Thailand’s Presentation

Project : "Sema Pattana Cheewit"

Inspector General

Ministry of Education. Thailand

17 May 2000

ILO/ US Department of Labour

Washington DC.

Background document for presentation during the symposium

"Child Labor & the Globalizing Economy: Lessons from Asia/Pacific Countries"

Stanford University, California

February 7 – 9, 2001

The presentation is based and the author’s critical analysis of the project and its connection with the national education and social development policy. The information and data used in the presentation are provided by the special activities unit of the permanent secretary’s office, Ministry of Education, as well as from the author’s direct involvement in the project .

The project was chosen for presentation at this meeting because it is the first major direct intervention by the Ministry of Education and the Thai government to combat child1 labor and child1 prostitution in the most problematic area: the upper North of the country, where girls are renowned as beautiful, polite, and submissive.

The project is in compliance with the concepts of "basic education for all" as advocated in the Jomtien Declaration on Basic Education for All , adopted in Chonburi, Thailand, 1990; the protection of a child1’s right to education and development; and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. to which Thailand became a party in 1992; and article 10 of Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) .

The project was supported in its various stages of planning and development by the local communities; the private sector in Thailand; Thai and International NGO’s; UNICEF, and ILO/IPEC. In particular, ILO/IPEC funded research in 1999 to review the SLDP strategies, and analyze the program’s impacts, after 3 years of the program’s life, on the first batch of girls who received SLDP scholarships.

The project was developed in 1993 and 1994, and was launched as an emergency scholarship scheme for 3 years from 1994 – 1996, targeting girls at risk in 8 provinces in the upper North. In 1997 it was expanded to cover girls at risk in all parts of the country.

At present, the project is being integrated into the mainstream policy of 12 years education for all children, mandated by the constitution and accordance with the National Education Act of 1999.

For those who are not familiar with the geography of Thailand, the presentation of the map may be useful. Roughly speaking, Thailand can be zoned into 6 regions :

Upper North – bordering Burma and Laos and accessible by road and by air to China;

Lower North – bordering Burma and Laos;

North East – bordering Laos and Cambodia and accessible by road to Vietnam;

East and Eastern Seaboard – bordering Cambodia;

Bangkok and central plains;

South -- bordering Burma, Malaysia, and accessible by road , train and air to Malaysia and Singapore;

In terms of educational administration and inspection, we are currently divided into 12 regions. In the future, educational administration will be decentralized to the level of educational districts, and school levels. (This is perhaps similar to the educational districts in the United States.)

The Sema Patta Chewit Project was first designed to intercept child1 trafficking, which in 1993 was prevalent in the upper North. Later, it was found that the problem had spread to all parts of the country, and the second phase of the project was expanded to cover all regions. Its budget was also increased. From the map, you will see that we are surrounded by some countries that have been, and are still, in difficult political and social circumstances.

Child labor and child1 prostitution are trans-border problems and are interconnected with many issues and problems, including: violation of human rights; lack of democracy; absence of peac; social injustice; lack of adequate educational facilities and services. Child prostitution also is related to problem of drugs and AIDs.

As early as 1921, with the first Primary Education Act, equal educational opportunity for all is a concept recognized by law in Thailand. The 1985 Primary Education Act clearly stipulates that all children between the ages of 6 – 11 must attend 6 years of primary school. Up until now, the act has been enforced through 31,000 public elementary schools -- at least 1 in every 2 villages -- throughout the country. Public schools are free with additional incentives for poor pupils such as free milk, books, uniforms and free lunch to 39% of the total pupil population. Most of the primary schools now offer free pre-primary schooling for 1–2 years as part of the preparation for compulsory education. In 1994, 6.2 million students were enrolled in 6-year-primary schools. However, 400,000 were reported to be left outside the system, which includes about 8 – 10% of dropouts.

Transition from primary school to secondary education has always been difficult for children in remote areas, and for many years Thailand has not been able to achieve its own target (In 1971, when primary education enrolment was at 97%, transition into lower secondary was only 48.3%)

In our 6 ^th National Education Development Plan 1987 – 1991, the notion of equal access was seriously emphasized and vigorously implemented by all school and out–of-school units. In 1991 when Thailand hosted the Education for All Conference at Jomtien, the country’s adult literacy rate was around 80% and the 6-year compulsory education was 94–96% of age–grouped children (a total of 6.1 million out of 6.4 million children in this age bracket).

The 7 ^th National Education Plan (1992–1996), which followed the Jomtien Conference, zeroed in on basic education for all for 9 years, in terms of equity and quality. Importance was also laid on pre–school education to ensure successful and effective primary schooling and to the decrease drop-out, rate, particularly in poor, remote and border areas.

In 1994 – 1995 following the National Plan of Action on Basic Education for All, the Ministry of Education launched a nationwide campaign to ensure increased transition into secondary education of all students leaving primary school. The campaign opened secondary classes within existing primary schools in remote areas so that children did not have to travel outside the village. The campaign also provided bicycles where roads are accessible; mobilized scholarships and school meals from the private sector; opened non-formal education units where it was necessary for children to leave school and work on the family business or farm; encouraged secondary schools to open branches in the sub–districts; appealed to Buddhist temples to provide a general education curriculum for ordained children of school age so that they can study both Buddhist and general curricula reiterating a Ministerial Order of 1992; and encouraged all schools to accept children of school age who do not have birth certificate, house registration, or nationality cards as long as the children were guaranteed by suitable guardians. The initiative also expanded the royal–initiated boarding schools for children with special needs, such as the handicapped, ethnic minorities, and poor children in remote areas.

Regional educational offices and higher education institutes in all regions were encouraged to undertake study and researche to evaluate the campaign and to identify causes for failure.

At the end of the 1994 school year, the upper Northern Region reported that there were more than 10,000 children who had no intention to continue at the secondary education level. Of those children, 50% were girls from the same villages. Reasons given were that pre–paid commitments had beenmade by parents to agents allowing girls to go "South." "Going South" is the term used for child1 trafficking to Bangkok and lower parts of the country. Girls for more than one generation have "gone South" after primary school and have come home rich and transformed thus providing role models for younger generations. All daughters were brought up with the dream to pay gratitude by doing the same and earning huge income for parents . This phenomenon is confirmed by research conducted by the University of Chiangmai and Rajabhat Chiangmai.

Sema Pattana Cheewit started in 1995 as an emergency scholarship program. It was submitted by the Ministry of Education to the Cabinet in March, 1994. A budget from the central contingency fund was granted for 1994 in the amount of 14.6 million bath.

The immediate objectives were :

-- to stop trafficking of the 4,453 girls identified by the schools and the provincial officers;

-- to protect education and development rights of girls at risk by providing them with suitable and relevant education for another 3 years;

-- to promote positive attitudes towards gender and life development, and to expand the choices of girls for honorable occupations as well as to provide occupation skill training while schooling;

-- to promote income generation through school curricular activities.

The fund was approved by the cabinet for 1995 in the total amount of 14.6 million bath for the Upper Northern region, to be used for only 500 boarding scholarships and the construction of 5 new boarding facilities in the existing Suksa Songkroa Schools and Rajaprachanukroa schools in the North. The cabinet also extended the fund for 2 consecutive years to complete the first phase of the project in 1997.

V. Main Strategies

Confirm problem identification

Confirm area identification

Set up Sema Pattana Cheewit Centers – 94 centers in 94 districts in provinces in Upper North

Ensure political will and government continuous commitment and support

Link with other major national policies and national programs

Child and Youth Development policy

End child1 labour and child1 prostitution

Expand basic education for all for 12 years and life-long learning

Partnership and cooperation between government sector, private, NGO’s

Focus on human development for sustainability the 8^th National Social and Economic Development Plan, and for the 9 ^th Plan.

Identify girls and intercept before trafficking.

Ensure placement in appropriate schools.

Ensure funding support for 3 years.

Mobilize short term and long term support of villagers, monks, NGOs, and the private sector and set up coordination mechanism at school, village, district and province levels.

Compensate parents and attempt to win their support and advocacy for the project.

Develop appropriate and relevant curriculum and activities in school and in community.

Prevent and decrease drop-outs.

Close monitoring and continued research to identify project weakness and strength.

Plan for children to continue into high school or vocational high school for another 3 years.

Ensure better job opportunities at the completion of school program.

Prepare for Phase 2 (1997 – 1999) and expand to cover 76 provinces.

Improve management and educational curriculum.

Capitalize on Phase I so that students can be viewed as role models for future students.

Use HIV – AIDs situation as a motivator to end child1 trafficking.

Employment stature , SLDP batch 1/1994 had higher employment rates than peers in the community of the same age group.

VII. Summary of Achievements obstacles a – d challenges of the Project (based on ILO-IPEC evaluation research, 1999)

Quantitative

Total scholarships awarded : 80,775

Total budget allocated 10 million dollars.

First batch completed lower secondary in 1996 :

Completion rate 95.3%

Drop out rate 4.7% (during year 1 and 2)

Continuation to higher secondary.

36.9% general

33.7% vocational

4% non–formal

Total continuation rate 75.5% ( a little lower than mainstream. students in same area)

Employment rate – higher than mainstream students.

Impact on SLDP Students (Batch I)

71% had 2.00 – 3.00 GPA.

10% had 3.1 – 3.5 GPA.

2.3% had 3.5 – above

12.00% had 2.00 – lower

4.5% had 1.50 – lower (same as mainstream students)

16.2% very satisfied

62.8% satisfied

20.9% not satisfied (better than mainstream students in same area)

Attitudes towards education , occupation and status of women

- more positive

not different from mainstream students

Recognition of the principal of equal opportunity to education for boys and girls.

Higher secondary enrolment and completion.

More aware of child1 rights and child1 protection.

More active support and participation in education and child1 protection.

SLDP graduates provided new role models for girls.

Government more committed to education for children in difficult circumstances

Child prostitution a complex problem.

Related to drugs and HIV/AIDs etc.

Transnational and trans-border networks.

Government education scholarships are effective measures but the management is bureaucratic.

Demands for child1 labour and child1 prostitution persist and the trafficking spread to other areas.

Economic downturn will not affect education for all.

Economic downturn will not increase child1 labour and child1 prostitution.

New labour laws and anti–prostitution and child1 labour laws will be enforced by 2004.

SLDP project be integrated into the Education Reform Policy for 12 years education for all.

By 2004, SLDP project will be integrated into education reform plan of action to provide 12 years of free and quality basic education for all.

Thailand and South East Asia will seriously protect child1’s rights to education and to development for sustainability and human security.