Section 3 | RULES OF THE GAME analyzed TVET and labor-market needs,174 secondary education,175 and higher education,176 the second CESR phase was an in-depth analysis with concrete recommendations to improve educational outcomes by bringing infrastructure, instruction, and achievement up to ASEAN standards; both ICTs and equity (including but not limited to gender) were examined as key cross-cutting issues. The third (current) phase is the development of a National Education Strategic Plan 2016–2021 (NESP). It is clear from the NESP that improving digital access and skills for administrators and educators is a high priority. The blueprint calls for the MOE to draft a Basic ICT Tools Investment Plan detailing needs for ICT tools throughout the national education system, which will be implemented pending EC approval and funding. Envisioned needs include use of tablet computers or mobile devices to collect and automatically report annual data from schools and educational institutions, a smartphone-based Teacher Communication and Learning Network to connect all government basic-education teachers, and an accessible and affordable e-learning center network among higher education institutions for students and instructors.177 Significantly, it does not include information or digital literacy in its definition of twenty-first-century skills,178 unlike the OECD and World Economic Forum (see figure 12). 179 Figure 12: Students Require Sixteen Skills for the 21st Century 21ST-CENTURY SKILLS FOUNDATIONAL LITERACIES COMPETENCIES CHARACTER QUALITIES How students apply core skills to everyday tasks How students approach complex challenges How students approach their changing environment 1. Literacy 7. Critical Thinking / 11. Curiosity Problem Solving 12. Initiative 2. Numeracy 3. Scientific Literacy 8. Creativity 13. Persistence / Grit 4. ICT Literacy 9. Communication 14. Adaptability 5. Financial Literacy 10. Collaboration 15. Leadership 6. Cultural and Civic 16. Social and Cultural Literacy Awareness LIFELONG LEARNING Source: World Economic Forum180 ADB, Myanmar Comprehensive Education Sector Review Phase I: Technical Annex on Labor Market Analysis— The Demand for Higher Education and TVET Graduates (Manila: ADB, January 2013). 175 ADB, Myanmar Comprehensive Education Sector Review Phase I: Rapid Assessment: Technical Annex on the Secondary Education Subsector (Manila: ADB, March 2013). 176 ADB, Myanmar Comprehensive Education Sector Review Phase I: Rapid Assessment: Technical Annex on the Higher Education Subsector (Manila: ADB, March 2013). 177 Myanmar Ministry of Education, National Education Strategic Plan 2016–2021. 178 Myanmar Ministry of Education, National Education Strategic Plan 2016–2021, 254: “The Curriculum Framework emphasizes 21st century skills as expected competencies students attain after learning activities. The 21st century skills, which is based on a skill model suggested by Partnerships for 21st Century Learning in the USA, is composed of intellectual strength, physical strength, moral and ethical strength, social strength and economic strength. In addition, it also includes higher-order thinking skills, cognitive skills, creative skills, problem-solving skills and leadership skills as cross-cutting competencies.” 179 Jenny Soffel, “What Are the 21st Century Skills Every Student Needs?” World Economic Forum blog, March 10, 2016. 180 Ibid. 174 Ending the Gender Digital Divide in Myanmar: A Problem-Driven Political Economy Assessment | 53

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