Current Issues in Refugee Education

Education in Burmese Refugee Camps in Thailand

There are 70 schools in the seven predominantly Karen camps with more than 34 000 students. There are 11 schools in the two Karenni camps in the north, which is run by the Thai authorities, and implemented by local and international NGOs as well as community-based organizations (Oh, 2010). 

Nursery, general education, post-secondary schooling, and vocational and adult learning are available in the Burmese camps in Thailand with the assistance of the Thai government, local and international NGOs, and community-based organizations (CBOs) .
Based on UN report on refugee education, quality of refugee education is unusually defined and measured by ineffective standards, which greatly affects the extend to which refugee qualification are recognized (Dryden-Peterson, 2011). ​In terms of qualification, there is some progress towards certifying the learning in the camps. A Framework of Cooperation with the Office of the Vocational Education Commission (OVEC) under the Thai Ministry of Education (MOE) was signed with certification as one of the objectives. In addition, work is being done to obtain certification for some subjects in the general education curriculum. 

However, there are broad and specific restrictions imposed by the Thai government on the education of the refugees, which has significant implications on burmese refugees' opportunities for personal and social development as well as the development of their community if they return to their home country in the future. 


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  • social integration----inclusion

    • living together: Where different groups are living in the same environment, the integration of services in education can create important possibilities for social integration, but only if the content of education is conducive and explicitly addresses issues related to causes of conflict, good citizenship, social cohesion, human rights, etc.

    • learning to be different; learning to mistrust; learning to accept aggression; learning to fear (pp. 65)\
       

  • the number of student per teachers (goal: 40:1): but 70:1 in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province  (ratio is attached)

  • the percentage of qualified/trained teachers (goal: >80%) (attached)

     

  • Challenge #5:     The inherently political nature of the content and structures of refugee education can exacerbate societal conflict, alienate individual children, and lead to education that is neither of high quality nor protective.

    • curriculum:                            

      • Where urban refugees are integrated into national systems, for example, they by necessity follow curricula of host countries, whether or not the most probable durable solution is local integration or repatriation.

      • The content of what is included in curricula shapes what children know and how they think about themselves and imagine the future both for themselves and their society. It can be difficult for teachers to cope with curriculum topics that are controversial, and recent conflict-related topics are often omitted from curricula

      • stereotypes taught in class                         

    • language

      • neither in their first language nor in the language in which they have previously studied.

negative influence: social development, and drop out
 

  • ​Challenge #6: Lack of financial resources,
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