"U KAUNG, the late Commissioner of Education and an expert in Myanmar education, once said the monastic education system created morality and enshrined Myanmar culture in students.... Traditionally, monastic students were from a variety of backgrounds; monasteries were the only places rich and poor, royals and commoners attended together. They learned the ?three Rs” of reading, writing and arithmetic as well as ethics and the Buddhist way of life. Monks have been both the spiritual teachers of the people and responsible for the basic literacy of laypersons ? although they are not technically supposed to take on this second role. The monastic education tradition emerged from Theravada Buddhism in Myanmar in the 11th century and has been an integral part of Myanmar culture since. Monasteries played such a significant role in Myanmar education that British people who visited Myanmar in the 19th century observed Myanmar?s literacy rate was higher than Britain?s at that time..."