Ministry wants to monitor schools

As the number of illegal Burmese migrants in Thailand soars, so does the number of their children. Without any official or social status, these children have little, if any, educational opportunities.

It is estimated that there are well over 50,000 such children in Tak alone.

To help these children, many non-governmental organisations (NGO) have set up learning centres where non-Thai children can sit classes for free. Their courses are mostly based on the Burmese curriculum. Thai-language instruction is given at some learning centres only.

"Our students are of Mon, Burmese and Karen descent," ethnic-Karen Raw Ray Rattanachairuedi said in her capacity as the chairperson of the Burmese Migrant Worker Education Committee (BMWEC). After spending more than 20 years in Thailand, Raw Ray has already been granted Thai citizenship.

Currently, BMWEC has run 35 learning centres in Tak's Mae Sot district. These centres have taught up to 7,099 children.

"We don't offer any subsidy to these learning centres because their operations receive funds from NGOs," Tak Educational Service Area II Office director Chumpol Srisang said. "But we are now promoting the teaching of Thai language and have provided them with necessary teaching materials."

He said 61 learning centres have registered their operations with his office. The students are all children of illegal aliens. Dozens of other learning centres have yet to be registered.

"If the aliens have work permits, their children will get proper documents to study at Thai schools," Chumpol pointed out.

Deputy Education Minister Chaiwuti Bannawat said the learning centres for migrant children, though being run with good intention, could pose a threat to national security, the economy and society in the long run if left unregulated.

"We see the need to check their curriculum, their teachers and their educational services," Chaiwuti said.

He said many learning centres did not teach Thai language and Thai laws, something migrants should know so that they could live in Thailand.

Chaiwuti said the Education Ministry was preparing to ask the Cabinet to approve a ministerial regulation on education for stateless children.

"When the regulation takes effect, we will closely monitor the registered learning centres to ensure that their children receive quality education. Credential evaluation by then will also be possible," Khunying Kasama Varawarn, permanent secretary of the Office of Basic Education Commission, said.

She added that teachers at the learning centres would receive support from her office, too. Chaiwuti said many learning centres did not teach Thai language because their teachers were from Burma, and most did not have proper work permits.

Raw Ray was happy about the upcoming regulation, saying it would give the learning centres opportunities to seek help from Thai authorities.

"We must admit that some learning centres are not of good quality," she said, "We still lack adequate funds".

Regarding Thai language, Raw Ray said BMWEC had started classes at its learning centres three years ago after seeing the increasing number of migrants' children born in Thailand.

"Nearly 40 per cent of the students are born here," Raw Ray said.

Ban Ta-add School is a state school in Tak. It has now taught 777 students. Of them, only 50 have Thai citizenship.

"Most students are non-Thais," the school director, Suthep Thammajak, said.

Ranee, a 16-year-old Karen student, said she was now in Grade 5 and was able to speak Thai though not fluently. "I hope my fluency will soon improve," she said.

Not all non-Thai students at Ban Ta-add have proper documents to study at Thai schools, because up to 351 children sitting in Thai-language class here were born to illegal alien workers.

"We have a special agreement with five neighbouring centres. Under what we call School Within School project, we have allowed their students to learn Thai language from us," Suthep said.

Sato, a 28-year-old teacher from Kwai Krabong Centre, said, "I bring my students here two days a week".