Five students from Parami University, an OSUN member institution, spoke to BBC News about their struggles in continuing higher education during the 2021 military coup in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and its aftermath. From dealing with losing electricity to writing philosophy essays for teachers who they only ever met virtually, the students share their experiences and explain how they are using education as a means of resistance and hope for themselves and the future of their country. Parami University is “a private, nonprofit, online synchronous university,” Kyaw Moe Tun, president of Parami University, told BBC. “Parami is different in that, currently, we are not a Burmese institution anymore. Legally and officially, we are a US institution and we received our university license from the Washington D.C. government. And in partnership with Bard College in upstate New York, Parami students receive Bard –
College credits as well. So they are on a path to receiving Bard College degrees.” Parami University has its roots in Myanmar. With a vision to empower Burmese and other Southeast Asian students through a liberal arts and sciences education, Parami started as Parami Institute of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2017 to provide quality education to adult learners. In June 2022, it was granted licensing from the Higher Education Licensure Commission of Washington, D.C. in the US to offer Associate Degree and Bachelor’s Degree programs.