EDUCATING THE UNREACHED SELECTED CASES IN THAILAND Dr. Prapatpong Senarith

SELECTED CASES Education for the disabled Education for the disadvantaged Opportunity for street children Reaching out for the stateless children Education for the migrants

LEGAL MANDATES National Education Act 1999 mandates “equal rights and opportunities for all to receive quality basic education free of charge.” UNESCO’s Education for All Commitment UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989.

EDUCATION FOR THE DISABLED Enacted the Promotion of Education for People with Disabilities Act 2008 The disabled have right to education free of charge since birth or first detection of disabilities Choose school and type of services of their choice Promotion of inclusive education Encourage development of individualized education plans (IEP) for the disabled Promote research in education for the disabled Set up permanent Committee—chaired by MOE’s Minister Set up promoting funds

EXPANSION/REVISION OF EXISTING PROGRAMS To cover more target groups To improve relevancy and efficiency Examples: Inclusive education Incentive for teachers Program management templates/guidelines Etc.

EDUCATION FOR DISADVANTAGES COVERAGE Abandoned and Neglected Physically or Sexually Abused Learning Deficiencies Socially Deprived HIV/AIDS Affected NATIONAL POLICY: Disadvantaged children are entitled to equitable/universal access to education through a variety of suitable models STRATEGIES: Flexible, Innovative, IEP, Capacity building

EDUCATION FOR STREET CHILDREN Mercy School System—NGO Objectives Educate illiterate street children/love of learning; support bright poor children to higher levels of education Curriculum/Activities Individualized instruction, English-based, accelerated Enrollment -- Ages 10-17: currently 17 students -- Exceptionally bright and motivated poor children, currently enrolled in secondary schools who have potential to excel at university level: currently 5 students

STATELESS CHILDREN Stateless normally includes those living along border, ethnic minorities, asylum seekers, illegal migrants, foreign workers, but no official identification of nationality No complete and accurate data available In 2006 there were 44,590 registered students, and 26,949 (60%) received ID Cards Many government agencies, NGOs, private sector involved

GUIDELENES FOR EDUCATION National policy approved by the Cabinet in 2005 to provide equal opportunity to get access to education for stateless children MOE announced related Ministerial rules in 2005 In 2007, MOE has developed guidelines for schools in providing education for the stateless There are, at least, 12 government agencies and NGOs involve

EDUCATION FOR MIGRANT CHILDREN Government policy Encourage school, community, NGOs Mode of provision Schools Community learning centers NGOs and private provision Some research findings Key factors: Thai nationality policy, community, educational policy, teacher motivation and attitude