Teaching Democracy at American Centre - Kinda On 14 March 2012 at the U.S.

Embassy American Centre School in Yangon, Myanmar students rebelled against the U.S. Embassy administration and the American Centre Director of Courses, Erin Whittig. They staged a walkout protest during a town hall style meeting after given explanation for an increased tuition scheme. Many of the students held signs above their heads during the Public Affairs Officer's opening dialogue that said, An unjust decision is itself a species of violence. The sign expressed their distress and incompatibility with the high tuition rise. The meeting was much anticipated by the students as the new tuition scheme was suddenly thrust upon them only two days earlier with embassy announcement of explanation at Town Hall Meeting. During the protest the Director of Courses, Erin Whittig, ran teary-eyed from her perch on stage to exit the meeting. She was apparently sensitive to the students defiant and confident repose to her misleading information causing confusion and anger amongst students prior to the meeting. Earlier in the week students were given a controversial bulletin in both English and Burmese language. The Burmese version had different information from the English version, specifically a different date for the meeting. The reason for the dual language notice was to alert the students who could not yet read English. Some students believed the Director of Courses deliberately mislead the students in order to avoid a large crowd at meeting. Following opening remarks by the Public Affairs Officer the students were asked to query the reasons for the new tuition scheme. The students, led by the two time elected Student Council president Htet Pai Aung, responded silently while several times raising the signs high above their heads. After several minutes, they stood in unity and walked silently out of the meeting. Outside of the town hall the students held a press conference with local media in the school compound. Local journalists have open access to the American Centre if they are library members. The walkout left a dozen stunned students unaware of the planned walkout inside of the town hall. Several minutes after the student walkout an embassy official whom remained silent during the meeting made an untimely exit. The protesters blocked his chauffer driven vehicles exit thereby forcing him to leave his vehicle to address the angry but polite mob of more than one hundred students who swarmed around the official. He pleaded with the students to remain calm and explained to them that he would be willing to meet them yet again to discuss their concerns should they let him depart. The serious but polite students allowed him to leave the compound without incident. With only about a dozen students left to question the motives behind the new tuition scheme the questions from the students were pointed. The main reason given for the tuition rise was that teachers salaries were the bulk of the American Centre budget of which the remaining portion was reduced by the policies at the Department of State controlling the American Centre purse. However, unsatisfied by the extemporaneous retorts the students delved into the exorbitant tuition increase. They proceeded to ask heated questions about teachers salaries and offered alternatives to tuition increases. The Public Affairs Officer negated all of their suggestions with evasive remarks. The question about teachers salaries went unanswered. The American Centre once offered English Courses at fees considered moderate by U.S. standards but actually affordable only to wealthy and some middle class Myanmar students. The new fee for one class is now topped at 220,000 Kyats. The old fee was 140,000 Kyats. This compelled the students to sign a unity pledge explaining they could no longer afford the fees American Centre, and recognized the lack of standards and quality with curricula and stated they would not register for classes next term. The unity pledges with signatures on large poster papers was seized and removed to the Public Affairs Officer under the ruse of the embassy officials desire to study it further.

Currently, many students feel that they are short-changed by the lack of quality facilities and poor academic standards. Indeed, the inept handling of registration and poor management and planning from the Director of Courses has created havoc amongst students. Prior to the current term most students were unaware of registration dates and on the first day of classes no classrooms were assigned and students were left standing around with their teachers wondering what classrooms would accommodate them. The students verbalized displeasure that the once promised computers and audio players for selfstudy have yet to materialize and they have no way to self-study other than reading books or magazines and watching CNN in the library. Another prevalent complaint was that students feel their culture is being repressed because the Embassy now forbids them from practicing fundraising for charitable causes and from attending donations trips in the name of their campus club or in groups associated with the American Centre. These colonial era dictates dont sit well with the students whose multi-faith generosity is common practice. According to several unnamed American Centre staffs and students over the past two years the American Centre has seen a slow decline in leadership and virtually absent vision from its directorate whom is viewed as out of touch with the cultures and customs of the student body, the curriculum and particularly in communicating with the local staff. The Director is known to delegate most of her tasks to locally employed staff and other teachers, and passes blame on to them when things go wrong. Her reason is that her role as Director of Courses is administrative not academic, and that she has no say in decision-making, as unlikely as it is unbelievable. Its been typical for the American Centre to be surrounded by controversy. At the helm of Director Erin Whittig, the AC is like a beaten raft adrift on sea of low expectations, unprofessional behavour and absolute failure. Ngwe Ngwe Aung Myint