Financing for equity in primary and secondary education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to schools
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
The Ministry of Education operates Myanmar’s state school system, with national budget allocation flowing from the MoE to regional education offices and then to Township Education Offices for distribution to schools.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
From 2014-2021, the Ministry of Education (MoE), with support from the World Bank and international development assistance, implemented the Decentralising Funding to Schools Project (DFSP). The programme transferred central government funds from the MoE directly to Township Education Offices (TEOs). TEOs were responsible for distributing funds to schools and ensuring funds were spent on eligible items in accordance with programme guidelines. The programme integrated a strong equity component, guided by its Community Participation Planning Framework (CPPF), which aimed to ensure the programmes were transparent, fair, and participatory and specifically, it sought to guarantee that poor and vulnerable groups, including ethnic minorities, would benefit from decentralisation.
Aspects of earlier decentralisation in the education sector have been reversed in recent years. The 2014–2015 National Education Law was amended in October 2022, notably reducing the authority of regional governments by nullifying Article 49(f), which had granted regional governments the freedom to administer educational matters. The Decentralising Funding to Schools Project (DFSP) was also discontinued after 2021. In practice, the Ministry of Education continues to allocate government funds directly to Township Education Offices using a similar administrative process. These offices distribute funds to local schools through the School Improvement Fund (SIF). Under this system, school heads identify and submit their institutions’ needs for review, after which the Ministry of Education and the Department of Basic Education allocate and channel funds to State and Region Education Offices. Implementation and oversight are carried out under the supervision of Township Education Officers and school heads. However, education financing remains largely centralized.
2. Education resources to schools
From 2014-2021 Mechanisms for allocating resources to schools were primarily shaped by the Decentralising Funding to Schools Project and its Additional Financing. As described above, the MoE allocated funds to Township Education Offices, which redistributed funds to schools. Following the 2022 amendments to the 2014-2015 National Education Law, the government eliminated some school-level discretion, with funds allocated for standardised teaching materials, utilities, and minor building repairs.
As of 2025, the MoE continues to distribute central government funds, particularly through the SIF programme, directly to Township Education Offices (TEOs) as practised in previous years. TEOs then redistribute these funds to the respective local schools. TEOs and schools have limited control over how funds are spent.
The Department of Basic Education aims to support schools through the provision of textbooks, including materials in indigenous languages for ethnic minority students, and oversees the recruitment and training of teachers in vulnarable areas. School infrastructure and essential furnishings are supplied, and additional assistance is provided to schools affected by natural disasters, including targeted funds and learning materials to maintain continuity of education.
The MoE collaborates with international and humanitarian partners to further supplement resources to schools, particularly in disaster-affected and marginalised areas.
Compulsory and Inclusive Education Programme (CIEP)
The Compulsory and Inclusive Education Programme (CIEP), as outlined in the MoE’s National Education Strategic Plan 2016-21, aimed to improve access to basic education for children from poor households who were not enrolled or at risk of dropping out. The programme focused on three main components: strengthening compulsory primary education through township-level interventions and grants for School Action Plans, supporting at-risk students with remedial literacy and numeracy, expanded stipends, and school feeding programmes, and promoting inclusion for children with special educational needs by developing specialist teacher training, designating inclusive resource schools, and integrating inclusive education into teacher education programmes.
3. Education resources to students and families
The Student Stipends Programme was launched in 2009-2010 under the Ministry of Education’s Basic Education budget to reduce the financial pressure of household expenditure on education. In The programme was financed with the support of the World Bank, Australia, Denmark, and Finland.
The selection process first looked at townships with high poverty and low educational performance, then identified schools with a greater number of poor children, and finally prioritised poor and vulnerable students in Grades 5-11. Students received stipends of US$3.30 for primary education, US$5.30 for middle school, and US$6.60 for high school for four consecutive years if they complied with the conditions on school enrolment and attendance, good behaviour, and performance.
The MoE intends to continue providing stipends to students facing difficulties, including those in poverty, those from remote areas, students with disabilities, and students from border areas.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Myanmar’s social protection system has been characterised by low coverage rates and fragmented policies across government departments, and served only a fraction of the eligible population. Humanitarian actors provide limited support to students and families. The Asian Development Bank is committed to providing emergency education assistance to communities including the provision of learning materials, cash transfers to families, and psychosocial services for children who have experienced trauma.
5. School meal programmes
Myanmar maintains an active school meal programme that relies largely on World Food Programme (WFP) implementation and external donor funding rather than full national ownership. The Ministry of Education leads government involvement, with technical input from the Ministry of Health on nutrition. The programme targets pre-primary and primary students in high-need areas, including Chin, Rakhine, and Shan states, providing fortified biscuits, cooked meals, or take-home rations five days per week during the school year. Its origins date to WFP food-for-education initiatives in 1996, formalised through a 2015 Letter of Intent with the Ministry of Education to support capacity building for a potential national transition, although domestic budgets remain supplementary amid fiscal constraints. Meals follow WFP standards for energy content (approximately 300–500 kcal per serving), micronutrient fortification, and dietary diversity, incorporating local ingredients where feasible rather than relying on independent national guidelines.
Additionally, local communities and Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) occasionally carry out their own school meal programmes. Apart from the school meal programme, health services in school are actively engaged for the students by the concerned ministry or by the community.
This profile was reviewed by the Permanent Delegation of Myanmar to UNESCO.
