Creating leaders from refugees : progress and problems with the refugee education program on the Thai-Burma border

Abstract

This thesis seeks to explore the benefits and the challenges of providing higher education in protracted refugee situations through the use of a case study on the refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border. The study relies on data obtained through qualitative research, including a review of secondary sources, as well as in-depth interviews conducted during field research on the Thai-Burma border. Findings indicate that the community-based organization emphasis on higher education in the form of post-ten programs has the positive effect of providing refugees with greater knowledge and essential skills that are very much needed within the refugee communities. However, it also has built-in liabilities, as basic education has become neglected. This thesis concludes that an unbalanced emphasis on either basic education or higher education education will have negative outcomes for refugee populations due to the lack of integration of educational program delivery.