Providing Public Services in Education for the Offspring of Migrant Workers in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand

Abstract

          This research addressed the question of the status of public services in education for the children of non-Thai migrant workers in Nakorn Ratchasima (Korat) Province, Thailand. The objectives of the research were to assess the status of education services for accompanying dependent children of migrant parents in Korat and to propose recommendation to providing public services in education for the children of migrant workers. This was a qualitative research study, and data were collected by in-depth interviews with key informants, including the educational administrators, teachers who care for students, the migrant students, and migrant parents/guardians of accompanying children. This research was conducted in three schools under the administration of OBEC Zone 4, Pak Chong District, Korat Province. Schools were purposively selected based on having a large, medium, and small number of migrant children enrolled.
          This study found that1) the status of education services for children of migrant parents in Korat, they receive education under the provision of OBEC Zone 4, Pak Chong District based on the Education Ministerial Regulation 2005. The schools manage their services without hiring additional tutoring staff. The children receive supporting budget under the principles of basic education grant as same as the Thai children. As for the teaching situations, the classes were managed a inclusion, and the instruction was offered in Thai language. The problems found in this study included: The children of immigrant workers are over-aged for their classes, the schools have difficulty communicating with parents because some migrant parents/guardians have problems using Thai language, some misunderstanding of parents/guardians about the 13-digit ID number, and migrant children are not eligible for most of the Thai educational scholarships for higher education in the Thai public school system. 2) recommendation to providing public services for children of immigrant workers (1) schools should jointly working with government organizations to distribute knowledge and understanding for communities people so it could lead to a unified- society, (2) there should be an organization working on public relations between migrant workers and community, (3) schools should receive funding for teachers training or hiring supporting staff for multi- cultural establishment and (4) the schools should provide knowledge for immigrant parents concerning the welfare eligible for their children.