March 26, 2008
Consulate-General of Japan in Chiang Mai
The Government of Japan, under its Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects Scheme (GGP), provided funds amounting to 1,753,000 baht for a project entitled "Construction of a Schoolhouse at Houy Toug Primary School in Muang District, Mae Hong Son Province", and on March 19, 2008, Mrs. Junko Yokota, Consul-General of Japan in Chiang Mai, Mr. Cherdsak Nanit, Director of Houy Toug Primary School and Mr. Puricha Chuachat, Deputy Director of Mae Hong Son Education Service Area Office 1 were present at the inauguration ceremony of the schoolhouse.
Houy Toug Primary School is in a mountainous area of Mae Hon Son Province close to the border of Chiang Mai province at about 1,500 meters above sea level. The school has 115 Karen children ranging from kindergarten to primary levels. It is thought that the Karen are the largest minority tribe in Thailand in terms of population and they are very eager for their children to be educated.
However, the Thai government's budget for education is not sufficient to reach those mountain areas and there are many villages which do not have their own school. In the case of Houy Toug Primary School, many students come on foot from remote villages scattered around, and some of them who live far from the school have to stay in a school dormitory separated from their parents.
The original school building of Houy Toug Primary School was constructed more than thirty-five years ago and nowadays is in such poor condition that the classrooms are leaky and draughty in bad weather. Accordingly, the parents of students, with the help of villagers, built by themselves temporary wooden huts for use as classrooms, but they were too small and not really suitable. Therefore, building a new schoolhouse became an urgent matter for the school.
In response to a request from Houy Toug Primary School, the Government of Japan bore the construction cost of a schoolhouse with three classrooms and the purchase cost of school equipment. It is expected that the construction of the new schoolhouse and purchase of the equipment, such as desks and chairs, will enable the students to study in a more suitable environment, while the school will be able to accept more hill tribe children who have difficulty in obtaining a basic education.
