BEHS 2 Dagon is a nationally known public high school located a few miles north of downtown Yangon

Yangon

Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...

. The former nationalist high school founded for the children of the common folk, now educates mostly the children of well-to-do Burmese families from Dagon and vicinity.

History

The school was founded as Myoma National High School by Ba Lwin in 1929 as part of a nationwide movement by the nationalist Burmese to counter what they perceived as drawbacks of the British colonial education system: lack of access, and a heavily biased curriculum.

The colonial education system relied heavily on a small number of private (mostly parochial) schools like St. Paul's English High School that were simply out of reach for most Burmese. Even the wealthy Burmese who could afford the schools were unsatisfied with the heavy Anglo-centric nature of the curriculum. (This led to the First Yangon University Strike in November 1920. The event is still celebrated annually as National Day.) Throughout the 1920s, the nationalist Burmese set up a parallel education system of national schools throughout the country. In 1929, Ba Lwin founded the school in Yangon. He would go on to guide the school until 1953.

The school was nationalized in April 1965, and eventually renamed as Basic Education High School No. 2 Dagon. Today, commonly known as Dagon 2, it is still a nationally prominent school due to its heritage. Ironically, the very access touted in the school's founding has dissipated. Dagon 2 today draws its student body overwhelmingly from well-to-do families who can pay a large "donation" every year.

The school is listed on the Yangon City Heritage List

Yangon City Heritage List

The Yangon City Heritage List is a list of man-made landmarks in Yangon, Myanmar, so designated by the city government, Yangon City Development Committee. The list consists of 188 structures , and is largely made up of mostly religious structures and British colonial era buildings. The list is...

.

Alumni

• Sein Hlaing: Most successful coach of Myanmar national football team
  Myanmar national football team
  The Myanmar national football team is the national team of Myanmar and is controlled by the Myanmar Football Federation. It was known as the Burma national football team until 1989, when Burma was renamed Myanmar. It finished second in the 1968 Asian Cup. They have participated in the Summer...
  
  ; Winner of FIFA Centennial Order Merit Award
• Ye Htoon
  Ye Htoon
  Ye Htoon, also known as Roland Chan Htoon , was a prominent Burmese lawyer, sometime-jailed political dissident, and a successful entrepreneur, and one of the notables of the now-extinct Scouting movement in Burma....
  
  : Prominent lawyer, political dissident and successful entrepreneur

List of principals

• 　Ba Lwin (BA (Hons), MA) 1929–1953
• 　Aye Thwe (BA) (1953–1957)
• 　Ba Tin (BA) (1957–1968)
• 　Ba Saw (BA, BEd) (1968–1970)
• 　Hla Thein (BA, BEd) (1970–1972)
• 　Nyein Maung (BA, BEd) (1972–1982)
• 　Win Soe (BA, BEd) (1982–1984)
• 　Tin Win (BA, BEd) (1985–1988)
• 　Khin Maung Nyunt (BAEd BEd) (1988–1990)
• 　Han Thein (BA, BEd) (1990–1997)
• 　Tha Win (BEd) (1998–1999)
• 　Tin Hlaing (BEd) (1999–2002)
• 　Tin Maung Tun (BSc, DipEd) 2002–present