"Some tourists take time out of their busy schedule to visit a monastic school, even if the visit is not a part of the itinerary. They ask us to take them there,” U Tun Myat, a tour guide who has been working in the tourism industry for more than 20 years, said. Monastic schools are a symbol of ancient education in Myanmar. It’s been an age-old tradition. As a Buddhist country, and as an expression of how children of Buddha work for the betterment of society in the country, some tour agents put visiting monastic schools on their schedules as a tourist activity. “The tourists donate stationery for the children. They spend time with them,” he said. Before modern schooling education in Myanmar often took place in monastic settings, dating back to the ancient kings. One notable student was king Thibaw himself, the last vestige of royalty from the Kongbaung dynasty. He studied at a monastic school in Mandalay. Decades passed. The age-old tradition is still alive across the country, mostly for impoverished people. Monastic schools run by monks and nuns have been of vital importance in educating disadvantaged children. In Sagaing and Nyaung U, where many old monastic schools have survived, sites are frequently visited by tourists. Some monastic schools educate ethnic children coming from unstable states such as Shan and Kachin. Their parents think monasteries and convents are safer places to send their children, said U Tun Myat. Some girls and boys come from one-parent families. They were sent there when a father or mother died, and the surviving parent cannot take care of them..."