However, Chit Ko’s fate was changed when his school headmaster Mi Seik Khamar Chan visited his house and encouraged his parents to allow him to remain in school. Like many migrant families who live on minimum wage and struggle to make ends meet, Chit Ko’s family asked, “How can we send our children to school if we, ourselves, are still struggling to live?” “If Chit Ko continues to work like this, his life will be tough like yours,” the headmaster of Sauch Kha Hong Sar learning centre in Mae Sot of Tak told them. “I will help cover all of his school expenses and I can guarantee that he will be good. Please trust me.” His parents eventually decided to put their trust in the headmaster and Chit Ko ran with the opportunity. Since that day, he has been studying hard and has shown a palpable passion for learning and reading. The boy has spent much of his time reading books on a tablet filled with Myanmar and Thai learning resources and his performance in class has soared. “I have all of my textbooks and I can read many other books that I like from the tablet,” says Chit Ko. Chit Ko, now 14, is not only at the top of his class at school, but also received top scores in the Myanmar Non-Formal Primary Education (NFPE) examination in Kayin State. It’s a “miracle”, say those who’ve supported Chit Ko and witnessed his story over the past two years. And, along with the passion and dedication of Chit Ko himself, it is one that came about as a result of a collaborative effort that involved a dedicated headmaster and several partners in promoting the use of ICT to overcome barriers learners like Chit Ko face to education. Since 2014, UNESCO Bangkok has been implementing the “Mobile Literacy for Out-of-School Children in Thailand” initiative with the support of Microsoft, True Corporation, CP Group, Help without Frontiers Foundation and Ministry of Education Thailand to provide quality education for marginalized children along the Thai-Myanmar border through mobile learning and ICT devices. To date, over 5,500 children, including Chit Ko, have enhanced their basic literacy and numeracy skills by more than 50% through the project. Under the project, 700 tablets preloaded with an application “LearnBig” which contains over 1,000 materials in 3 languages (Thai, Burmese and Karen) were provided to 60 migrant learning centres (MLCs) across Thailand. In addition, teachers at these MLCs have also been trained on the use of satellite TV and internet provided by True Corp as well as teaching techniques from the experts of Microsoft, Ministry of Education Thailand and education experts who have participated in the project. Mi Seik Khamar Chan said the introduction of ICT devices has transformed classes at Sauch Kha Hong Sar, making them more engaging and fun for the students. “We used to have only a white board and students didn’t have so much fun in learning. Now that we have the tablets and TV, the kids want to come to school. They are very happy when teachers use the tablets and they can watch documentaries or cartoons after class on TV,” she says. “When we use ICT devices, the students get so excited. They have so many questions about the lessons. They even read ahead in textbooks before classes by themselves.” According to UNESCO, overall learning achievement of the students participating in the project has been increased. 84.26% of learners have higher scores in Myanmar, 56.38% in Thai and 52.37% in Math. Teachers observed that learners enjoy learning and are more engaged in classroom activities. Most teachers felt that the use of ICT devices has changed their teaching methods from traditional way to more learner-centred approach. Chit Ko’s top score in the NFPE examination is testament to the success of the approach. Following his success, another five migrant students from Sauch Kha Hong Sar and New Road learning centres finished with the top scores out of 1,085 NFPE learners who sat for examinations for the NFPE programme in Myanmar and Thailand. They also have been using the ICT devices. “On behalf of all migrant learning centres in Thailand, I would like to thank all agencies that have been supporting us for providing an opportunity for migrant children and the Ministry of Education Myanmar for allowing us to conduct the curriculum,” says Mi Seik Khamar Chan. As for Chit Ko, he’s looking to pay forward the benefits he’s received, mentoring younger students on how to use the tablets and encouraging them to read, and also continuing his own studies a Non-Formal Middle School Education (NFME) programme. He has his parents’ full support. “My dream is to become an engineer one day because I love working with machines. I will study hard and do my examinations well and proceed with my higher studies in Engineering. I hope that I will be able to earn enough money to support my whole family, so my parents do not have to work very hard anymore,” said Chit Ko. ++++++++++++++++++ Published caption::  Chit Ko: Top of the class