Myanmar MBBS students going on abroad for study

Exodus of Medical Students from Burma
By Min Lwin
January 9, 2008


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Medical students in Burma are frustrated by the lack of opportunities and future prospects, according to Aye Sandar, who is studying a Third MB junior degree at Medical University of Rangoon No 2 in North Okkalapa in the outskirts of Rangoon.

“Traditionally, medical universities are popular destinations for eager young minds, said Aye Sandar. “However, nowadays, young medical students are losing interest; they are leaving medical school to go abroad.”

“I was really interested in learning medicine,” said Ze Yar, a student at Rangoon Medical University in 2006. “But when I started attending the class, it was different to what I had imagined. There were 20 students performing surgery on each cadaver. We were not getting enough experience, so I decided to go and study in Singapore,” he told The Irrawaddy by phone on Tuesday. “What we learnt in medical university in Burma didn’t fit the medical profession.”

“It is estimated that there are currently up to 900 former medical students from Burma studying for diplomas in Singapore,” said Ze Yar, who is himself studying education at a polytechnic in the island state.

According to Ze Yar, graduating medical students in Burma must wait a long time until the Department of Health selects a post for them. Degrees and diplomas obtained at Burmese medical universities are not internationally recognized.

Ze Yar said he had no regrets about turning his back o¬n the country of his birth. “I spent 18 years of my life in Burma, but the government didn’t do anything for me,” he said. He feels no sense of gratitude towards Burma—on the contrary, he says, “I’d really like to serve my home country, but I owe my gratitude to Singapore.”

Another former student of Medical University of Rangoon No 2, Kyaw Tun, now works at an electronics store in Singapore after receiving a diploma from Nanyan Polytechnic in Singapore. Like thousands of young Burmese before him, Kyaw Tun sought employment abroad.

“I left Burma to give my life stability, and that’s the main reason I joined the polytechnic,” he told The Irrawaddy in a phone interview. For Kyaw Tun, stability means the opportunity to earn a secure living in a country free from the restrictions and uncertainties of life in Burma.

“It’s very sad that even the brightest Burmese students only receive diplomas in Singapore; they cannot even hope to get a degree, because it’s so difficult,” says Thidar, a former teacher at Medical University of Rangoon No 1.

Thidar says that the difficulties in applying the knowledge learnt in the medical profession in Burma is an additional reason why so many Burmese medical students elect to study abroad after completing their matriculation exams.

Ko Htike, who qualified to go to medical university in Burma but did not attend, said most of the outstanding young students don’t want to be doctors. “They are not interested in working as doctors,” he said. “They leave their home country because there is no future there.”

Less than six years ago, Ko Htike was at high school in Burma, contemplating his future. Now he works as a technical assistant in Singapore. He added that all technicians from Burma are in high demand within Singaporean industries.

After graduating from the prestigious Medical University of Rangoon No 2 in 2004 with a degree, Zin Mar Aung could not find suitable employment. “In Burma, it’s difficult for general practitioners to find jobs, and their salaries are so low,” she said. “I regret that it took me six years to earn my degree.”

Zin Mar Aung left home seven months ago to study for a master’s degree in business at the National University of Singapore. “It is good to be here because I wouldn’t be able to do anything in Burma,” she said, adding that many students who graduated from her college are now working as salespeople for pharmaceutical companies in Rangoon.

A total of 2,400 students per year are entitled to apply to study medicine in Burma at one of the four medical universities, according to the university entrance guide booklet from the Department of Higher Education in Rangoon.

Students who graduate from medical universities have to wait for several months just to work as assistant doctors because the government cannot find posts for the number of students who are graduating each year in medical science. “Half of the students who graduate go to work in government hospitals,” says Dr Tint Zaw, formerly of North Okkalapa General Hospital.

Thidar is acutely aware of the irony inherent in medical universities where there is a lack of teachers. The former teacher drew a comparison with the insufficient equipment in laboratories. While she sees the necessity in gaining work experience, she still despairs. “I am afraid that the next generation of doctors in Burma coming from these universities will be unqualified,” she said.

Singapore has been a popular destination for Burmese students since the 1990s. The city state suffers from a manpower shortage and lures foreign students with offers of permanent resident status and 80 percent loans. Recipients repay the loans by working for the Singaporean government after completing their studies.