Part II.pdf - MTB-MLE Network

3. Capacity-building on management of educational establishments and CLCs:
• Develop MIS and knowledge management
• Increase the effectiveness of educational management systems for hilltribes in order
to promote and support a learning society
• Develop networks for increasing participation in NFE and informal education for
hilltribes
5. Project on Mother Tongue/Bilingual Literacy
Programmes for Minority Communities
The Office of Non-formal Education Commission (ONFEC) participated in the UNESCO Regional
Workshop on Functional Literacy for Indigenous People, 26 November – 1 December 2001 in India.
At this workshop, ONFEC drafted a project to develop a bilingual literacy programme. The target
site was Omkoi District, Chiang Mai Province, where the population are from the Karen tribe. There
is a project there, initiated by Her Royal Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, to help in child and
youth development.
In September 2002, ONFEC submitted a proposal to UNESCO to undertake the project,
A Research Study on Literacy Programmes for Ethnic Minority Peoples in Omkoi, Chiang Mai.
The project was conducted through an action research approach from December 2002 – December
2003. It aimed to develop bilingual curriculum and literacy materials, and promote literacy among
the Karen people (Pwo Karen) in Omkoi District, Chiang Mai Province.
The objectives of the project:
• study the community and context of the target group
• identify needs and problems of Karen in the target area
• develop bilingual curriculum and literacy materials
• test bilingual literacy materials, publish and print for wider use
• review and report the research project
Organizations involved in the project
ONFEC formed a research team comprised of its personnel from the Non-formal Education
Development Division, Bangkok; Northern Region Non-formal Education Centre, Lampang Province,
Chiang Mai NFE Provincial Centre; and Omkoi NFE Service Centre. From the beginning, some
Pwo Karen teachers were selected to participate in the project. They played an important role,
both at the community level and at the project level, in helping to initiate a writing system.
Since the bilingual approach is very new to ONFEC, the staff viewed it as a learning project and
implemented the project with the cooperation of Summer Institute of Linguistics-International,
who provided technical support and resource people for the workshops. From the first workshop,
‘Planning the Activities,’ in January 2003 until the ‘Writers Workshop’ in February 2004, SIL has
been working closely with ONFEC.
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