the ethnicity to be accepted nationwide and to have their rights as other citizens. 

Chapter I: Introduction

1.                  Background

An ethnic group, who identify themselves as Rohingya is a Muslim minority in Myanmar. Historically, Myanmar and Bangladesh were colonized by Britain. During the colonization, Britain implemented a policy to encourage the movement of migrant workers in order to increase the labor needs for rice, cultivation and profits (Abdelkader, 2017). After decolonization, the Myanmar government’s denial of granting Rohingyas citizenship and from allowing them to enjoy full rights as other ethnics have led to many issues between the Rohingya ethnic and Myanmar government and as well as among other ethnics in the Rakhine state.

There have been a number of attacks in Rakhine state that involve Myanmar military and Rohingya insurgents. The clashes between two sides have resulted in vast destructions of Rohingya villages along with the death of Rohingya people and military personnel. Consequently, thousands of them have fled to Bangladesh to escape from the crackdowns. Following these events, there were restrictions on humanitarian aids and the failure of returning displaced people back home.

The government have responded by taking actions in order to solve this conflict. “Rakhine State Action Plan” was drafted by USDP government. However, the Rakhine State Action Plan has proven “problematic” and ineffective: problematic because it consisted of “highly problematic” elements (Asia Report 2014), and ineffective because the Rohingya issue is still protracting. 

2.                Research Question

Why did the Rakhine State Action Plan fail to end the Rohingya issues in Myanmar?

2.1   Sub Research Question

1.      What are included in the Action Plan and why is it problematic?

2.      What are the flaws of the Rakhine State Action Plan that hinder the success of the policy?

3.      What should be amended or further included with the existing Action Plan to bring the conflict to an end?

3.             Significance of Study

The study will contribute to the existing knowledge about Rohingya issues and actions by Myanmar government. It help students, researchers, and the public to understand the events, responses, and government failure to end the conflict. Hence, the study aims to provide insightful ways of seeing the policy of Myanmar government in dealing with the ethnic issues. Moreover, policy recommendations will serve as assets of knowledge for academics and policy-makers.

4.           Research Methodology

4.1 Study design

The research was conducted in qualitative approach given the intractability of the issue, so as to understand the underlying causes and perspectives of the Myanmar students on the ineffectiveness of the Action Plan. Content analysis and survey method were used in this study.

4.2 Data Type and Data Collection

On the account of content analysis, secondary data was used predominantly. Existing literatures including published articles, news, journals, official documents, and reports from credible and reliable sources on the internet were derived from specific sources from both national archives and international institutions and digital libraries such as Irrawaddy news, Rakhine News Agency, Asia report, Human Rights Watch, United Nations, International Crisis Group, Jstor and other research institutions. Therefore, document and internet research were abundantly used as secondary data collection method. In regards to the survey, primary data was drawn from 14 participants, all of whom are Myanmar undergraduate students majoring in social science. In respect to the survey, it was designed to explore the perspectives of the respondents on Rohingya issues the Rakhine State Action Plan and recommendations for government policy.

5.                 Scope and Limitation

This study is limited to the investigation on the Rakhine State Action Plan with the timeframe scoped to the period of USDP administration between 2011 and 2016. This investigation focuses only on two aspects of the Rakhine State Action Plan: Permanent Settlement and Citizenship Assessment. However, given time constraint, only 20 online surveys were sent out. 14 of the 20 population submitted the survey. Although the 14 participants could not represent all Myanmar, their contribution gave this study insightful understanding of Myanmar people think about the given issues.

Chapter II: Literature Review

Since the Rohingya crisis involve human rights violation, many scholars have conducted many studies in regards to the issue. Most of the existing studies provide insightful understanding about the root causes of the conflict and the motives of the government’s citizenship law.

One study precisely explains the roots of the conflict based on the term Rohingya that is subjectively unrecognized by government of the state. This is seen as the wrongdoing of the government who politicizes the issue and mistreats the population of Rohingya. The Amnesty International 2017 report stressed about the segregation issue and suggested the policy recommendation that the international actors shall condemn the act of the government publicly, and provide aid and education to the people in the Rakhine State. (Caged Without A Roof: Apartheid in Myanmar's Rakhine State, 2017). 

David Dapice (2017) from Harvard University has produced a study report about the Rakhine State crisis. His brought two Myanmar focused groups to Indonesia in order to understand about military matter in the similar issue in 2015 and another group to Ache to study about how the bloody ethnic conflict was ended. Later, the focused groups provided several peace resolutions; granting citizenship, residency and mobility in Rakhine, restricting foreign illegal fishing in the coast of Rakhine to help Rakhine fishermen, and finding more foreign aid and extend the health care and education in Rakhine. Dapice also suggested there shall be a new citizenship policy that includes Rohingya in and the representative of Muslims in Rakhine who can speak for their interest with the government. 

Regarding to the 2012 Rakhine State Action Plan, it was believed as the government policy created in response to the domestic and international pressure over the human right abuse act and the discriminatory citizenship policy of the government. President Thein Sien pushed the plan due to three main objectives; maintaining peace and stability in Rakhine State, lessening the concern of the Buddhist nationalist in Rakhine, and responding to the concern of the international donors. Besides, this was a show about the leadership willingness of the government during the ASEAN Regional Forum in Myanmar which secretary of state John Kerry presented as well. 

 

Chapter III: Myanmar Students’ Perspectives on Rohingya Issues

Many Rakhine people share a perspective that “Rakhine State is only for the Rakhine people”.  The Rakhine see Rohingya as Muslim Bengalis as migrants from Bangladesh eyeing for economic opportunities and works in agricultural sector in Myanmar. Moreover, Rakhine worry that Rohingyas control their land and economy, demanding for a separate state (Rakhine Inquiry Commission, 2013). This led to strong inter-communal sentiment against Rohingya. In this section, three aspects of focuses from Myanmar students are elaborated. 

1.                   Perspectives on Rohingya Issues

All of the respondents share similar perceptions toward Rohingya people or Bengali. They believe that Rohingya issues are the issues of ethnic identity, territory, culture, religion, illegal immigration and terrorism. Based on the result of the survey, majority of the respondents shares belief that citizenship official status of ethnic identity, recognition as an ethnic group of Myanmar, Myanmar nationality and civil rights are among what Rohingya people want from Myanmar government. One respondent states that stopping the violation of human rights is what Rohingya want. Moreover, the respondents also shared similar tone on the demand for the territory by the Rohingyas. 

2.                Perspectives on Actions under USDP Government

When asked about actions taken by Myanmar government under USDP administration, not all respondents answered. Granting white card - temporary Resident Card, permitting NGOs to work on the issues, and putting military control over the region are among actions what the respondents saw during USDP government. There are different views among the respondent toward the practical solution to end the conflict by allowing NGOs to work and giving white card to Rohingya people. Others state that separation and recognition of Rohingya people are also not practical in solving this problem.

3.             Perspectives on Government Policy

Therefore, they suggest a number of recommendations to be implemented. Most of the respondents suggest two most important actors to solve the problem: government and international community. Some mention about citizenship granting should be a solution. This is not the only action to be taken however; others following steps are also considered by many of the respondents. These include the stop of using force from both sides, establishment related commissions, provision of fundamental rights to Rohingya people, reconciliation efforts and state security. Moreover, it is also suggested that government and international community should work hand in hand with each other, while at the same time international community should study and understand more about the situations by not just listening to a particular side, especially media. 

Chapter IV: Rakhine State Action Plan

 1.                What Rohingyas Demand

Historically, Rohingya demanded to establish self-administrative area under their control in the northern part of the Rakhine state (Rakhine Inquiry Commission, 2013). After the World War II, Muslim mujahidin rebellion fought for the right of the population to live as full citizens in an autonomous Muslim area in the north of the Rakhine state. The main objectives of Rohingyas leaders was to gain their rights including full citizenship and a legitimate ethnic group of Myanmar. They promoted Rohingya identity to be one of the ethnic group of Myanmar so that they can get full citizenship by birth (International Crisis Group, 2014). For the militants or extremists, they aim to create Muslim autonomous area in the northern Rakhine. Furthermore, they demand human rights, civil rights, repatriation, resettlement, reconstruction and economic restructuring.

The refugee Rohingyas want to return home safely with dignity, freely decide their political status and to pursue economic, social and cultural development without any restriction (Birsel, 2017). They desire for basic rights such as right to participate in the political process, right to education, right to do business freely, freedom of movement and freedom of expression. Therefore, as stateless Rohingyas, being recognized as citizens of a country to enjoy human rights and civil rights in the long term is fundamental for them. 

2.                   Rakhine State Action Plan and Its Problematic Elements

In light of the violent outbreak in 2012, the Rakhine action plan was established under President Thein Sien. Followed by the April 2013 recommendations of Rakhine Investigative Commission, the Rakhine Action Plan was designed to eradicate the problem with 6 core elements including Security, Stability, and Rules of Law; Rehabilitation and Reconstruction; Permanent resettlement; Citizenship assessment of Bengalis; Socio-economic development; and Peaceful coexistence. Respectively, in regards to Security, Stability and Rule of Law, law enforcement was placed under the spotlight to ensure the safety and security of Myanmar. It prevented illegal aliens from entering the country and practice the Myanmar constitution, Refugee law, Humanitarian principle and International Human Right Law in order to monitor civil society organizations. Second, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction emphasized on resettling and providing shelter and basic needs for displaced persons in Myanmar. Furthermore, it added on improving telecommunications facilities for displaced persons as well as coordinating and cooperating with non-profit organizations. Third, the Permanent settlement was being described on conducting the plan and assessment for displaced communities, building road, providing socio-economic support to resettled communities, and providing livelihood equipment for displaced people. Fourth, it emphasized on the Citizenship assessment of Bengalis and the process of how to get that citizenship. It required Rohingyas to register as Bengalis in Rakhine State, and set norm and criteria for citizenship assessment. It further included the addressing of illegal aliens and taking actions against illegal immigration in both present time and future time. Fifth, for the Socio-economic developmental plan, the government planned to improve farm productivity and manage fishery stock and other resources in sustainable ways. Moreover, the government also claimed to develop tourism sector and preserve the environment and culture in Rakhine state. In addition, the government believed that the action plan can expand and promote livelihood actions such as improve education system, health care system, electricity, promote trade and investment, and advance telecommunications and IT network, and also prevent natural disasters. Lastly, regarding Peaceful coexistence, the government would ensure all religious schools and qualification of teachers to meet the standard and rules in Rakhine state. Moreover, it further established the system that would promote peace throughout Myanmar and prevents or reduces sectarian conflict (Rakhine State Action Plan, 2014).

Introduced in 2013, the Rakhine Action Plan was to serve as a blueprint for development and reconstruction after the conflict. However, this particular policy failed to see any light of success given the protracted nature of the conflict and the underlying intention of the government in the Action Plan that worsen the situation. Aforementioned, the failure of the policy has a lot to do with the Action plan itself. Each elements of the Action plan entrenched discriminatory policies and violation of basic rights, both of which turned development and reconstruction to segregation and statelessness (Bookbinder, 2014). One instance is the third section of the plan on “Permanent Resettlement” that set out the relocation and encampment of the internally displaced Rohingya people to unspecified rural sites in the state with no prospect of returning to their homes. This policy constitutes a violation of freedom of movement and other basic rights, in a sense that putting the Rohingyas in permanent resettlement zones in isolated rural camps would further isolate and marginalize the Rohingya and tighten their access to basic needs, thus making more dependent on foreign assistance (Human Right Watch, 2014). Another major problem embeds in the fourth section of the plan on citizenship assessment that built on the discriminatory 1982 Citizenship law, which required the Rohingya to be registered as “Bengalis”, a term heavily rejected by the Rohingyas (Ferrie, 2014). As much as nationalism was used as an important political tool to foster self-determination and keep nation-state cohesive, ethnicism also functioned in similar fashion.  Hence, it was unlikely that the Rohingyas would renounce their claim to Rohingya identity. Consequently, in the action plan, the government stipulated the lawful enforcement for the Rohingyas who refused to give up their ethnic identity or those that were deemed ineligible for citizenship, therefore punishing them under Myanmar laws and procedures such as indefinite detention and deportation (Bookbinder, 2014). In a nutshell, the Rakhine action plan which was drafted in secrecy portrays the actual intention of the government to drive Rohingya population stateless and segregation.   

  

Chapter V: Discussion and Policy Recommendation

The Rakhine Action Plan did not respond to the demands of Rohingyas. The Action Plan itself consisted of problematic elements such as the policy of resettlement of displace Rongyas, the citizenship verification that required Rohingya ethnic to register as Bangalis. As mentioned above, Rohingyas wanted to gain full citizenship as Rohingya ethnic and the ethnicity to be accepted nationwide and to have their rights as other citizens. As found, the reason why the Action Plan failed to address the Rohingya issues was because of its elements contain controversies – resettlement and citizenship verification –  that did not respond to the demands of Rohingya people and therefore it was not favored by them.

Having analyzed the elements of the Rakhine State Action Plan and with the voices of Myanmar people, this section is to propose the following recommendations.

To solve the citizenship issue, with existing policy on the citizen verification, the verification process should be put to further work in order to include the complaint procedure so that the government can hear the concerns of the Rohingya. The verification should distinguish between who deserves citizenship status and who is an economic migrant. In addition, the Rohingya should be given full rights and freedoms regardless of their religion, ethnicity, or citizenship status. The government should review or amend its citizenship law by taking the interests of the Rohingya into consideration while at the same time strengthening law on border control to prevent illegal migrants and extremist groups from entering the country. This will help ensure the security of the local people. Dealing with the rehabilitation and reconstruction issues, the government should create security force to ensure the safety of the returnees from the refugee camp to the place prepared by the government and facilitate the return process. Concerning the issue of violation of rule of law by restriction of movement in the closed camps, the government should conduct independent and impartial investigation and bring the one who violated the law to be held accountable for their action. Regarding the restriction to the socio-economic development, the government should take into account and give priority to the needs of all local communities in Rakhine. Tackling the issue of the unequal economic opportunities and prosperity between the Rakhine and the Rohingya, the government should encourage the companies operating or investing in Rakhine, by giving some incentives such as reducing taxes, to hire more people from Rakhine people. The international community should take more actions by cooperating with the government and providing more aid instead of condemning.

Chapter VI: Conclusion  

In response to the ethnic marginalization and abuse that has been going on for decades, the USDP government initiated an action plan to address the issue. However, it failed to produce any fruitful result. Instead, it took a turn for the worse. To a great extent, the Rakhine action plan, which was drafted in secrecy, was the main problem itself; in a sense that it composed of elements designed to drive the Rohingya people stateless. Therefore, how can the problems be solved when the problem-solving mechanism is the problem. 

 
References:

Abdelkader, E. (2017, October). The conversation. Retrieved from Theconversation.com: https://theconversation.com/the-history-of-the-persecution-of-myanmars-rohingya-84040

Albert, E. (2017, December 7). Council of Foreign Relations . Retrieved from cfr: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/rohingya-crisis

Birsel.R. (2017, October 7). Rohingya insurgents open to peace but Myanmar ceasefire ending. Retrieved from Reuters World News: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-rohingya/rohingya-insurgents-open-to-peace-but-myanmar-ceasefire-ending-idUSKBN1CC05C

Bookbinder, A. (2014, October 3). Rakhine Action Plan a ‘blueprint for segregation and statelessness’. Retrieved from DVB: http://www.dvb.no/news/rakhine-action-plan-a-blueprint-for-segregation-and-statelessness-burma-myanmar/44705

Burma: Government Plan Would Segregate Rohingya, Force Resettlement, Discriminatory Citizenship Creates Dangers. (2014, October 3).  Retrieved from: https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/10/03/burma-government-plan-would-segregate-rohingya

Caged Without A Roof: Apartheid in Myanmar's Rakhine State. (2017). Retrieved from Amnesty International: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/11/myanmar-apartheid-in-rakhine-state/

Rakhine State Action Plan. (2014, October 27). Retrieved from: http://www.maungzarni.net/2014/10/rakhine-action-plan.html?m=1.

Dapice, D. (2017, May). Rakhine State: Dangers and Opportunities. Retrieved from Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation: https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-east-asia/myanmar/myanmar-politics-rakhine-state

European Commission. (2017). The Rohingya crisis. Retrieved from: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/rohingya_en.pdf

Ferrie, J. (2014, October 3). Rights groups condemn Myanmar's Rohingya plan. Retrieved from 
Reuters: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-myanmar-rohingya/rights-groups-condemn-myanmars-rohingya-plan-idUKKCN0HS0BT20141003

FIDH and ALTSEAN-Burma. (2016, October 26). Still oppressed: Rohingya policies and restrictions under Myanmar's new government. Retrieved from: https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/20161025_myanmar_rohingya_br_en-4.pdf.

Gamez, K. R. (2017). EXAMINING THE ASEAN INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS (AICHR): THE CASE STUDY OF THE ROHINGYA CRISIS. Tilburg University, International and European Law.

International Crisis Group. (2014, October 22). Myanmar: The Politics of Rakhine State. Asia Report N°261 Retrieved from: https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-east-asia/myanmar/myanmar-politics-rakhine-state

Mathieson, D. S. (2016, January 6). The Electoral Aftermath in Rakhine State. Retrieved from: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/01/06/electoral-aftermath-rakhine-state-0.

Open Security (2017). The Rohingya crisis of June 2012: a survivor's testimony. Retrieved from: https://www.opendemocracy.net/opensecurity/hamid-emma-crichton/rohingya-crisis-of-june-2012-survivors-testimony

Rakhine Inquiry Commission. (2013, July 8). Final Report of Inquiry Commission on Sectarian Violence in Rakhine State. Retrieved from: http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs15/Rakhine_Commission_Report-en-red.pdf

Refugees International. (2017, July 11). A Continuing Humanitarian Tragedy: Ongoing Abuses and Oppression against the Rohingya in Myanmar. Retrieved from: https://reliefweb.int/report/myanmar/continuing-humanitarian-tragedy-ongoing-abuses-and-oppression-against-rohingya

Rieffel, L. (2017, September 13). No simple solution to the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2017/09/13/no-simple-solution-to-the-rohingya-crisis-in-myanmar/.




 
APPENDIX

Consent Form

We are a group of students studying at Department of International Studies at Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Currently we are conducting a research on the topic “Valuating of Rakhine State Action Plan”. Specifically we are trying to explore the berries that prevented the Action Plan from solving Rohingya ethnic issue. With this occasion, we are investigating on two levels: the elements of the Action Plan and actual issues to be addressed.  

As latter focuses on the actual issues, it is necessary to hear the local voices. Therefore, we are requesting you to be our voluntary participants for our investigation. Our findings will serve as beneficial knowledge regarding the ethnic conflict and policies dealing with such issue. It is also important for policy-makers to understand better about the issue. 

It is important to note that your identity will be most CONFIDENTIAL and will not be revealed at any cost without your consensus. 

By selecting “NEXT”, you voluntarily agree to be our participant without any internal or external force, and you also agree to provide us with correct answer based on your point of view.
Should you have any inquiries, feel free to contact us. We can be reached via uk.dararath@gmail.com. 



Questionnaire: Valuating of Rakhine State Action Plan

I. Brief Background
₋ Age:
₋ Year of school:
₋ University name:
₋ Email (optional; if you give, we will send our research as soft copy once it is done):

II. Rohingya Issues: We are asking your thoughts. So you do not have to search internet to fill it; just say what you know. You can write in either English or Burmese language.

- Can you briefly talk about the causes of Rohinya issue?
- Based on your opinion, please kindly tell us about what Rohinya people want from Myanmar government?

III. Actions under USDP Government: Just say what you know. You can write in either English or Burmese language.

- Under USDP regime, what did you see from USDP government do to solve the Rohingya issue? Please list down all actions by USDP government that you know (Just say what you know)

Authors:
Uk Dararath
Choun Sotheavuth
Hour Sopheana
Lam Kimchheng
Lim Chhay Heng
Su Myat Wai Hlaing
Sinn Van Dara

The Cambodian English Language Teaching and 21st Century Skills

The Cambodian English Language Teaching and 21st Century Skills

Philosophy, Theory, and Practice

I. Introduction

Picure from AVOS.ORG

English language teaching methods are crucial for learners as well as teachers to achieve effective learning outcomes.  Different approaches have been applied for teaching to different groups of students. As argued, some approaches are more effective than others when they are deployed to some certain learning groups. Direct Method, the Audiolingual Method, Total Physical Response and Communicative Language Teaching are among approaches having been used in English teaching. Communicative Language Teaching emphasized on communication through interaction where personal experience is of importance for the contribution to the classroom learning and where fluency is the main focus for communication (Brown, 2001). 

With this regard, it is important to understand what approaches are used to teach Cambodian students and why those are used. We conducted an observation to explore the approach used by a teacher to teach English to students. 

This case study is to do with primary data which we collected through the observation conducted in a classroom at one private language school. The objectives of this study include, but not limit to, the understanding of the approach used in the English language class, techniques deployed in accordance with the approach, classroom management, and teacher’s philosophy. To achieve these, the classroom observation and two interviews with the teacher – pre- and post-interviews – were the method of this study. The sample of this study was based on network, which means the teacher participant was chosen by our network. To be ethical, consent forms which stated the purposes and activities of this study were sent to the observed school and the teacher participant, which both the observed school and the teacher participant voluntarily agreed to participate in this study.

The study was conducted in three main steps. First, the pre-interview was first done to explore the general information from the teacher participant about the environment of the classroom, number of and diversity of the students, the teacher’s philosophy, the rapport between the teacher and the students and the expected learning outcomes. Second, this study was proceeded to the class observation. One of the teacher participant which took one and a half hour was used for the observation. With privilege, the lesson plan was also handed to us that we were able to observe both the activities in the class and, at the same time, the names of techniques that were being used. Third, the post-interview was conducted to confirm some information including the different classroom environment on the usual classes and the observed class, the reasons why some planned activities were not achieved and the perspectives of the teacher participant of her teaching.

II. Findings and Discussion

 2.1. Classroom and Learning Environment 

Within the class that we observed, there were 22 students in the age range of 12 to 20s and we noticed that those students’ proficiency was similar to one another except a few students who were older and seemed to be slow learners. From the teacher participant’s perspective, that matter was because of their age. Once they were older, they tended to feel inferior of losing face if they made mistakes because they thought the older should be better than the younger.

Most of the time, seats were arranged in U-shape to make teacher walk and notify students’ activities easily, and it sometimes changed to pair or group settings depending on the teaching activities.

Classroom environment was comfortable as the room was clean with good equipment and there was no external noise distracting during teaching time. However, for the learning environment, some students were passive and afraid of answering the questions or participating in class activities, especially sharing idea in the front, which made the class silent sometimes. In that case, the teacher selected the students to answer directly. Because students were hesitate taking part in the tasks given, it wasted the teaching time, and one technique in the lesson plan was cut off due to the time constraint. 

2.2. Teaching Methods

The teacher mostly used the inductive teaching approach as she started the lesson by allowing students to discuss on the topic and discover the language points first before introducing the grammatical rule which is “To Infinitive”.  Also, we agreed that she adopt the Communicative Language Teaching approach as she promote the fluency more than accuracy. During the students’ sharing time regarding their ambition, she did not catch the students’ grammatical mistakes except the mistake on ‘To Infinitive”. Moreover, teacher had the students talk and discuss more with their friends than just sitting and listening to teacher explanation, which provided students more talking time.

2.3. Teacher and Student Rapport 

Throughout the interview and observation, we found out that the relationship between teacher and students was good because teacher played a role as a facilitator in class guiding students to do the activities planned. Most of the time, teacher encouraged students to participant in class activities and gave students freedom to share their ideas; therefore, the techniques used were mostly less-controlled and freer techniques. During the interview, she said that controlling students’ responses would limit or hinder students from being creative.

Comparing between the interview and the observation, it can be seen that what the teacher had mentioned and the actual class had some gaps. First, the activities that the teacher had planned to do within the observed session were not all completed as there was not enough time to cover the last activity.  

2.4. Learning Outcome and Philosophy 

The lesson plan indicates two main objectives to achieve of the class that was observed:(1) Talk about their ambitions with their friends using to + verb + infinitive; and (2) Write sentences about their ambitions using to + verb + infinitive. The class enormously achieved these learning objective because the students could have time to practice speaking and write sentences using To Infinitive form.

Regarding the teacher expected learning outcome which is the ability of students to communicate using English language effectively, the class was actually in accordance with this. This trains students to speak every day and to write for communication. 

The teacher philosophy is also in parallel with the expected learning outcomes.  “My ultimate goal is making students learn and most importantly for them to enjoy the lesson; so that they feel excited and happy coming to school. I want to make them feel that coming to school is what they like doing every day,” said the teacher during the interview. 

2.5 Discussion

Throughout the investigation, it can be assumed that the approach the teacher deployed for her teaching is Communicative Language Teaching Approach. The interaction in the class mainly aimed to achieve students’ speaking improvement. The class consisted of various speaking activities including group and pair discussions and individual speaking times. As we witnessed during the observation and as clearly stated in the lesson plan provided, students’ speaking times occurred throughout the class. Students were encouraged to discuss in the group as well as with their peers. For instance, teacher paired up students to discuss about the differences of the sentences highlighted in the course book. Another evidence is when teacher showed pictures and asked students to discuss and talk about their dream goals they want to achieve. This also links to another evidence showing that the CLT was the approach the teacher used. Personal experience learning is valued through this approach. The teacher applied this as her class activity. Students were encouraged to discuss their life goal, who they wanted to be. The teacher provided some clues to students by showing some pictures of businesspeople, artists, managers and politicians. Students, then, were encouraged to share who they wanted to be and to provide reasons why. This kind of speaking activities aimed not only achieve the speaking fluency but also accuracy. The accuracy was not the main facts of the class, as it is also one of the elements of the CLT approach. The teacher indirectly wanted to introduce students with To Infinitive grammar points. Instead of writing the form of the grammar point on the whiteboard, the teacher allowed students to speak about their life goal which involved the To Infinitive. For instance, students said, I wanted to be a teacher. In this sense, students could be able to use “to be”. 

III. Conclusion and Recommendation

The observation and interview in classroom were conducted in the purposes of understanding the approaches used in Cambodian schools, the teacher’s perspectives and classroom and learning environment. Throughout the investigation, it found out that the class we observed was taught in Communicative Language Teaching approach (CLT) where the teacher adopted communication activity as the main focus, personal experience as the learning process and fluency over accuracy. 

Our observation allowed us to see a few things to be improved as well. Since the class itself consisted of students with different ages, the integration inside classroom was not yet satisfactory. The teacher should understand the needs of all students and find solutions to unify everyone for learning purpose. Second, the classroom was not really active. The teacher should work to promote the sense of volunteerism where students are internally encouraged to speak and share their perspectives toward to topic discussed. 

We are fully aware that there is limitation for this study due to time and resource given; however, this study’s findings are of significant importance for the reflections to new language teachers or new teachers to be. We recommend a further study should take place where the number teacher participants should be increased and where bigger scale of study should be conducted. By studying several teachers and observe different classrooms and schools, the result will provide significant sources to compare which methods of teaching work better with Cambodian students. 

Reference
Brown, H.D. (2001). Teaching by Principles. An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy (2nd). United States of America: Pearon.

Written by Uk Dararath and Nhep Kimleang

Myanmar-China Relations: Political Change during Democratic Transition

Myanmar-China Relations: Political Change during Democratic Transition

Myanmar democratic transition is not an overnight process. The seven-step roadmap for the transition was drafted two previous government before USDP government under Thein Sein. With the seven-step roadmap, new constitution was adopted. Under Thein Sein government or the USDP, the seventh step which was “building a modern, developed and democratic nation by the state leaders elected by the Hluttaw, and the government and other central organs former by the Hluttaw” (Mizzima Election 2010, cited in Sun 2012) . Major changes were witnessed, and its foreign policy was an obvious evidence of the democratic transition. Myoe (2016) states the objectives of Myanmar's foreign policy under USDP government which involved a form of multilateralism, especially regional cooperation and rebalance of relationship among major powers. These all focuses of Myanmar foreign policy were motivated by various interests including domestic pressure, economic benefits, security cooperation and strategic balancing. In the other words, Myanmar foreign policy shifted from isolationism and China over-dependency to regionalism and rapprochement with various major powers. 

Domestic political transition appeared to be a driving force for such foreign policy to be conducted. First it is very important to understand the nature of politics under the USDP government. The USDP government sought for legitimacy. The USDP government needed not only domestic legitimacy but also international one. As constitutionally elected, the USDP viewed international legitimacy beneficial to Myanmar image and its economic improvement (Myoe, 2016). By reforming its political atmosphere where democratization was taking place, it opened to international investments, especially by the West. Crisis Group Asia Report (2012) states that political opening brought about economic gains including lifting of sanctions by EU, US, Australia and Japan. The flows of trades and investment would allow the USDP to gain more support from domestic to its leadership and to strengthening democratization process.

Second, prioritized areas of focuses under the USDP included fighting poverty, easing political control over civil society, political activists and political organizations and media, reforming program on rural and urban, quick win strategy  such as framework for economic and social reforms (Robinson, 2014). Such areas of development could be achieved when there was with supports of international community and foreign investments. For instance, policy of fighting poverty required foreign investments for job creation. The framework of industrial development and rural development initiatives is another example where ending its isolation and integrating its economics with global system were necessary. 

Third, the USDP was concerned over national security. Having been over-dependent on China for decades, it was dangerous for Myanmar security as it was viewed China might interfere  if keeping such heavy rely and the USDP was also aware that there was a growth of anti-China inside Myanmar (Myoe, 2016). Chinese exploitation and the over-dependency put Myanmar in a position where changing its foreign policy direction was urgent. Moreover, reducing its dependency on China while improving its relationships with others states such as the U.S., Japan, Russia and India were a Myanmar strategic rationality for national security. Not only getting rid of China could Myanmar guarantee its national security but  also benefit from maintaining good relations from these powers. For instance, having normalized relations with the U.S., Myanmar could have the U.S sanction lifted. Myanmar, moreover, has established its good relations with Russia and India in term of military cooperation while with Japan in term of “government’s peace process and efforts towards democratization”. Myoe (2016) argues that “A new foreign policy objective does not conflict with nor replace the existing ones, but supplements them to make Myanmar foreign relations more active, dynamic, and international.” 

The foreign policy of Myanmar that aimed “to enhance national security,” “to bolster economic prosperity,” and “to promote a peaceful and equitable world order” (Myoe, 2016) were motivated by political transition under the USDP government. At least three reasons of USDP to conduct such foreign policy. First, the USDP wanted legitimacy that it was a source of foreign investment; second, there were needs of foreign investment to achieve its policy to fight poverty and social development; and finally, the rebalance of relationship among powerful states was necessary to get rid of China over-dependency, to maintain Myanmar security and to benefit various aspects, including economy and democratization from, by maintaining good relations with other actors. 

References

Myoe, M. A. (2016). Myanmar’s Foreign Policy under the USDP Government: Continuities and Changes. http://nbn-resolving.org/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:gbv:18-4-9350 

SUN, Y. (2012). China and the Changing Myanmar, in: Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs 

Crisis Group Asia Report. (2012). Myanmar: The Politics of Economic Reform. https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-east-asia/myanmar/myanmar-politics-economic-reform 

Wiiliams, M. C. (2015). Myanmar’s Troubled Path to Reform: Political Prospects in a Landmark Election Year. https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/field/field_document/20150226Myanmar.pdf 

Robinson, G. (2014). Myanmar’s Transition: Economics or Politics? Which Came First and Why It Matters. http://www.relooney.com/NS4053/00_NS4053_156.pdf 

The Purpose of Education - by Uk Dararath

The Purpose of Education

There is no single agreed idea on the purpose of education. At different periods of time and by different scholars and institutions, education is viewed to serve different purposes. To understand the purpose of education, it is more important to see different perspectives from different units and we will finally conclude our point of view at the end of these literature reviews. 

The journal published ASCD highlights several great perspectives regarding the purpose of education. Various philosophies were raised at different periods of time starting from early 1930s to 1990s. It can be summarized that education serves to give people the necessities to grow as human beings and to be accepted in society, and make potential development (Dewey, 1934; Martin, 1948; The ASCD Committee, 1957; Ammons, 1964; Foshay, 1991; cited in ASCD, 2012). 

In more contemporary context, education is widely discussed by scholars around the globe and several important international institutions have also been working on it as well. World Bank (2017) suggests that education plays a crucial role as a driving force of development and “the strongest instruments for reducing poverty and improving health, gender equality, peace, and stability.” This similar meaning of the purpose of education is also shared by UNESCO (n.d.). On individual level, Brende (n.d.) mentions that education allows people to get job, get out of poverty, have enough capital to support family and develop their communities. 

Leaving the broader context to understand the purpose of education, we should now focus on narrow definitions of education’s purpose in Cambodian context. Fata (2012) highlights the change of purposes of education in Cambodian history.  During the colonial period, Fata notes, the education played a role in establishing well-educated elites to work for the protectorate. However, there was the shift of focus after the colonization. The independent Cambodia perceived education as a driving force for social-economic development of the country. In more narrow view,in the modern time, higher education in Cambodia provides students with knowledge and skills that help them contribute fully to national development and labor market needs; employment related-skills; and understanding of and positive attitude towards work and a capacity to manage and work effectively and harmoniously with others, according to Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of Cambodia.

Different scholars and institutions at different times and contexts define the purpose of education differently; however, several similarities are also found in this diversity of definitions. Therefore, we can conclude that the purpose of education is to allow people to flourish fully as human being and socially, to live their lives in demanding society and to contribute to development of society. In the other words, education can bring about human being enhancement, innovations, responses to challenges and social development at large. 

Education serves as the greatest force to harmonize human being to coexist in the society. Education, therefore, allows people to develop themselves as social being through socialization. It serves as a platform where people learn to grow socially and culturally that it is to avoid social outrage. While education contributes to the instilling of culture and social norms, social-economic, critical and innovative skills are greatly focused in this contemporary era. It plays a part in producing human resources and capitals to respond to the demands from society ranging from labor needs to national and world challenges. In short, education is to transmit culture and to, more remarkably, produce resourceful people to meet the contemporary labor demands and challenges. 

References

ASCD (2012). What Is the Purpose of Education? http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_update/eu201207_infographic.pdf

Brende, B. (n.d). Why Education Is the Key to Development. Accessed on December 27. Retrieved from World Economic Forum at https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/07/why-education-is-the-key-to-development/ 

Fata, N. (2012). School Dropout at Basic Education Level in Rural Cambodia: A Longitudinal Study. https://ir.lib.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/files/public/3/34054/20141016200657185358/diss_ko5967.pdf 

UNESCO (n.d.). Education for the 21st Century.  Accessed on December 27. https://en.unesco.org/themes/education-21st-century

World Bank. (2017). Education. Accessed on December 26, http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/education/overview

Cambodia between China and the United States

“Cambodia between China and the United States”

The thesis on “Cambodia between China and the United States” hypothesizes the motive which Cambodia is more supportive to China than the U.S. This motive is based on two main facets: first, the Uighurs incident and the ASEAN’s failure to issue the joint communique; and second, Hun Sen’s expressions toward China and the U.S. Therefore, the thesis aims to explore the factors that push Cambodia to be closer to China than to the U.S.

The author employs case-study and retrospective approaches to insightfully discover the motivations pushing a closer Cambodia’s foreign policy toward China rather than toward the U.S. To answer this, several determinants are studied. The assessment is categorized into two, which are the individual level of analysis and state level of analysis. The individual level includes the prime minister’s reactions towards China and the U.S and his personality, background and perception toward each of the countries. At the state level, state-internal factors are taken into consideration. These include substate-actors, contexts and Cambodia’s relations with China and US. The author studies the bureaucratic system in making foreign policy and the lobby groups. More importantly, the contexts of the given period are also discovered to solve the research problem. Last but not least, at this same level of analysis, extends of interactions of Cambodia’s relations with China and the U.S., economic and political linkages, are also investigated. 

These approaches show their significances for this case exceptionally. The author mentions that previous studies focus mainly on the economic aspect to study the relations of Cambodia between China and the U.S. This study particularly looks up to different aspects as mentioned above since those factors contribute greatly to the path of Cambodia’s foreign policy. While Cambodian prime minister personally and/or politically plays an essential part for shaping the policy, the bureaucratic processes and actual situational contexts of Cambodia to China and to the U.S, in addition to the economic relations, also take part in Cambodia’s foreign policy contribution.

As found, Prime Minister Hun Sen’s personality is defined as “irascibly intractable and active-aggressive manner” which he doesn’t want to stay under someone’s control yet actively works and is willing to stay in power for long time. That is why Hun Sen moves closer to China than to the U.S. since the U.S tends to advise and control or influence Cambodian politics. The political natures of China and the U.S also shape Cambodia’s foreign policy. For instance, China recognized Hun Sen’s government after the 1997 incident and gave aids to Cambodia while the U.S toughly reacted. To gain his government legitimacy, Hun Sen has chosen China over the U.S. Besides, bureaucracy in which Hour Namhong plays an utmost role also contributes so much to foreign policy direction since Hour Namhong tends to accept, and be accepted by, China more while holding antipathy, historically, to the U.S. The Elites who also work closely with Hun Sen can influent Cambodia’s foreign policy, given that those tycoons have tight relations with China, economically. More Chinese companies and more interactions in a form of state exchange visits between Cambodia and China also motivate Cambodia to stay closer with China than with the U.S. 

Reference: 

Oudom, T. (2014). Cambodia between China and the United States. http://www.academia.edu/10739334/Cambodia_between_China_and_the_United_States 

School Dropout in Cambodia - by Dararath Uk

School Dropout in Cambodia

Existing research studies on the school dropout in Cambodia highlight several main factors that force students to drop out of school.

Poverty

First, one of many factors that poses acute challenges to students to continue their education path is poverty (No, 2012; McKeon, 2012; NEP, 2014; USAID 2015). The dropout rate is caused by the inability of students to purchase study-related materials and by the fact that they need to work to help their parents and/or to earn money to support their family. The poverty forces students to drop out of school and start in labor force. Entering in child labor and migrating to neighboring countries have been seen as common things for them after the dropout. 

School Conditions

While students face financial difficulty to continue their study, school conditions also force students to depart the school earlier. This is explained by the fact that some schools are too far and it requires transport to access to school. “A lack of transport was the biggest difficulty they faced in terms of regularly attending school, and schools being too far away were also highlighted frequently as being a barrier to attending school,” NEP (2014). Moreover, it is also raised that the existence of informal school fees is another barrier for students to continue their schooling. Although all public schools in Cambodia are free of charge, students need to pay money in order to access to exam papers and attend extra classes offered outside their curriculums. Some students are unable to pay for that and the option is to leave school.  

Family Obligations

Parents and family are also considered as a main influential factor to determine their children’s education. The decision to continue or leave the school is made by parents and/or by the conditions of the family.  “The children whose parents were divorced or passed away were at high risks of ending their education career earlier,” No (2012). It is also found that parents can stop their children’s schooling based on the school ranks provided by the teachers to their children. If the students are ranked low, they are decided to stop studying and start career earlier because the parents believe that their children’s academic continuation will not result fruitfully in the future and it is better to start up a career rather than to waste time going to school. What’s more, parents’ education background also plays roles in determining the children’s education. As found, parents with high education background allow their children to study longer than those with low one. 

Individuals

The children themselves are the predetermination for their own education path. It is found by NGO Education Partnership that students with disabilities leave school earlier because they are not understood well by the teachers about their disabilities and because of discrimination from their peers. Motivation to study and difficulty to catch up with lessons are additionally found to be a reason of giving up their education. Moreover, if students need to repeat the year, they also seem highly to leave school earlier because they find themselves older than other peers. 

References:

No, F. (2012). School Dropout at Basic Education Level in Rural Cambodia. Retrieve from: https://ir.lib.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/files/public/3/34054/20141016200657185358/diss_ko5967.pdf

McKeon, A. (2012). Why do students drop out of school? Retrieve from Empower Youth: http://pepyempoweringyouth.org/why-do-students-drop-out-of-school/ 

NGO Education Partnership (NEP). (2014). Rights to Education in Cambodia 2014. Retrieve from: http://www.nepcambodia.org/nepcambodia/members/upload/file/Right%20to%20Education%20in%20Cambodia%20Report1.pdf

USAID. (2015). School Dropout Prevention Pilot Program. Retrieve from: http://schooldropoutprevention.com/country-data-activities/cambodia/ 

Model United Nations Mission Report: Promoting Sustainable Development Goals 2030 by Dararath Uk

KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA

Nation Religion King

 ក្រសួងការបរទេស និងសហប្រតិបត្តិការអន្តរជាតិ

       MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

  AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Committee : United Nations General Assembly 
Topics         : Promoting Sustainable Development Goals 2030 
Delegate     : Uk Dararath

To Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, 

Cambodia enthusiastically attended the United Nations General Assembly which took place on May 18th at the United Nations Headquarter, New York. The committee discussed on “the Promoting Sustainable Development Goals 2030.” The discussion was to seek for mechanisms where the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 could be achieved. All the 17 goals were included and three of which, including ends of poverty, climate action, and partnership, were the main focus of the meeting. A number of recommendations from different states and especially from Kingdom of Cambodia were raised. 

About half of the member states attending the assembly registered for speaker-list. Most of the registering states raised their concerns and past actions and successful experience they have improved the issues as well as most importantly their respective recommendations to the committee to adopt to promote the sustainable development goals. Most of the concerns from developing states were in regards to the lack of ability to implement their existing policies. The lack of financial and technical availability remained the major concerns. Developed member states in the committee agreed to provide some aids in voluntary base and encouraged developing states to also put more efforts in improving its own capacity along with the aids given. 

China proposed to have 2 percentage of developed states’ GPD for aids to improve sectors to promote the sustainable development goals. Developed countries namely Belgium, New Zealand and Germany and Indonesia rejected such proposal although there was a favor from Myanmar, while some other developing countries including Kingdom of Cambodia remained neutral. After negotiation, developed states agreed to provide financial and technical supports to developing states but it shall be provided in voluntary base and with accountability and transparency delivery. Moreover, China urged all states to restrict national laws to prevent the private sectors’ contribution affecting the environment to reinforce the previous conventions including Paris Agreement and to obligate to update their actions every five years.

Kingdom of Cambodia has also contributed numerous recommendations and shared our successful stories including our great achievements in the Millennium Development Goals which had been incorporated with national Cambodian Millennium Development Goals and National Strategic Development Plan. Kingdom of Cambodia urged all member states to localize the sustainable development goals; encouraged the establishment of technical working group to contribute recommendations and monitor policies; called for cooperation among states and non-state actors to improve the investment in health, education, social protection and environment; encouraged more free and fair trade and investment. With such contribution, a numerous clauses were adopted in the resolutions and some most important of which included the encouragement of cooperation, bilaterally and multilaterally to achieve  trade liberalization, the elimination of trade barriers and promotion of free and fair trade; the providence of technical and financial assistance in voluntary base; maintaining accountability and transparency in action plans, respect of human rights, rule of law; and encouragement of the implementation of the SDG to national level and sub national level or national laws. 

We realized that in this respective meeting, there were several conflicting interests between developed and developing states. As per discussion, it was important to balance the interest between these two blocs. Therefore, it was an utmost importance to have delegations who were skillful in negotiating and making best of the interest for our nation and the whole world. In sum up, this General Assembly on the Promoting the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 was successful with great outcomes to achieve all the goals and to make our nation as well as the world prosperous. 

Disclaimer: This mission report is written by a Cambodian student delegate solely for simulation and academic purposes . These views herein do not in any way represent the view of any Cambodian university and ministry and government. 

***This article is published here in the purpose of sharing the format/sample of the mission report for Model United Nations. I am aware that there are many rooms to improve for this paper.