Mother Tongue-based Literacy Programmes: Case Studies of Good ...

assumed to face fewer obstacles in adapting to theCentral Thai school system, but research has yet to beconducted.© ONFECAlthough Thailand boasts a high national literacyrate, research into the specific literacy rates of ethnicminorities is lacking. Anecdotal evidence from multiplesources indicates that many children who grow up innon-Thai speaking environments lag behind their Thaicompatriots in educational achievement. A significantportion of the 400,000 out-of-school childrenmentioned in Thailand’s 2005 Education for All (EFA)report are believed to be from ethnic minorities(Charuaypon, 2005).Meaning of “Bilingual Education” in ThailandThe term “bilingual education” has become popular in Thailand. However, it has only been used to refer toschools operating English submersion programmes for Thai students. Bilingual education programmesinvolving minority languages are very new to Thailand, and patient explanation is required to explainthe processes and benefits to minority students. Interestingly, many problems faced by Thai studentsin English submersion programmes are shared by minority students in Thai submersion programs,namely the lack of opportunity to fully develop listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in the firstlanguage before being forced to use a second language for academic purposes.Policies Related to Mother Tongue EducationSection 46 of the Thai Constitution of 1997 contains specific provisions for the rights of “traditionalcommunities” and their cultures:Persons so assembling as to be a traditional community shall have the right to conserve or restore theircustoms, local knowledge, arts or good culture of their community and of the nation and participate inthe management, maintenance, preservation and exploitation of natural resources and the environmentin a balanced fashion and persistently as provided by law. (Government Gazzette, 1997)As a result of the student-centered emphasis of the 1999 National Education Act, including provisionsfor preserving “local wisdom,” some minority languages are being taught as subjects for a few hoursper week in local formal schools. Chong, Bisu, Lahu Si, Mon, and Northern Thai (Lanna) are examples. 3 Inthe North and Northeast, NGOs and churches have established community-based literacy programmesamong ethnic groups. Sgaw Karen, Lahu Na, Akha, Shan, and Lisu are examples. In the far South, PattaniMalay students study Arabic, Central Malay, and Standard Malay in Islamic Ponoh schools (Kosonen,2005). The Ministry of Education is currently experimenting with the use of spoken Pattani Malay intwelve southern preschools.3 Schools may technically allocate up to 30 percent of the curriculum for minority language/local culture study.(Kosonen 2005)[ 147 ]