Children’s Development Centre (CDC) - February 5, 2024 Visit Notes

Sep 14, 2026

Field notes document the February 5, 2024 visit to Children’s Development Centre (CDC), an education center supporting migrant children from Myanmar who cannot attend Thai schools. The overview explains CDC’s multi-level learning pathway (nursery to post-secondary), language practices across levels, and students’ options such as NFE, Thai Vocational Training, and GED. Key challenges include limited classrooms, limited school bus capacity, insufficient and low-salary teacher staffing, and the high cost burden of GED courses. Reflections describe students’ determination and future-oriented hope amid constrained opportunities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

About CDC

Missions and Goals

Curriculums

Difficulties

Reflection

Group 1 Children’s Development Centre (CDC) Visited on February 5, 2024 About CDC Children’s Development Centre (CDC) is a school for migrant children from Myanmar who are unable to attend Thai schools. It offers education for nursery and kindergarten, primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. Missions and Goals Curriculums ・ Primary & secondary education: Mostly use Burmese in class. Thai Non-Formal Education(NFE) . ・ Post-secondary education: Mostly use English and Thai. Students can choose 「NFE」「Thai Vocational Training」「General Educational Development(GED)」 Difficulties CDC has many challenges that it is facing. The biggest problem is lack of resources. As a school which is not supported by the Thai government but runs by some NGOs, alumni and parents' donations. It is very difficult to continue the class day by day with limited resources. The things we found out from visiting this school about its difficulties are: Classroom constraint: CDC has insufficient classrooms compared with the number of students that are increasing every year. In addition, it also has limited space in the classroom that impacts the organizing of activities and student movement. School bus limitation: Constraints related to the availability or capacity of school buses for transportation. Teacher support: CDC does not have enough teachers compared with the number of students because they get low salaries. Even though some of them are volunteers but still have teachers who need support. GED Program runs cost: GED course is very expensive for students, providing GED teachers salaries, pre-exam fee and GED exam fee after finishing the course. Reflection Pim: As a student, I feel very lucky to be able to attend the education easily but students there are different. They have to try so hard to attend the school and have many limitations on their study. Even once someone passes GED, it does not mean that they can go to the university. Sometimes I feel like what are they doing for? But now I found out that they just have faith and hope for their future. Sei: I am very interested in the students in CDC about their 'identity' . This is because they come from Myanmar, study in Thailand, and are hoping to enter a university in Thailand or another country. They are also taught mostly in Thai and English. So I wondered: how do they perceive themselves? (their nationality, ethnicity, whatever) . After I actually going to CDC and talking to the teachers there, I realized that the students do not consciously recognize their "identity" . Whether it's learning a foreign language or living in a foreign country, it's just a step for them to have a better life in the future. I came to Japan to study as an international student, and now I always call myself “Middle people”. The is probably same for the children in CDC, for whom a better life is the most important thing than figuring out their "identity" . Aoi: It was my first experience visiting a place for migrant children and I would not be able to know about the facts and difficulties if I had been in Japan for my whole life. everything I saw such as the building, the atmosphere of the classroom, the curriculum, the GED system, and the children’s faces were fresh to me. The facility environment and student's abilities were Better than I expected. The one thing I found was that every child has a strong will for the future. When we visited GED students, it was impressive to see their serious faces listening to the advice of GED. I thought that it was more serious than Japanese people. This is because the environment I was in blessed place which is a regular thing to get an education. Group 2 Karen Refugee Committee Education Entity (KRCEE) Visited on 6th February, 2024 What is KRCEE? KRCEE’s objectives and purpose are to develop and give administrative support to the camp education offices and shoots in delivering education services for the refugee commun

FAQs

What education levels does the CDC provide?

The CDC offers education from nursery and kindergarten through primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels.

How does the CDC handle language use across different education stages?

Primary and secondary classes mostly use Burmese, while post-secondary education mostly uses English and Thai.

What are the main difficulties CDC faces?

The notes highlight major issues such as insufficient classrooms, limited school bus capacity, a shortage of teachers due to low salaries, and the high cost of GED programs.

Sep 14, 2026

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