Implementing institution: Thabyay Education Foundation
Country: Myanmar [Burma]
Source: CEI
Execution period: 2009 - in progress
Plataforma de Prácticas Efectivas:
To help vulnerable students overcome existing barriers to entry into higher education.
An online course platform that prepares students to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
68 of the 130 students who took the official TOEFL test in 2014 achieved the minimum score required to enter an English-speaking university.
The Exam Preparation Outreach Program (EPOP) is an online platform that provides vulnerable rural students with a set of learning materials and self-assessment tools to prepare for English-language university entrance exams. The initiative is the result of the work of the Thabyay Education Foundation which was launched in 2009 together with the sponsored Open Society Foundation.
The methodology is individualized and clearly oriented towards self-learning. Individualized in the sense that students practice and evolve according to their level initially established by an aptitude test and constantly monitored by means of tests. EPOP’s main innovation lies in making a set of materials accessible online. Members are asked to pay a fee of US$20, which covers the costs of the TOEFL test. For those who demonstrate shortage of resources, or who are refugees, the program is given to them free of charge.
In the first instance, the NGO contacts identified priority communities to obtain a list of interested young people. They must demonstrate a willingness to pursue academic studies through a coherent professional project and set an explicit goal with respect to the TOEFL test. Interested parties are selected based on the results they achieved in an aptitude test that determines their potential. After entering the program, they have access to a platform that guides them through courses and tests that include: 10 vocabulary questionnaires, 5 short text comprehension questionnaires, 4 writing tests, 2 essays, 1 final exam and 2 diagnostic tests. 5 volunteer tutors support the students through the platform, answering their questions and giving them advice on how to improve. Periodically, the NGO organizes a round in communities to organize small working groups and distribute physical materials such as books and CDs. Since its launch, EPOP has reached 1,500 young people, with an annual average of 350.
Burma is the largest and most ethnically diverse country in Southeast Asia. It has 8 large ethnic groups distributed among 108 linguistic subgroups. Given the ethnic conflict since independence in 1948, ethnic minorities took refuge in rural mountainous areas in the north. Today, Burma’s rural population represents 66% of the total population and suffers from high levels of poverty.
The use of English represents a strong component of exclusion of social groups in the country. It is the language of the administration and a necessary prerequisite to enter the university so it is the main factor of social mobility. While all schools teach English, reading and writing scores are much higher in private schools than in urban areas. There is thus an important gap between urban and rural students, who are mostly members of ethnic minorities.
Since its inception, the EPOP program has had an internal monitoring and evaluation system that appreciates its students’ performance, satisfaction, graduation rate, and number of students served. Participants’ perceptions are collected through self-administered online surveys that are systematically applied at the end of courses while the graduation ratio is measured with the TOEFL ITP Assessment tool. For a cost of $150 per student, the program achieves good results in terms of graduation: 68 of the 130 students who passed the TOEFL in 2014 achieved the minimum score for admission to English-speaking universities. 87% of program participants in 2014 said it was very useful while 83% said it helped them increase their English skills. While the program can be extended and replicated in a very simple manner, the main challenge lies in the poor internet connection and electric supply, which usually affects the intervention areas of the project.
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