Universities pressured to cut Myanmar ties over Rohingya crisis

Professor Penny Green couldn't be more wrong. Isolating Myanmar academics and students will further entrench minds here: the government and the military will respond in kind, setting the country back to the bad old days. That's good for no-one, except those Professor Green is hoping to "punish". Has Professor Green spent any time in Myanmar, I wonder? Has she taken the time to study the first class work INGOs such as The British Council, JICA and UNESCO are doing to help Myanmar education emerge from the isolation of five decades of misgovernanace? I would be interested to know her answers to these questions.

It seems that Islam has many proponents in the University sector, so much so they are blind to the practice of Hijrah, and they probably missed the report on the news where a Rohingya 'refugee' being interviewed in Bangladesh admitted to being supplied with and to planting explosives, along with many others, to kill army and police patrols before this 'crisis' blew up. To resolve this needs more than posturing and pulling out of the existing agreements, facing up to the reality of world wide Jihad might be a good start?

As a lecturer working for a university in Myanmar(Burma), I just want to let global academic members that our academic institutions desperately need help after enduring five decades under military dictatorship. Good Education is the only way to implement concrete democratic practices in our country. Our universities don't deserve any form of collective punishment due to Rohingya crisis in Rakhine state.

I don't want to say more.....but when a county committed genocide and compelled the whole region people to deport....... and you see that not a single person including a school-college student in mayanmar protest against this....so kind a disappointing... I guess. in us-western even though govt takes any controversial decision or take a wrong side about something important.... then people severely protest against this....which is completely absent in mayanmar

Lee Jones' comment about 'pointless virtue-signalling' is spot on. I posted this article on my Facebook page which is read by a variety of Myanmar and foreign friends, many of whom have been working on human rights and Burma for decades as activists and journalists. The responses included: “Totally counterproductive. Education is so crucial” (award-winning human rights journalist). “I do not understand these moves. It seems like they are running away from the actual job of supporting more understanding between communities. Education should NOT leave here, because it is THE only tool to enlighten people. Without it, it would be worse” (Myanmar founder of a liberal arts teaching institute). ‘The opposite should be happening ........’ (Longterm investor in ICT). ‘Misguided all around’ (Diaspora academic returning to teach law). ‘Well that's ridiculous’ (human rights journalist). ‘Another reminder that seen from afar, Burma can be only all good or all bad - there is no appetite for complexity. It's very depressing’ (Professor of Burmese language). ‘It's definitely a bad move. Isolation is not the answer if they really want Myanmar to be a more open and tolerant society’. (Myanmar activist).

What a logic? Would it solve the crisis by disengaging with Myanmar Educational Institutions? Is open mind or closed mind the solution to the crisis? How could a so called academic with open mind propose the disengagement policy? Only enlightened population can dispel the curses of ignorance, intolerance, superstition, radicalism, extremism, blind obedience, illiberalism, etc. Promoting education can lead to enlightening people and dispelling the curse. However, disengagement would be counterproductive. Any crises are not simple as we like them to be. Harbouring on simple explanation and prescription for the complex crisis is, in other word, a form of ignorance.