120,000 children missing from class after Covid: Education Ministry
The Education Ministry is scrambling to reach more than 100,000 students who have dropped out of school during the Covid-19 crisis.
The reopening of schools in Thailand last week revealed a huge number of children missing from class.
“We estimate that up to 120,000 children have left school during Covid-19 and are unable to continue their education after lockdowns were lifted due to family problems and other factors,” said Education Minister Trinuch Thienthong on Saturday.
She said her ministry is working with related agencies including the police to get as many dropouts back to school as possible.
“So far, we have reached out to about 95,000 children and expect to convince them to come back to schools by June to continue their education,” she added.
The ministry is also collaborating with the Vocational Education Commission to provide free boarding and tuition for rural students at 88 vocational schools nationwide. The programme, which is aimed at cutting the dropout rate, serves 5,000 students per year.
Meanwhile, to prevent dropouts due to problems in school, the ministry has established the MOE Safety Centre helpline contactable by phone and social media apps like Line.
“Parents and students can use these channels to directly alert the ministry of problems at schools such as bullying, harassment, or other safety issues, and officials will investigate promptly,” Trinuch said.