ADVISORY COMMISSION ON RAKHINE STATE Recommendations: 33. The Union Government and the Rakhine State Government should ensure – and publicly state – that all communities in Rakhine have equal access to education, irrespective of religion, ethnicity, race, gender, or citizenship status. The Government should remove movement restrictions that reduce access to education, and reverse discriminatory practices that inhibit students without citizenship from higher education. 34. To give the education sector in Rakhine a major lift, the Government should develop a comprehensive plan for the strengthening of the state’s education sector, focusing on equal access, improved quality of education, and upgrading of physical facilities and teaching material. International partners should be ready to support Myanmar in these efforts both technically and financially. 35. The Government should immediately expand primary education to the communities in northern Rakhine State, and intensify efforts to ensure that teachers assigned to Muslim villages resume their work, including by providing adequate security when necessary. The Government should ensure that all children in the state have access to education in Myanmar language. 36. The Government should assess and address the indirect costs of schooling, such as costs related to transportation, food, uniforms, teaching materials and other equipment, which reduce access to education for the poorest segments of all communities. 37. The Government should expand access to post-primary education for children from all communities (including IDPs), and – for instance – explore the possibility of increased IT-based solutions, as well as government-matched pupil bursary schemes. FINAL REPORT 41