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 education in seven Kayin refugee camps along the Thai- border and also inside , 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 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, , 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. There are 152 students and 18 staff. There are 36 students staying at the school’s boarding houses.

Other Specialised Schools The schools listed below are supported in full and are also under the supervision of KRCEE. These schools are not members of the IHE system outlined above. They operate independently of each other and provide specific curriculum based on their designated goals.

School 7 Karen Economics Development Course (KEDC) KEDC is located in Nu Po Refugee Camp in Tak Province, Thailand. The curriculum is taught over two years and is supported by 14 staff members. There are 69 students, 13 of whom are boarding students. KEDC began in 2003 and specialises in economics and accountancy. The reason for this was that traditionally the Karen people are farmers, and as such lack the skills needed to become entrepreneurial and to manage organisations. Since KEDC is also located in Nu Po Refugee Camp along with PDJC, the two schools cooperate closely together.

School 8 Engineering Study Programme (ESP) ESP is located in Mae La Refugee Camp in Tak Province, Thailand. The school was founded in 2003 to address the growing technical needs of the camp population. Mae La camp is the largest refugee camp in Thailand, with a population of 45,115 people. The school balances theoretical classroom learning with hands-on learning in their workshop where students gain practical experience using a variety of machine tools. ESP additionally teaches about environmentally friendly energy and how to build and maintain small energy systems used in remote areas. There is a three-year curriculum in place. There are 65 students and 11 staff.

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 9 Leadership and Management Training College (LMTC) LMTC is located in Mae La Refugee Camp, Tak Province, Thailand. There are 206 students at the school with 22 teachers; there are 47 students staying at the school’s boarding houses. The school operates a four-year programme specialising in English and Physics.

School 10 Leadership and Management Course (LMC) LMC is located in Mae La Refugee Camp, near to ESP above. LMC was started by the Karen Youth Organisation in 1999. The school operates a four-year general curriculum teaching history, music, sociology, English, international crisis, leadership, law, and computers. After students complete LMC, they return to the organisations from which they came to practise their skills and knowledge, mostly as teachers; some get jobs at NGOs and CBOs and a few resettle. There are 109 students at the school with 13 staff.

School 11 English Immersion Programme (EIP) EIP is located in Umpiem Refugee Camp in the Tak Province, Thailand. It is a one-year programme with 24 students and five staff. The school began in 2003 with the goal of producing students who can serve their community by using their English skills, by undertaking community service, and by learning how to cooperate and manage projects by themselves. Each year, part of the curriculum is to have students produce mini-proposals and seek funding; if successful, students will then implement activities. This is followed by an apprenticeship in the communities after graduation. This balance between classroom and practical experience has led EIP students to be among the most sought after in Umpiem Mai Camp, the second largest refugee camp in Thailand with 14,929 people.

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

Myanmar Partner Schools As the political system in Myanmar has improved, KRCEE has begun supporting new Higher Education facilities within Myanmar’s borders. The following schools represent this initiative and will provide a blueprint for future transition to occur.

School 12 Kler Lwee Htu Located in Kayin state of Myanmar, this was the first school KRCEE supported within Myanmar’s borders. The school opened in 2011 and due to its success, KRCEEE began supporting it in 2012. The school now utilises the same system and curriculum as the schools in the IHE programme which provides stability to the school structure. There are currently six teachers and 28 students.

School 13 Doo Tha Htu Currently, the second KRCEE School within Myanmar is under construction, which will be completed in 2014 and will be officially accepting students for the 2014-2015 academic year. Like Kler Lwee Htu above, Doo Tha Htu will also utilise the IHE curriculum.

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

Budget Overview

School Name THB USD

NKJC 1,199,796 38,455

MRMJC 1,157,707 37,106

TJC 462,509 14,824

PDJC 742,498 23,798

KEDC 505,159 16,191

ESP 616,481 19,759

LMC 820,903 26,311

EIP 50,326 1,613

PTMJC 1,951,342 62,543

LMTC 1,928,347 61,806

KLJC 1,962,137 62,889

Kler Lwee Htu 258,621 7,653

Doo Tha Htu 323,052 9,560

Sub Total 11,978,878 382,508

KRCEE 3% 359,366 11,475

Total 12,338,244 393,983

Direct project administration 1% 123,382 3,940

Overhead contribution 7% 863,677 27,579

Grand Total 13,325,303 425,502

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

Budget Notes:  The budget runs annually from 1 May to 30 April  Costs per school may include: regular operating costs such as salaries, kitchen and food, health and hygiene, school office and administration, as well as irregularly occurring items like basic building construction or repairs, and textbooks  Child’s Dream monitors budgets quarterly; KRCEE monitors monthly or as possible given the transportation and communication restrictions  USD/THB exchange rate 31.32

Reporting For our KRCEE programme, semester reporting is provided to all donors. Reports are ready two months after the closing of the academic semester.

Funding Ideally, we are seeking a 3-year commitment from donors. Due to the size of this programme, individual contributions to the total yearly budget of KRCEE can come in any amount.

March 2014

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