|
SET is sponsoring a major project to revitalize a high school for novice monks and also sponsors other annual projects which fall outside its primary aim of awarding scholarships. Although representing only a small part of the Foundation's investment in education, the projects are chosen to benefit as many students as possible.
Annual projects include sponsorship of English language camps for high school, college and university students. Held at informal off-campus settings, the camps greatly increase students' confidence in using conversational English. SET also sponsors an annual series of drugs' awareness camps for student teachers. The students are taught about the dangers of narcotics, how to recognize signs of abuse in their own future students and how to sympathetically and positively help those who might already be addicted. The camps have been described by welfare officers as ‘very far-reaching in their results'.
The Kiriwong Project
 |
| Wat Kiriwong Monastic School |
A school for novice monks is determined to provide high quality education for boys from impoverished backgrounds. It faces many problems, not least a lack of funds. Its monthly government grant was going entirely to pay teaching staff, leaving nothing to buy basic classroom tools for the students or to keep the school in good repair. The school had few modern teaching aids, the library was full of tatty old books, the roof leaked, the electrical system was dangerous, there was no mains water supply to the toilets and all the classrooms needed refurbishing - and that was just the start of the problems.
In August 2006, SET took on an important and exciting new challenge to help the ailing school get back on track. Monastic high schools are the last hope for thousands of impoverished youngsters looking for a secular education. Besides giving financial support, SET is offering years of accumulated experience in education, management and fundraising to help ensure a better future for these deserving youngsters.
Wat Kiriwong School opened in 1993 and was the first secular high school for novice monks in Nakhon Sawan. Its maximum enrolment of 300 students was quickly filled by young novices who traveled from all over Thailand to take advantage of the good quality education the school promised. In its first five years the school lived up to that promise but in later years, standards declined. Student enrolment in 2006 dropped to just 60 novices – the lowest level ever. Insufficient financial support, poor management and a lack of vision, enthusiasm and motivation were all factors.
In mid-2006, a new head-teacher was appointed. Young and enthusiastic, Phra Gamon Chantawangso is determined to restore the school’s high standards and to increase enrolment back to 300. Phra Gamon understands the importance of the school to its students. He says: “Our novices are all from very poor families. Without monastic schools, they have little hope of getting any sort of education at all. Most became novices because that was their only option; the only way they could escape from poverty, abuse, abandonment or some other tragic circumstance. It’s our duty to ensure they have the same educational opportunities as other youngsters.
“Few of our  students want to spend the rest of their lives in a monastery and most will disrobe after they finish grade 9 or 12, so we should be preparing them for when they leave our care. Although they’re from poor backgrounds, these boys aren’t stupid. Many of our recent students are now studying for trades at technical colleges and others are at university, all with scholarships from The SET Foundation. They just need a good start and the right opportunities. That’s what we’re determined to give them.”
Phra Gamon knows he faces many difficulties. He says: “The school has a lot of problems and they’re inter-related, but so are the solutions. Our standards declined partly because we couldn’t attract good teachers, but we couldn’t attract them because our standards had already started to decline. It became a cycle. Some teachers we did attract were soon demotivated by the school’s lack of professionalism. Bad management, low wages, an unsuitable curriculum and a poor teaching environment were also part of the problem.
“Immediately after I became headmaster, I discussed the school’s problems and future direction with SET trustees and other professional educators. They’ve taken an enthusiastic interest in what I’m trying to achieve and have given good advice about modern teaching methods, education standards, curriculum, school management and fundraising. With that help, I am confident we will achieve our aims.
“Because all our income went to pay teaching staff, there was never anything left to equip or repair the school. Until SET starting helping us, we weren’t even able to provide basic classroom tools for the students, like exercise books and pencils. Our library was full of old books discarded by other schools as being out-of-date or too tatty for use, but they were just as useless to our students. We needed a new library with up-to-date, interesting books which would encourage our students to read. Thanks to SET, we now have that. We also needed to start using modern teaching aids, such as satellite television, to make learning more interesting for our students. We can’t afford to employ teachers of history, natural history, geography or art, but these are important and with SET’s help we are now able to make them accessible to our students through satellite TV programming. It was also important to prepare our students for college by making them computer-literate. SET has established an excellent IT classroom at the school, where students not only learn computer skills but can also use them for independent research on the Internet.
"SET has also helped us make some urgent repairs to the school. The leaking roof and ceilings have been fixed, all the classrooms have been refurbished and rewired and the student toilets have been completely rebuilt. There are many other things that still need to be done, but with SET’s on-going support I am sure we will eventually establish an excellent learning environment for our students.
“With SET’s help and advice, we’ve also made a start in solving some of the management problems. We’ve appointed a board of governors made up of professional educationalists and have registered the school as a charitable foundation. That makes us semi-independent from the monastic authorities and allows us to fundraise and make our own decisions about the school’s future direction. This is an exciting and challenging time for us but it will all be worthwhile if we can give our students a first-class education and a better future.”
SET’s trustees had long been aware of the school’s problems but were unwilling to offer financial support until changes were made at management level. Starting with Phra Gamon’s appointment, those changes are now being introduced. Although the trustees are personally involved on an advisory basis with the school, and the Foundation is giving financial help, it is hoped that other individuals and organizations might also be willing to offer support. Donations should be made directly to SET.
|
Educational Projects