In a cool, brightly lit classroom, about 60 students — all over the age of 19 — are looking at their teacher attentively, despite the stench emitting from the canal outside the room's sliding doors.
Hidden in a slum in Huai Khwang district in Bangkok, Pa Jai Dee School (meaning Kind Auntie Jai's School) is a one-classroom Kor Sor Nor (non-formal education) educating students from neighbouring countries who wish to attain Thailand's basic education qualification. Classes are provided for free. "As per our curriculum, students would take two years [four semesters] to finish the course [getting a Prathom 6 certification or equivalent to grade six]. The subjects taught will be rotated each semester, such as maths, English, Thai and science," said Patsarin Pinthong, the main educator at Pa Jai Dee School. Classes are conducted in Thai, which is to equip these migrant worker students with better Thai language communication skills.
Patsarin Pinthong and her students during a lesson.
At the time of our visit, Patsarin's students were busy writing Thai idioms while also glancing periodically at their smartphones and tablets. Patsarin explained that they ran out of whiteboard markers. Hence, learners had to utilise their personal devices by looking up a scanned textbook page that was being shared through the class's chat group on the Line app.
Her pupils, said Patsarin, are from various backgrounds. Some are from Thailand's northern hilltribes. Some are of ethnic groups from China's Yunnan province and Xishuangbanna or Sibsongbanna region. Some are from Myanmar and Cambodia. There are only a few Thai students.
"As long as they have passports or official documents [that can be used for identification] from the government, anyone can study here," said the teacher. "Even if they don't, they can still come attend the classes. We just won't be able to provide them with any certification afterward."
Patsarin told us that most students in her class are in Bangkok to work. With a limited academic background, her students are often only able to find low-income jobs like waiting tables and hard labour.
"The students want to stay in Thailand because the jobs here are better. They don't really have any income sources at home. So they are more than willing to work here and send money home to their family."
To cater to the students' working hours, classes at Pa Jai Dee School run from 10am to 1pm every Tuesday. Students must also allocate their own study period at home. The normal study load for non-formal education is six hours per week for a period of two years.
"We are quite flexible here," said the teacher, cheerfully.
Adjacent to the classroom is a small convenience shop selling snacks, drinks and household items. It is run by Auntie Jai, who also owns the land on which the school is built.
Auntie Jai, or Somjai Paerod, was herself an non-formal education student. Hearing of children seeking a place to learn, Somjai — upon Patsarin's request — offered her land to her former teacher free of charge, as well as contributed money to offset the initial construction cost. The school is therefore named after her.
"I think I already have enough to live by. I can give the rest that I have to benefit others. There are so many kids out there who want to study but are not able to," said Somjai.
"I don't have that much knowledge or anything, so I want them to have it. They want it and I want it as well."
Somjai said it made her happy to see the students coming in year after year. The school has been open for five years and all students — past and present — know Somjai's name and face by heart. Many still greet her when they run into her at the local market.
Being with this school from the start, both Patsarin and Somjai recall when the classroom was not so pretty. This area used to be a place where Somjai kept her plants and a fish pond.
When they initially converted it into a place for learning, the area was just a dusty ground with minimum shade and was stinky. Classes went on despite the rain, sunshine and air pollution.
To get to its present condition, Pa Jai Dee School received support from both community members, working groups, organisations and even the students.
Recently, the class has pitched in more than 10,000 baht to help improve their informal education centre. The school also received monetary support from CIMB Thai to turn the place from a crowded and packed space into a proper classroom. The bank also plans to bring in teachers-in-training from partnering universities to help, especially with English subjects.
With goodwill from many, the support is reaching those who need it the most: the students.
Phannita Saeyang, 26, is in her second semester at Pa Jai Dee School. She comes from a Chinese family in Chiang Rai and relocated to Bangkok five years ago. She has since been working as a shopkeeper selling odds and ends like clothes, bags and smartphone powerbanks.
Like many of her classmates, Phannita found this place by word-of-mouth. She rarely uses Thai at home, speaking Mandarin. After a semester, she is proficient in writing and reading Thai, though she still has troubles pronouncing some words.
"Since I live in Thailand, it'd be difficult to do things if I don't know the Thai language. It's almost like being blind. You don't really know or understand what it is that you see," said Phannita.
Many people in their 20s probably consider going back to learning primary school material an unusual idea. As for Phannita, she believes that it is never too late to start, pursue or continue one's education.
"It doesn't matter if you're old or young," said Phannita with a smile, "Learning has nothing to do with age."
Phannita is still hesitant whether she will go into higher education after finishing her course at Pa Jai Dee School. Admittedly, not many students choose to continue their education to secondary and tertiary level. Still, college is not an impossible path for non-formal education students. According to Patsarin, there have been students who made it into Ramkhamhaeng University and other institutions.
Aiming to follow past students' footsteps into college is Saikao Khamsoi from Myanmar. The 25-year-old beauty salon worker will be finishing her time at Pa Jai Dee School at the end of this term. Primary education is not the highest qualification she aims to achieve and she already has her eyes on a better career path.
"I see educated people getting their degrees and working in offices. I want to be like them," said Saikao.
