According to the Mon National Education Department, a new curriculum for Mon National Secondary and Primary Schools will be introduced this academic year.
According to Nai Rot Kakao, an official of the Mon National Education Department, the new curriculum was jointly developed by the Mon National Education Department and the Mon Literary Association.
“This curriculum has been in development for a long time. Before, there was only one Mon textbook written in only one subject. Later we realized that the curriculum is very important for children. So we drew up a guideline. Based on that, we discuss what content to include. Now we will finish designing for the primary school,” he said.
It takes time to prepare and complete a contemporary curriculum for the primary school level.
To teach Mon literature and Mon history in the middle school, experts are being invited to discuss and help prepare a draft.
“Middle level is taken care of according to our government curriculum. However, Mon literature and history was developed by us. We had to make a framework for curriculum development for grades 6, through 9. Based on that framework, we are going to draft the reading material,” said Nat Rot Kakoa.
Curriculum content, textbooks and teacher’s guides are also being innovatively designed to teach elementary school subjects from kindergarten to the fifth grade using the Mon mother tongue.
In 1972 the New Mon Party and the Mon National Education Department began promoting mother-tongue-based education in elementary, middle, and high schools, as well for post-10 classes.
This year the Mon National College was upgraded and the Mon National Education Department is trying to open a Mon National University.
According to statistics from the Mon National Education Committee, there are more than 140 schools in Mon State, Karen State and Tanintharyi Division, with more than 700 teachers serving more than 15,000 students.
