Closing small schools unconstitutional : rural teachers
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The Rural Teachers Society's Northeastern branch yesterday condemned the Education Ministry's move to close down small schools.
“It’s a violation of the 2007 Constitution,” said society vice president Wittaya Panpeng.
He was speaking at a teachers’ forum held by the Federation of Teachers Associations of Thailand.
Education Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana, however, was undaunted. He has stood by his policy to close some small schools to improve the overall quality of educational services. Usually allocated few resources and few teachers because they have just a handful of students, small schools are often plagued by quality problems.
Wittaya said the government was required by the Constitution to provide Thais equal access to 12 years of free education. “The government has the duty to ensure that education services reach all children,” he said.
He complained that if small schools in rural zones were closed, many more children would leave school.
“I believe some children, especially those in remote areas, will simply stop going to schools if the nearby schools are closed,” he said. Wittaya is the director of a Si Sa Ket-based school.
He said the Education Ministry should find out the wishes of local communities before deciding to close down small schools in their areas.
“So many teachers at small schools disagree with the policy to close down their schools. They are planning to stage a protest at the Education Ministry, bringing along students and parents,” Wittaya said.
Phongthep said his policy did not seek to eliminate all small schools. “We are going to close down just some of them. We will also provide free transportation for local children who have to move to study at another school instead,” he said. “At most, these children will only have to travel some three to five kilometres further.”
He said merging the schools would give children better access to learning materials.
“In areas where there is just one school, we definitely will not close it,” the education minister said.
