FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Amount of sport at Thai schools seems badly lacking

Amount of sport at Thai schools seems badly lacking

Re: "It's the Same Old Catch-Up Game", Editorial, yesterday.

Saturday’s edition brought to mind a few issues that I’ve noticed while residing in Thailand for nearly 20 years. For starters, public schools are only required to offer organised sports to students for one hour per week. Sports are natural and healthy for boys and girls but you’d never know it from seeing how things happen here. As a side issue, roughly 10-12 per cent of Thai boys are leaning to become – or already are – lady boys, so they’re considered girls. 
And Thai girls are brought up to have many priorities stacked higher than sports, like going to the mall, playing with hand-held devices, prettying up, buying skin-whitening cream, etc. 
How many youngsters take the initiative to go out into the countryside and explore nature, climb steep hills, physically exert themselves and push their limits? Probably less than 1 per cent. How many hang out at malls after school – always with their digital devices? Probably 99 per cent.
Kip Keino
Ban Nam Lat 
nationthailand