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Our strategic goal in Thailand

Migrant, refugee and conflict-affected children are school ready and have equitable access to inclusive and quality learning in safe, positive and violence-free environments. 

Education in Thailand

In recent decades, Thailand has produced a comprehensive and country-wide education system. Nonetheless,there are many government and private actors offering complementary or competing education systems; the Thai system is multi-layered and has many challenges with coordination. Fifteen years of free education are now guaranteed by law to all children resident in Thailand including migrants, but in practice there are significant gaps in access to education across different demographics, particularly migrants and refugees.  

There are currently 97,000 Myanmar refugees in camps in Thailand, and hundreds of thousands of migrants and their families spread across the country. Access to education and children’s services for these groups remains inconsistent.  

What we do

Save the Children is a global leader in helping children fulfill their right to a quality inclusive education. We ensure children get ready for and succeed in school – so they can succeed in life.  

In Thailand, we support migrant and refugee children through improving access to quality basic education.We strive to support the most vulnerable children access quality basic education. We work with teachers, parents and education leadership to ensure children learn in safe, inclusive and protected environments.  We ensure young children get a strong start in life by promoting innovative literacy and numeracy programs and actively involving parents in educational and play activities.   

Save the Children is supporting Thailand’s Ministry of Education to develop a child safeguarding policy to strengthen child protection within the education system.  This includes raising awareness of child protection issues to educators in the camps so cases of abuse can be more effectively handled and coordinated with law enforcement at the provincial level. By 2014, we plan to pilot a child safeguarding programme in 24 educational service areas across Thailand. 

In 2020-2021 we: 

  • Supported 19,064 refugee children including 3332 children with disabilities access education in school and remotely (distance learning during school closure due to COVID19 outbreaks) in 9 camps in Tak, Mae Hong Son, Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi Provinces alongside the Thai-Myanmar border. 

  • Save the Children addresses barriers and improves access to basic quality education for migrant children ages 3-18 years old. SCT works with partners and the Migrant Education Working Group in Tak, and Ranong provinces to support and advocate for practical solutions. 

  •  Recorded average improvement in literacy (+61%) and numeracy (+69%) for children aged 4-6 whose parents joined our early childhood program in Patani.  

Created 6 titles children’s books namely 'A book needs a friend' (หนังสืออยากมีเพื่อน), 'Please turn off the light' (ปิดไฟหน่อยนะ), 'Anis and Measles' (อานิสเป็นหัด), 'The Big Watermelon' (แตงโมโตโต), 'Anis and Golf Fight Covid' (อานิสกับกอล์ฟสู้โควิด), and 'Daddy Bird' (พ่อนกกกไข่) including the first ever Patani–Malay children’s book, and distributed 12,000 books to children. One of the books SCT created won the Outstanding Book Award from HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.  

”The relationship with my daughter and I is closer than before. Now I know more activities and ways to play with my child. She is also very engaged and happy with the games and storybooks the school teacher gave her.“ 

- Mada-O-Ba-Ae, Male parent from Early Childhood Development Project – Narathiwatt