When saffron-robed monks took to the streets last month in a rare display of public protest in Myanmar's cities, one familiar element in uprisings around the world was largely missing: university students. There's a good reason, say Burmese academics. The junta that has ruled Myanmar, formerly Burma, for the past 19 years has stultified and splintered the universities. "The military has a deliberate policy to not educate the people," alleges a Western diplomat in Yangon. "They are afraid people will learn to think critically." Burmese dissident Aung Zaw, editor of The Irrawaddy magazine, agrees. "The military leaders think it is easier to control an uneducated population," he asserts.
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