{"id":772,"date":"2013-06-28T05:16:47","date_gmt":"2013-06-28T09:16:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hrdfoundation.org\/?p=772"},"modified":"2013-06-28T05:16:47","modified_gmt":"2013-06-28T09:16:47","slug":"migrant-school-to-teach-burmese-curriculum-in-thailand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrdfoundation.org\/?p=772","title":{"rendered":"Migrant school to teach Burmese curriculum in ThailandMigrant school to teach Burmese curriculum in Thailand"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Children-from-Myanmars-Mon-state-ride-on-a-vehicle-to-a-school-on-Thailands-side-of-the-border-with-Myanmar-in-Sangkhlaburi-495x425\"<\/a>A new primary school for migrant children is set to open near Bangkok next month, where students will be able to study their native curriculum in the Burmese language for the first time, according to local sources.<\/p>\n

The school will open in Thailand\u2019s Samut Sakhon\u2019s Mahachai district on 1 July as part of a non-governmental initiative to improve education for Burmese migrant children and help prevent the use of underage labour.<\/p>\n

Classes will be taught exclusively in the Burmese language using Burma\u2019s national curriculum in a bid to expand educational opportunities for migrant children, who otherwise may not attend school.<\/p>\n

The project \u2013 a joint initiative by the migrant rights advocacy group Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF), local religious groups and NGOs \u2014 is expected to boost school attendance among Burmese school children in Thailand\u2019s swelling migrant population.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe aim to improve education for migrant children in Thailand by officially teaching in the Burmese language,\u201d said U Toe from HRDF. \u201c[We] also [want] to prevent them from becoming child workers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although there are a number of other NGO schools for migrant children in Mahachai, none of them offer the Burmese curriculum taught in their national language, said U Toe.<\/p>\n

Burma\u2019s labour attach\u00e9 in Bangkok, Kyaw Kyaw Lwin, told DVB they were planning to negotiate with the Thai government to obtain official recognition for the new school.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gave social assistance for the school\u2019s foundation but it requires negotiations with Thai authorities to become official \u2013 we see potential for the meeting [with the Thai government],\u201d said Kyaw Kyaw Lwin.<\/p>\n

In May, the Burmese embassy announced that it would begin issuing passports for migrant children in a bid to grant them legal status in the Kingdom. Although Thai law stipulates that all children, regardless of their status, are allowed to attend school, migrant children are often excluded for practical reasons, such as financial or language barriers, and forced to start working instead.<\/p>\n

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), over 200,000 Burmese children under the age of 17 live in Thailand. Less than 20 percent are estimated to attend school, mostly through specialist programmes set up by local NGOs.<\/p>\n

Migrants in Thailand make up about five percent of the county\u2019s workforce, and provide a crucial pool of labour for low-skilled, often dangerous, industries such as fishing and construction. Up to three million people, or about 80 percent, are estimated to come from Burma.<\/p>\n

There are around 60 migrant schools along the Thai-Burma border in western Thailand\u2019s Tak Province, while around 15 at Mahachai in Samut Sakhon near Bangkok. None are formally recognised by the Thai Ministry of Education.<\/p>\n

Source:\u00a0www.dvb.no\"Children-from-Myanmars-Mon-state-ride-on-a-vehicle-to-a-school-on-Thailands-side-of-the-border-with-Myanmar-in-Sangkhlaburi-495x425\"<\/a>A new primary school for migrant children is set to open near Bangkok next month, where students will be able to study their native curriculum in the Burmese language for the first time, according to local sources.<\/p>\n

The school will open in Thailand\u2019s Samut Sakhon\u2019s Mahachai district on 1 July as part of a non-governmental initiative to improve education for Burmese migrant children and help prevent the use of underage labour.<\/p>\n

Classes will be taught exclusively in the Burmese language using Burma\u2019s national curriculum in a bid to expand educational opportunities for migrant children, who otherwise may not attend school.<\/p>\n

The project \u2013 a joint initiative by the migrant rights advocacy group Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF), local religious groups and NGOs \u2014 is expected to boost school attendance among Burmese school children in Thailand\u2019s swelling migrant population.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe aim to improve education for migrant children in Thailand by officially teaching in the Burmese language,\u201d said U Toe from HRDF. \u201c[We] also [want] to prevent them from becoming child workers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although there are a number of other NGO schools for migrant children in Mahachai, none of them offer the Burmese curriculum taught in their national language, said U Toe.<\/p>\n

Burma\u2019s labour attach\u00e9 in Bangkok, Kyaw Kyaw Lwin, told DVB they were planning to negotiate with the Thai government to obtain official recognition for the new school.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gave social assistance for the school\u2019s foundation but it requires negotiations with Thai authorities to become official \u2013 we see potential for the meeting [with the Thai government],\u201d said Kyaw Kyaw Lwin.<\/p>\n

In May, the Burmese embassy announced that it would begin issuing passports for migrant children in a bid to grant them legal status in the Kingdom. Although Thai law stipulates that all children, regardless of their status, are allowed to attend school, migrant children are often excluded for practical reasons, such as financial or language barriers, and forced to start working instead.<\/p>\n

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), over 200,000 Burmese children under the age of 17 live in Thailand. Less than 20 percent are estimated to attend school, mostly through specialist programmes set up by local NGOs.<\/p>\n

Migrants in Thailand make up about five percent of the county\u2019s workforce, and provide a crucial pool of labour for low-skilled, often dangerous, industries such as fishing and construction. Up to three million people, or about 80 percent, are estimated to come from Burma.<\/p>\n

There are around 60 migrant schools along the Thai-Burma border in western Thailand\u2019s Tak Province, while around 15 at Mahachai in Samut Sakhon near Bangkok. None are formally recognised by the Thai Ministry of Education.<\/p>\n

Source:\u00a0www.dvb.no<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new primary school for migrant children is set to ope […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-activities"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrdfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrdfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrdfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrdfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrdfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hrdfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrdfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrdfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrdfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}