Parents to get debit cards from govt for school supplies
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Instead of getting cash from the government to buy state-subsidised school supplies and uniforms, parents might be issued debit cards.
The Basic Education Commission plans to authorise 7.8 million cards for parents of children in primary and high schools to use for the next semester opening in May.
The credit in the cards follows the same pricing for students at various levels.
School supplies run Bt100, Bt195, Bt210 and Bt230 for kindergarten, primary, lower and upper secondary levels, while uniforms are Bt300, Bt360, Bt450 and Bt500.
The agency still needs to seek approval from all parties, including shops that may not have card machines and parents who ay be charged an annual fee.
Secretary-general Chinnaphat Phoomirat said yesterday that the debit card scheme was supposed to be implemented before the current semester began in November.
However, the Government Savings Bank, which floated the idea, needed to charge up to Bt70 per card and that was not acceptable.
After negotiations, the GSB agreed to absorb the cost of the cards, but it has not yet been decided if the annual fee could also be waived.
The GSB has said in a statement that it could provide card machines to all outlets, but for schools in remote areas, stores could use a card machine or the cash register of their cooperatives, he added.
