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Higher Education Karen Refugee Committee Education Entity

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Higher Education Karen Refugee Committee Education Entity FACT SHEET Higher Education Karen Refugee Committee Education Entity Problem Statement Funding is required to aid the Karen Refugee Committee – Education Entity (KRCEE), in their efforts to support 13 schools at the post-high school level. KRCEE is a community based organi- sation focusing on refugee camp education in seven Kayin refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border and also inside Kayin State, Myanmar. Through continued support and mana- gement, education for refugees along the Thai-Myanmar border is known for its high quality. In fact, education in the camps is one of the factors that draw people from Myanmar. Com-pared to the conflict areas in eastern Myanmar, the camps offer higher quality, safer and more stable education. It’s no wonder then, that parents are eager to send their children to one of the refugee camps for schooling. While much support is rightly dedicated to basic education through the high school level, students often require additional education to find employment to support their families or communities. Higher education in the refugee camps specialises in equipping students with the knowledge and skills needed to enable them to seek employment or community leadership positions. The largest sectors of employment across these camps include the education and health sectors, followed by general employment in non-governmental organisations. Higher education is, at best, extremely difficult to access in eastern Myanmar as it is usually non-existent. Furthermore, refugees do not have access to this level of education within Thailand, thus leaving KRCEE to fill the gap by supporting higher education in the refugee camps. Contact us: Child’s Dream Foundation [email protected] Tel. +66 (0)53 201 811 238/3 Wualai Road, T. Haiya, A. Muang www.childsdream.org Fax +66 (0)53 201 812 Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand KRCEE During the on-going civil war in Myanmar, especially in Kayin State, the Karen Education Department (KED) was the main organisation responsible for managing the overall educational activities in the seven districts of the state. As the crisis escalated in Myanmar, refugee camps were established along the Thai-Myanmar border, and then finally KED began working in 2002 to ensure that the seven refugee camps had a similar education programme. In 2010, KED’s camp activities were re-labelled as KRCEE in order to show a focus on refugees and in order to create a better relationship with the Royal Thai government. With the support of educational NGOs and community based organisations, KRCEE has been overseeing educational developments across the camps. As most higher education schools were started by community members in the camps, schools often lacked structure and compatibility with other schools, making higher education a web of confusion for students and the community in general. KRCEE’s main activities include arranging training for teachers on methodology and subject upgrading, harmonising curricula across schools, coordinating material distribution to schools, general problem solving, and providing management and administration support including hiring new teachers. While not a government body, KRCEE fulfils the same basic role as any department of education would in a stable government. However it is unique that KRCEE’s power structure is arranged into committees to ensure community participation at all levels. Funding for KRCEE primarily results in direct support for the 13 schools in the programme. A small percentage of the funding is allocated to support basic office and administration costs of KRCEE such as petrol for schools visits. One important justification for supporting KRCEE is that this community based organisation needs to continue building its capacity so as to be able to take on a leading role in developing education for their people, rather than being forced to rely on external experts. In short, funding KRCEE empowers Karen people to develop their education as they deem appropriate. Leading in the Myanmar Transition In addition, funding assists KRCEE with their on-going effort to support the transition of Higher Education opportunities to within Myanmar borders. Over the past few years, the Myanmar government has made great strides towards a more democratic state. Although no peace agreements have been signed, ceasefires have been agreed and the political situation is more stable than it has been in decades. The improving situation has allowed some refugees to return to Myanmar and the necessity of the refugee camps may decrease in the future. As funding and international focus shifts away from the refugee camps towards building a better Myanmar, improving the access to higher education opportunities will be a crucial task. Key aspects to improving the Higher Education in Myanmar will be creating the facilities and infrastructure within the country and encouraging the existing educational bodies to transition their programmes from the refugee camps into Myanmar. KRCEEE is uniquely positioned as a leader in this transition and has already begun by building two Higher Education facilities in Kayin State of Myanmar. The first school, Kler Lwee Htu Junior College, offers a two year programme that utilises the same curriculum currently offered in the refugee camps by KRCEE. The second school, Doo Tha Htu, is currently under construction and will follow the same structure. Continued funding of the KRCEE programme will allow the organisation to continue this critical work and enable KRCEE to be role model for other organisations. Contact us: Child’s Dream Foundation [email protected] Tel. +66 (0)53 201 811 238/3 Wualai Road, T. Haiya, A. Muang www.childsdream.org Fax +66 (0)53 201 812 Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand Institute of Higher Education (IHE member schools) The IHE was established as a joint effort spearheaded by KRCEE. The concept is a simple one: smaller junior colleges partner to create a university-like system. The IHE is a four-year programme in two distinct sections. All students study the same first two-year curriculum known as ‘Lower Division’, after which they can transfer their accumulated credits to an IHE school that offers the major they wish to pursue. The first two years are composed of the following subjects: English, Social Studies, Mathematics, Science, Orientation and Language. Two majors, Health and Education, are currently available at the ‘Upper Division’ level. Some schools currently teach the Lower Division curriculum only, while other schools offer both Lower and Upper. Child’s Dream has supported the development of the health and education majors and has funded those programmes for the last five years. The following schools all participate in the IHE program: School 1 Northern Karen Junior College (NKJC) NKJC is located in the Mae La Oon Refugee Camp in Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand. The school was established in 2008 when two previous schools merged to form one IHE campus to better serve the community of 13,017 people. The two schools that merged began in 1996 and 2001 respectively. NKJC is currently teaching the two-year Lower Division curriculum of the Institute of Higher Education with 140 students and 18 staff. There are 26 students staying at the school’s boarding houses. NKJC is also considering specialising in Community Management for its future Upper Division. School 2 Tanawthari Junior College (TJC) TJC is located in Tham Hin Refugee Camp in Ratchaburi Province, Thailand. The school adopted the IHE programme in 2009 after originally beginning as the Agriculture Training School in 2002. Tham Hin is one of the more remotely located camps and the only one in this province. The current population is 6,547 people. The school’s 12 staff currently teach the two-year IHE Lower Division curriculum to 60 students Contact us: Child’s Dream Foundation [email protected] Tel. +66 (0)53 201 811 238/3 Wualai Road, T. Haiya, A. Muang www.childsdream.org Fax +66 (0)53 201 812 Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand School 3 Mae Ra Moe Junior College (MRMJC) MRMJC is located in the Mae Ra Ma Luang Refugee Camp in Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand. The school was established in 1998 as the Agricultural Studies Programme, eventually changing into MRMJC in 2008. Mae Ra Ma Luang Refugee Camp has a population of 14,795 people. The school has 148 students, 20 of whom stay at the school’s boarding houses. With a total of 19 staff, MRMJC is currently teaching the two-year Lower Division curriculum of the Institute of Higher Education. School 4 Pu Taw Memorial Junior College (PTMJC) PTMJC is located in Mae La Camp, Tak Province, Thailand. PTMJC is a four-year Institute of Higher Education programme specialising in Education for 197 students including 46 boarding students, and has 21 staff. School 5 Pu Doo Playa Junior College (PDJC) PDJC is located in the Nu Po Refugee Camp in Tak Province, Thailand. The school was established in 2008 when the existing Teacher Preparation Centre, begun in 2002, adopted the IHE system. PDJC is the only IHE school in Nu Po and closely cooperates and shares resources with KEDC, described below. Nu Po has a population of 13,897 people. PDJC is currently teaching the two-year IHE Lower Division curriculum to 69 students, 17 of whom are boarding students, and has 13 staff. PDJC is currently host to the international Global Border Studies Programme, supported through an Irish university. PDJC is considering specialising in Business for the future Upper Division. Contact us: Child’s Dream Foundation [email protected] Tel. +66 (0)53 201 811 238/3 Wualai Road, T. Haiya, A. Muang www.childsdream.org Fax +66 (0)53 201 812 Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand School 6 Kaw Lah Junior College (KLJC) KLJC is located in Umpiem Refugee Camp, Tak Province, Thailand. KLJC is a four-year Institute of Higher Education programme specialising in Public Health.
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