Independent Mon News Agency (IMNA)

June 18, 2003

Teaching of Mon language will be allowed in Thai schools

In the Thai school curriculums, about 30% of schooling time will be allowed for the teaching of the ethnic language in the schools where are in ethnic people live, and this new policy will provide the opportunity for the survival of Mon langauge, said by General Secretary of Mon Unity League, Nai Sunthorn.

Teaching of Mon language will be allowed in the areas where the majority Mon people live in Thailand who migrated over 200 years ago after the Burmese king annexed Mon kingdom. Mon language textbooks will be provided from 1^st Grade to 12^nd Grade in schools that provides basic education to the children in Thailand. Academics and some Thai-Mon leaders have developed the textbooks with the reference of old Mon story books and palm-leave scriptures. They will apply the draft textbooks to the Ministry of Education, Royal Thai Government, to get the permission for teaching in schools.

Mon language experts who work in the Ministry of Education, Mon language researchers and the persons who achieved the Degree with Mon language thesis have involved in extensive research and Nai Sunthorn, has helped them in research process.

Research group also translated some old Mon scriptures into Thai language and the authorities from Ministry of Education and Ransit University has interested on the translation, said by Nai Sunthorn. Research group found about 5000 issues of old palm-leave Mon scripture in two old Mon Monasteries, Wat Pran in Pathum Thani and Wat Doe in Ratchburi, near Bangkok. About 100 issues of Mon scripture relate to the man and the remaining are about Buddhism.

Nai Sunthorn and Nai Zahan from MUL have helped the Research Group, as they do not understand the Mon language in depth.

In Thailand, Pathum Tani University and Srilipakorn University have taught Mon language to the university students.

Although the teaching of Mon language is allowed in Thailand but it is banned in Burma.