The National Unity Government (NUG) Ministry of Education announced that it will hold matriculation exams in February 2023 for students who have completed their high school basic education.

According to the 9 July NUG announcement, anyone who is over seventeen years old and has attended ninth-grade basic education will be able to sit the NUG organised exam.

The NUG will be holding three types of exam.

Online exams for students who have access to a stable internet connection.

In territory controlled by the NUG or ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) there will be normal in-person exams at assessment centres where the students' safety can be guaranteed.

Students who do not have reliable internet and live in junta-controlled areas will be able to take offline remote exams. The NUG will send them exam papers, the students will then take the exams and send their answer sheets back to the NUG to be marked.

It is a two-hour exam and the NUG claims that its exam, unlike the military regime's system, will assess knowledge, understanding, application, analysis, and creative problem-solving.

The change in the exam format and emphasis on teaching independent thought being implemented by the NUG is a big transition that the Myanmar education sector has been expecting that could pose challenges for both teachers and students who will have to adapt the ways they teach and learn.

A person who was previously involved in developing the Basic Education curriculum said: 'I think this is a good thing for teachers, they will welcome the change. However, they [the NUG] might face challenges as well as difficulties in implementing the new system.'

The NUG plans to hold matriculation exams every February and August. Students taking the exam will be given a score and told where they rank against other students, but there will be no pass mark for the exam and they will not be graded as having passed or failed.