Equity lab by the Equitable Education Fund, EEF, in collaboration with innovators from Nong Sanit Subdistrict Administrative Organization, Thai Chamber of Commerce, YEC Surin Province, and farmers from Korat chicken farming group in Nong Sanit Subdistrict, Surin Province, opened a broiler chicken farming and breeding learning center, “Nong Sanit,” under the project to experiment and extend social innovations in Surin Province to serve as a source for training vocational skills and generating income for children and youth outside the education system in Nong Sanit Subdistrict, Surin Province. There were more than 10 children and youth who participated in the event.
Among the innovations that have been tested and expanded from the research project to support and connect networks for incubating innovators for educational equality in 2022 under the problem-solving to meet the needs of vocational training and generating income for out-of-system children in Surin Province is the Nong Sanit Broiler Chicken Breeding and Learning Center. The issues facing out-of-system children in Surin Province are primarily brought on by family poverty, which leads to children and youth working while still in school to lessen the financial burden on the family, according to the Equitable Education Fund’s screening database of extremely low-income students in 2022. Additionally, it costs a lot of money to provide continuing education at a level above mandatory education. These financial difficulties have made schooling an unaffordable burden for low-income families. Furthermore, conventional schooling is insufficient to address their present demands. Young people lack a clear vision of their future educational and professional aspirations. Children, young people, and parents thus place less value on education, which causes them to decide to drop out of school.
In 2023, 26,646 children in Surin Province were not in school, making up 14.77% of the total population of children in the region, according to the Equitable Education Fund, or EEF. This number of children is probably going to keep falling. It is challenging for individuals to reenter the educational system after leaving it since they frequently encounter different living constraints. Despite being able to make a living daily, their inability to pursue higher education leaves them without social support systems, educational or professional role models, or life goals. As a result, they are unable to establish stable careers and make enough money to lift themselves out of poverty. Furthermore, the labor market’s need for highly skilled individuals has increased significantly due to the quick growth of technology and innovation, even while 70% of the workforce still falls into the medium- to low-skilled category, a situation that hasn’t altered much over the previous few decades.
They must thus have access to resources that will allow them to pursue these vocations and even be given the opportunity to learn about the professions that are in demand both now and in the future. Additionally, two crucial elements that will support their professional success are motivation and career objectives.
The innovation “Do The Dream,” an ecosystem that encourages career goal-setting and action for success, was created by Equity Lab in collaboration with innovators. Planning life goal activities, setting up career skill training camps, and locating consultants to offer guidance on achieving those professional goals are some examples of these activities. Following the pilot experiment, it was discovered that the environment or context that serves as a limiting framework hinders motivation to set goals for the future. There aren’t enough diverse and accessible educational or career models, which prevents them from seeing their potential. Finding outside experts or role models leads to uneven learning and skill development, producing unsustainable outcomes.
We plan to try to broaden the innovation in 2024 by establishing a learning center for the production and breeding of broiler chicks, one of the highly sought-after jobs in Surin Province. A curriculum for interested children and youth is being collaboratively organized by the Nong Sanit Subdistrict Administrative Organization and local networks, with the participation of knowledgeable farmers from the Korat chicken farmers’ organization in Nong Sanit Subdistrict, who serve as role models in the community. This learning center will give kids and young people who aren’t in school a place to learn jobs through practical experience, develop professional skills, be accountable for their work, collaborate with others, and earn money to support their families.
As an innovator, Paramee Intarachumnum stated that in order to develop innovations that will help children and youth outside the system set goals for their future careers and lives, as well as to create motivation, it is essential to be involved in order to comprehend the problems, the target group’s context, and to experiment repeatedly. The remedy to the current issue was discovered to be earning money and establishing a career. Therefore, to solve local problems by collaborating with network partners, we have experimented with the Learn to Earn model, which consists of activities that improve learners’ skills so they can use them to earn money for themselves. This approach is a way to solve problems that are close to us and can be completed with immediate results. While the goal of this model is to generate income and see results in the short term, it is also a starting point for these children and youth to be inspired, to rise and change themselves, to come and try to learn vocational skills through real experimentation, to get to know themselves, and to see the goals that they want to continue studying or continuing, all while generating income that will allow them to support themselves and their families in the present.
Investing in their education is crucial. These kids and young people can develop, but they want encouragement and opportunity. The newly established learning center serves as a sort of place for kids and young people who don’t have the chance to try learning about this line of work. If they don’t enjoy this career and fail at it, they may pursue and learn about alternative occupations. It might be another learning path for them, though, if they have gained enough information and skills from working here to carry on with their lives and be able to support themselves.
This broiler chicken breeding and raising learning center is one of the innovations from the Equitable Education Fund that help to complement the operations in the child and youth development section in terms of career development, which is one of the Nong Sanit Subdistrict Administrative Organization’s community development plans, according to Somkiat Sara, Chief of the Office of the Permanent Secretary of Nong Sanit Subdistrict Administrative Organization, Surin Province. There is a plan to create opportunities for children and youth inside and outside the education system, an integrated working mechanism with other organizations in the area, and a system of data on out-of-school children for development. Support will be provided to ensure that groups in the system and those at risk of dropping out are inspired to learn, suitable learning strategies are identified, and they finish their required education. Individual education plans, guidelines for further education, such as the Learning Center and Multi-Purpose Technician, and personal career development plans are designed for groups outside the educational system to encourage the development of vocational skills and allow them to pursue careers that will provide them with a steady income.
“This learning center is like a place to fill up knowledge and train vocational skills for children and youth who have dropped out of the education system by using their knowledge and expertise to help organize the curriculum to create skills for children and youth who are interested in raising and breeding broiler chickens so that they have knowledge, skills, and vocational experience,” explained Thawatchai Phuangchan, chairman of the Korat Chicken Farmers Group in Nong Sanit Subdistrict and head of the Korat Chicken Farmers Network in Surin Province. “Some folks don’t know what to do for a living because their families have moved away. At least they can support themselves with this vocational expertise. We will use this occupational expertise to advance their education from this point on, ensuring they acquire a degree relevant to their line of work. The young people will be able to sustain themselves and their families with the money they earn from this. It is a profession that can bridge the income gap.”
Mr. Thawatchai added that these kids and young people will be assisted in becoming farm owners if they choose to continue honing their talents after they have learned them for some time. Furthermore, there is already a lot of demand in the region. Furthermore, the provincial livestock office has collaborated to set safety guidelines. As a result, this will be a factor in raising their revenue.
One of the project participants, Nong Chok, and his parents, stated that insufficient funds were available for expenses and schooling because of their mother’s disability and the family’s generally low financial standing. In order to provide for his mother and himself, Nong Chok had to leave school and work to make a living. However, he was able to pay for meals for himself and his mother without having to travel far from home after joining the project because he had more money. He also grew more accountable for his work, altered his conduct, and was motivated to work or participate in this learning center’s programs to learn how to raise and breed broiler chicks.
