RANGOON — Since late last year, over 100 Burmese children who left school to work at teashops in Rangoon have been able to resume their studies in a rather unique location: inside a bus that has been converted to a mobile classroom.
The so-called “school on a bus” project—launched in December by the Myanmar Mobile Education Project (MyMe)—drives around to different teashops in Burma’s biggest city, offering an opportunity after working hours for the children to pursue a non-formal education, including with classes in basic literacy, math, computer schools and critical thinking.
To expand the project, a well-wisher recently donated a second bus turned mobile classroom.
“We will use this bus for high school students, and we will teach computer literacy to other students at monastic schools who have no access to technology,” said Tim Aye Hardy, director of the project, during a launching ceremony on Sunday for the second bus, which was donated by the family of Myoma U Ba Lwin, a national education leader who founded a high school in Rangoon.
MyMe currently has 11 teachers and volunteers who reach out to nearly 150 students through their mobile classroom project.
