Nay Pyi Taw October 21
Acting President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Chairman of State Security and Peace Commission of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing met students of the five-year education degree course No 7 of the University for Development of National Races at MICC-I in Nay Pyi Taw this morning.
Also present were SSPC Vice Chairman Vice-Senior General Soe Win, SSPC member Prime Minister U Nyo Saw, SSPC member Executive Chief U Aung Lin Dway, SSPC Secretary Joint Executive Chief General Ye Win Oo, SSPC members, union ministers and union level officials, the Nay Pyi Taw Council chair, senior military officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief, the Nay Pyi Taw Command commander, deputy ministers, and officials, the rector, faculty members and students of UDNR.
In his address, the Senior General said with the aim of nurturing and generating good education staff who will prioritize national solidarity and development of national races, the State set up the Academy for Development of National Races on 20 October 1964. The State turned the ADNR into UDNR on 10 May 1991, and upgraded its curriculum to enable nationality youths from border areas to pursue advanced education.
The UDNR has brought about 14,514 teachers to this date. Students of the No 7 course will complete their course soon, and will serve as teachers. The Senior General said he would tell them the points they should know and the rules they must follow.
Abundance of intellectual resources is the cornerstone of national development. Normally, a country will be planning towards building a prosperous future with educated persons imbued with intellectual and technology knowledge, and at the same time, it will be striving for the development of an all-round education system, full of quality. Because of the weaknesses in the education sector, some areas of Myanmar lagged behind development. Hence, the National Defence and Security Council adopted an objective, “To strengthen sustainable development of the State by giving priority to the advancement of the national education and health sectors” and is striving to develop the education sector on a national scale.
A teacher is a person who shows the way to spread love among humans, a person who beautifies the life of students and the world, and a person who drives away sorrows. So, teachers are referred to as the leaders of the society and second parents. In this regard, the students of the No 7 course must educate their pupils and change their mindset, while teaching them to have sympathy towards mankind, and the will to prioritize the majority’s interest over self-interest. They must guide the students till the Myanmar mentality, “Respect the elders, show empathetic for the peers, and have compassion for the younger ones”, is instilled into their heart.
The students of the No 7 course must teach them to have the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, and truly understand the cause and effects. The future of students depends on the educational qualification and goodwill of their teachers. Hence, the students of the No 7 course must be imbued with the seven virtues of a teacher, which are, having an honor worthy of respect, love and admiration and the courage to correct their students at the risk of receiving hate, and the ability to answer all questions, to lecture serious matters, and show the areas with advantages, instead of the ones with disadvantages. Moreover, they must train the students with goodwill, enthusiasm, scarifying spirit and compassion, so that students will become educated and kindhearted persons.
They must join hands with parents and local organizations for all school aged children to attend classes. They must strive to lessen the number of dropouts and maintain the number of students attending classes. They must train the students to be truly educated, to be able to distinguish between right and wrong, and to be intelligent.
Schools should be venues that provide not only teaching and learning but also the essence of education such as intellectual knowledge, thinking skills, critical thinking, civic and social ethics are taught. In accordance with the motto “National discipline starts in schools,” teachers are required to instill students with good habits of citizens to abide by laws, rules and regulations starting from school disciplines.
As our country is a union made up of various national races, national unity of all national races is as important as life for stability of the country and perpetuation of sovereignty and is a great driving force for development of the country. To assert stability and the rule of law, entire people of national races are required to work together in unison.
Taking a glimpse at the affairs of the world including our country, it can be seen that unity among all citizens residing in the country and unity between the entire people and the Tatmadaw must be built without fail. Unity consolidates the strength of the nation and contributes to development and prosperity of the country. In accordance with the saying “The strength of the nation lies within the State,” the nation must be built with internal strength.
Therefore, you, national races are required to work together for the stability and prosperity of the country by nurturing the Myanmar spirit in oneself and national solidarity spirit and to cultivate students by instilling them with positive, cooperative and united mindsets and mindsets to help.
As safeguarding the independence and sovereignty of the country is the birth responsibility of all citizens of the union, all citizens are required to safeguard the country out of union spirit in unison. It is believed that you all uphold union spirit, which is as important as lifeblood, while studying together at the alma mater. Therefore, as graduates of the development university, you all are urged to mobilize national races people in regions where you are assigned duties to be united among national races by keeping union spirit alive.
As you are offspring nurtured by the State, you all are urged solemnly to cooperate with the State in national political duty of stability and development based on “Our Three Main National Causes” such as non-disintegration of the union, non-disintegration of national unity and perpetuation of sovereignty.
To build the union based on democracy and federalism aspired by the entire national races people, successfully holding a free and fair election is important. Measures are being taken to enable all eligible voters to cast their votes, to hold a free and fair multi-party democracy general election genuinely aspired by the people and to make it a prestigious one. Therefore, you all are urged to play your role in the process for successfully holding a free and fair election within the designated period.
You all are urged to train your students to be physically strong, knowledgeable, upright, socially adept and economically empowered young individuals, whom can be relied upon by the State, to foster new generation students who will shape the future of the State to be people with good convictions, altitudes, the love for the country and patriotism, to cooperate with the government for stability and socioeconomic development necessary for the country, and to mobilize national races people to possess sound foundations of union spirit and national unity by upholding “Our Three Main National Causes,” for the integrity of the union, and it is my wish that you all be treasure of the country who will perform duties energetically in terms of physical and intellectual capabilities to nurture an educated generation and to establish a developed country.
Then, Kayin national Sa Kyaw Zeyar Phyo of Kangyidaunt Township in Ayeyawady Region spoke words of thanks to the Senior General on behalf of the students from 5-year education degree course intake 7 of the university.
Afterward, the Senior General accepted a commemorative gift presented by two students.
Then, the Senior General and attendees posed for documentary photographs with students. Then, the Senior General cordially greeted the students individually.
