According to Mon National School teachers, senior students are increasingly being withdrawn by parents and guardians to work in Thailand.
Parents often cite the need to process passports and work permits for their children as the reason for these withdrawals.
A teacher said, “Many parents are taking their older children, who are of working age, out of school to work in Thailand. They claim they need to arrange passports and labor cards, but this trend has been on the rise lately. It’s happening across most Mon National Schools.”
It has been reported that parents or guardians often justify withdrawing their children by emphasizing the necessity of arranging work permits and passports for employment in Thailand. Although Mon National School authorities, including teachers and principals, do not endorse this practice, children are still being taken out of school and relocated to Thailand by their families.
“We’ve had about ten students withdrawn recently. Even though we didn’t approve their withdrawal, parents insisted. For now, we haven’t removed their names from the school registry, but if they don’t return within three months, we’ll have to remove them.” said a teacher.
Reports indicate that, on average, 20 students per large school and 10 per smaller school are being withdrawn to work in Thailand during periods when the Thai government processes work permits and passports for migrants.
Since the military coup, students from government schools in Mon State have transferred to Mon National Schools. At the same time, the parents of these students have reportedly migrated to Thailand or other countries in search of employment opportunities.
