Education
SWAN stepped up in 1999, creating literacy classes and six informal schools in 2000. Support our ongoing commitment to Shan youth education.
Shan refugee children lack basic educational opportunities in Thailand, as Shan people are not officially recognized as refugees, and accordingly they are not offered the same assistance available to other refugee groups. In response, the Shan community has organised basic literacy classes to meet the needs of displaced children along the Thai-Burma border. SWAN has been at the forefront of this movement since 1999 by creating programs to strengthen existing informal educational activities. In 2000, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) provided funding to help SWAN establish six informal schools for children and adults and conduct teacher training for Shan nursery school teachers.
From 2001 – 2007, the Foundation for the People of Burma supported the operating cost for the nursery school. In May 2007, Help Without Frontiers started to support the program, until Between Borders was founded in 2012 and continued to support the nursery school operating cost.
In 2005, SWAN received support from the Danish Burma Committee (DBC) and supported 16 schools, with more than 2,000 students, and 3 orphanages. From 2009 to 2015, the Department for International Development (DFID) UK provided assistance to SWAN’s Education Program.
Since 2009, all children living in Thailand have the right to 12 years of free basic education. However, Shan refugees and migrant workers experience many difficulties when trying to send their children to local Thai government schools. The most common difficulty is their inability to pay for students’ uniforms, textbooks, and other school related expenses. Even when children manage to attend school there are risks involved, especially for young girls who may be abducted and trafficked while traveling to and from school. The SWAN Education Program provides support to meet these needs, including transportation to and from school.
In 2009, SWAN established the scholarship program with funding from Between Borders to support two girls from the community to attend vocational college in Chiang Mai. The program has continued and SWAN awards approximately 150 scholarships per year to support students who are orphans, or who come from economically disadvantaged family backgrounds. These scholarships enable students to complete primary and secondary school and tertiary studies.
With decreased funding from international donors to support refugees and migrants on the Thai-Burma border, SWAN has gradually reduced its support to schools over the years. In 2011, the Planet Wheeler Foundation started to provide funding to the Education Program, after SWAN became a Thai-registered organization, as SWAN Foundation. From 2011-2023, the Planet Wheeler Foundation was the main supporter of SWAN’s Education Program in Thailand.
In 2023, SWAN started the Vocational Training Project to support children with special needs. The aim is not only to provide these children with practical skills, but also to empower them to envision and pursue meaningful careers that align with their unique talents and passions. Children with special needs tend to discontinue their studies, as they usually have learning difficulties in a conventional school setting. The program provides them with a safe space to continue further education, and assists them to pursue future careers.
The Education Program supports 5 schools along the Thai-Burma border by providing salaries for the teachers, distributing learning resources, and offering healthy lunches for students as well as by providing funds for transportation to take students to and from school. This support is for 3 nursery schools and two primary schools in Piang Luang and Fang districts. The 3 nursery schools are community run, one primary school is a branch of a Thai school, and one is a Thai primary school with many migrant children. The children thus benefit from a Thai curriculum and accreditation.
The teacher salaries in the Thai primary school are for Shan integration teachers who work with the teachers and the Shan parents and students to increase their mutual understanding and reduce absenteeism and drop-outs. The majority of students must help their family earn a living to survive and this puts pressure on them to drop-out before completing the primary school level. Teacher support is vital to prevent this wherever possible. In addition, when Shan students do complete primary school, the integration teachers ensure the school provides graduation certificates to them. This enables them to continue on to secondary school.
Currently, SWAN is providing subsidies for 24 teacher salaries,1 cook, food and transport for 5 schools (2 primary, 3 nursery) which provide education to 748 students
SWAN provides the scholarship for travel, lodging, food, fees of primary secondary and tertiary students who lack financial support. In 2020, 157 students have received scholarship, including 42 students whose parents are affected by HIV/AIDS, 15 orphans, and 20 students at Koung Jor boarding house.
SWAN provides professional development for teachers. Special courses are regularly scheduled for approximately 20-30 teachers from the SWAN program. For most of the teachers this is their only opportunity to obtain refresher or continuing education. This is very important as many only graduated from high school and became volunteer teachers in their community, while others graduated from university in a range of subjects but have not received teacher training. Recently, the program has provided teacher training on child development, and distributed teaching materials (dictionary, notebooks, pens) to the teachers, and vocational education for 20 children with disabilities at a Thai secondary school.
SWAN has organized a series of regular student exchanges, which allows adolescents from SWAN sponsored schools an opportunity to share their experiences regarding issues they face in their personal lives. The exchanges also provide a chance to celebrate their personal accomplishments. These exchanges have helped create a Shan adolescent network that works together to help their respective Shan communities.
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