PDO High School

Teaching under a tree

The projects of the World Child Care Foundation take place on the school compound of the Phaung Daw Oo Integrated Monastic Education School (PDO High School). This school in the metropolis of Mandalay was founded in 1993 by U Nayaka, a Buddhist monk. He started teaching under a tree to the poorest children in town.

In Myanmar you have to pay for state education and many parents cannot afford it. The monks in Myanmar do a lot of good work by offering free education in their monastic schools.

Expansion of the school

Soon wooden classrooms arose and and U Nayaka started a real school. With support from abroad - in particular from aid organizations from Germany, Japan, Switzerland and Australia - the school has been established in about 30 years, where nowadays 8,500 underprivileged children get educated.. More than 400 teachers and staff currently work at the school.

More than 7,000 children come to school every day on foot, by bike or by bus. The other 1,500 children live permanently on the school compound. On the one hand, these are 800 novices (young monks) and 300 older girls, who share a dormitory in groups of eight and live more or less independently. On the other hand, these are the 400 children that the World Child Care Foundation takes care of. Of these 400 children, 350 girls live in the residential group The Golden House and 50 boys in The Hostel. All children come from underprivileged families and more than half of them come from one of the country's 134 ethnic minorities. The orphans of the first hour have now almost all flown out.

The school now occupies an entire neighborhood in the city of Mandalay. The site contains huge school buildings, dormitories, dining areas, training rooms, workshops, offices, a library and a guest house. There is even a complete doctor's clinic, where doctors and specialists from the city give free treatments to the children and the poorest people in the city.

Opportunities after graduation

The children who receive education at the PDO High School are mostly between 4 and 18 years old. During the last three school years, young people are prepared for the state exam. After three attempts, about 30% of them pass the exam. They can move on to further education. The majority of young people can no longer continue their studies. These young people look for a job in the city or go back to their parents in their native village to work on the paddy fields. However, these young people have all received sufficient education.

Young people who live in The Golden House or The Hostel and pass their final exams are often asked to work within one of the many programs and projects at the school. They have had the right upbringing and are socially oriented. Some have lived at the school for years and have the potential to become junior staff members in one of our residential groups.

Many of these young people participate in the English & Life Skill Program that we started at the school in 2014. We also call this program Bridging. Young people can study at a part-time university too. If they successfully complete their studies, they have a chance of a better job and can build a life of their own.

Educational innovation

Chief monk U Nayaka has campaigned in recent years with a committee of monks for radical educational reforms. These innovations have now been largely implemented by the Ministry of Education. A year has been added to high school and all exams have been rewritten. From now on, more will be tested on insight and not just on the reproduction of knowledge and facts (rote learning).

The school has also been given the role of regional training center. Teachers from the countryside come to follow courses and training courses during the summer holidays.

The school grounds house the MEDG project group, which is committed to improving education in the monastic schools in Myanmar. The approach is aimed at changing the mindset of school principals, teachers, students and parents. High-quality primary education has been developed, that is accessible to everyone and a large e-learning network has been set up, that has been rolled out via fiber optic.

All this makes Phaung Daw Oo High School the ideal place to invest in Myanmar!