St Aloysius Gonzaga English Language Institute (SAG) marked a major milestone on July 5, with the granting of its first diplomas in education to 22 students who had successfully completed its three-year full-time Integrated Program. The graduating students received their diplomas from principal guest Bishop Basilio Athai of the Archdiocese of Taunggyi and Fr Mark Raper SJ, Major Superior of the Jesuits in Myanmar.
Some 50 guests, including nine teachers from the State High School Number 10, past teachers of SAG, and local clergy and religious, together with about 250 students of both the Regular and Integrated Programs of SAG attended the formal ceremony, which was followed by a less formal celebration with song, music and dance.
It has taken SAG a long time to get to this point. SAG’s director Fr Paul Dass SJ said that the Jesuit Myanmar Mission decided about four years ago that Jesuit education in SAG could be more than teaching communicative English. “Our strong belief also drew strength from a reading of the signs of the times here within Myanmar which on many fronts was moving very quickly forward; be it economically, socially or politically – and so, educationally as well,” said Fr Dass.
SAG began exploring the feasibility of this by offering of several academic subjects apart from English in its classrooms. Literature, psychology, social sciences, mathematics, world history and even philosophy were taught in English, within the construct of a wholly integrated curriculum. Although this posed huge challenges to the team, the trajectory was nevertheless maintained. “At the beginning of the program, we as teachers faced some difficulties because the students had different language levels and their background knowledge of subject areas like literature, psychology, mathematics, were far from their understanding level. They did not have the experience of learning these subjects at the State School level and were learning them here for the first time at SAG,” said Ms Nang Kyi Tay, academic coordinator of the program.
The integrated program was given a considerable boost when the Jesuit Myanmar Mission signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU) in the Philippines in November 2012. The MoU created a framework in which ADDU, particularly its School of Education, supports and enables SAG to develop its own fulltime curriculum in the liberal arts and humanities, to be taught in English, and culminate in Professional Education certification. The ADDU also agreed to grant its Diploma in Education to students who fulfilled the overall requirements of this curriculum, which was what was awarded on July 5, for the first time.
In addition, ADDU is hosting three SAG teachers for graduate studies in fields related to education, and will send visiting professors later this year, to teach the current class of final year students in several education related subjects and so prepare them for their graduation next year.
“The instance of one Jesuit institution helping another to continue to respond to apostolic needs in and around Asia Pacific, if not across the world, marks an effective way of proceeding forward. SAG is able to reap the benefits of this collaboration with a sister Jesuit institution, and looks forward to further growth and development because of it,” said Fr Dass.
SAG is clearly serving a need in Myanmar as the country continues to open up, and more opportunities become available for the people. John Nyi Nyi, who was one of the graduating class, said, “For three years, I had to study subjects in the liberal arts and in education. These subjects helped me to understand the life and responsibilities of a good teacher. I have learned many good teaching techniques and strategies, too. In conclusion, after completing the three years course in Professional Education, I gained much knowledge on how to share my knowledge with other people effectively.”
