Education of Migrant Children from Myanmar in Thai Government Schools

Abstract

Abstract At the dawn of the 1990s, Thailand began to accept migrant workers from neighboring countries, namely Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia to work in labor sectors to meet with the high demand for manpower due to rapid economic development. Thirty years since the early batches of migrant workers entered the country, the number of migrant workers steadily increased and reached 3.9 million in 2018. Among this number, approximately 390,015 were children. Around thirty-five percent of these children were enrolled in Thai government schools. As the government school is a place where government policy and national ideology are manifested, this paper explores the forms and effects of education provided in government schools to children of migrant workers from Myanmar. These issues are examined through the lens of how nation-states integrate migrants into their societies.