PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
We are raising funds for the establishment of a social enterprise project that will provide ongoing financial support for teacher salaries at a school that now offers only primary and middle school education. The curriculum follows the secular national model. The project is intended to extend the academic offerings by one school grade per year in each of the next three years, resulting in the school being able to offer high school education after the project is fully implemented.
Specifically, the project is intended to fund startup costs and initial operating expenses of a new tea shop in the school's village. Of the net income, 80% will be used to fund the hiring of additional STEM teachers at the high school level. and 20% will be reinvested in the tea shop operations to fund equipment replacement and future growth.
BACKGROUND:
Nat Taing Monastic Education Middle School is in Yan Aung Myay Quarter, Chaung Oo Township, Sagaing Region, Myanmar. It is a monastic school that was established in 2011 by the Venerable U Sumana. The school provides free basic education from pre-school to Grade-8 to children of poor and low-income families, especially children of farmers and peasants in four rural villages. All teachers are paid for at a monthly salary of MMK 60,000 (About US$45.00).
Since the school is in a poor rural area, parents are frequently unwilling to send their children to school due to associated costs (uniforms, etc). U Sumana and his staff have worked to provide a viable basic education school and to persuade parents to send their children. Pre-school to grade-4 was established in the 2013-2014 academic year. Grade 5 was added in the 2014-2015 academic year. Grade 6 in 2015-2016, Grade 7 in 2016-2017, and finally Grade 8 was added in the 2017-18 academic year. The community has become very supportive and has pitched in by helping to build things needed by the school and with parents and community members serving on a school committee that participates in administrative decision-making.
PROJECT MOTIVATION:
At present, students have no affordable or viable alternatives to continue past Grade 8. The only choice is a governmental high school that is 3-1/2 miles away with few transportation options. Those students who finish Grade 8 will most likely end their education and work in their families' farms. The school has seen a high frequency of such drop-outs over the past two years. This is a big issue for the school school and the community but also for Myanmar's society and future. Parents also don't want to (and generally can't afford to) send their children to distant schools where they must stay at hostels. While they could attend free monastic high schools, with the school's support for food, many parents don't wish to send their children away to board.
PROJECT GOAL:
The school has decided to establish a Grade 9 program and will
hire four retired teachers from the town to teach four subjects,
Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, and Biology. Two existing two
teachers will teach Myanmar and English. Since these four new
teachers will also be qualified to teach in Grade 10, the school will
be able to open that grade in the following year, enabling students to
complete their high school level education (which ends at Grade
10). Students who are able to continue their education
into high school, especially in the STEM subjects, not only gain
“content” learning but can master significant STEM skills and critical
thinking abilities that have vast practical applications in business,
agriculture and the skilled or semi-skilled trades. We expect this
project to have broad positive impacts on community life and the
future for the youth in these villages.
SUSTAINABILITY:
The school has determined that
it cannot rely on outside funding for this expansion and has designed
a carefully-planned project to start a tea shop business to provide
continuing future financial support. The school will open a
"Panna Dana" Tea House in the town that is expected to earn
a recurring monthly profit. The school expects that
income generated will provide salary support for Grade 9 and 10
teachers and additional funds for school expansion.
OTHER SUPPORT:
Construction will soon begin for
three additional classrooms which will serve Pre-K and Kindergarden as
well as Grade 9 grade in school year 2018-19 and Grade 10 grade in
2019-20. Building construction and furnishings are being
funded by the Build a School in Burma, an NGO. (https://www.buildaschoolinburma.org/).
The school recently opened a small school library with a trained librarian and a Norwegian NGO has cleared and graded our playground area, making it a safe place for our students to play.
Private community donations to the monastery are supporting the purchase of school supplies and materials for the students.
BUDGET
Furniture: $500.00
Rent 6 months: $900.00
Starting Inventory: $350.00
Salaries 6 months: $800.00
Total Startup: $2,550.00
Nat Taing Monastic Education Middle School
Yan Aung Myay Quarter
Chaung U Township, Sagain
PROJECT DIRECTOR: Venerable U Sumana, Principal
PROJECT COOR D INATOR: Zaw Win Htet, Teacher
Friends of Pariaman acts as financial sponsor for this project.
For more information, please contact: info@Pariaman.org
All donations are fully tax-deductible for US donors.
