Govt urged to increase financial aid to students from impoverished families

Kraiyos told a press conference on Friday that investing a small amount of money to educate children and youths from poor families can free them from the cycle of poverty.

The number of poor students rose by nearly 50% over the last three years, from 900,000 to 1.3 million, as household incomes fell by 5%, according to the Equitable Education Fund.

It cited data from the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council that said more than 2.5 million children and youths live in poverty, with household monthly incomes of less than 2,762 baht.

More than 1 million students live in extreme poverty, with household incomes of less than 34 baht per day or 1,044 baht per month, Kraiyos said.

The government should provide enough financial support to students living daily in extreme poverty to cover the cost of living as well as the cost of education, Kraiyos said.

Providing financial assistance to extremely poor students will reduce the school drop-out rate, he said.

"Sending children to school incurs some cost, so giving a bit more money to parents will encourage them to send their children to school," Kraiyos explained.

Pumsaran Tongliemnak, an education economist at Equitable Education Research Institute, said inflation was making it more difficult for children and youths from impoverished families to attend school.

Higher inflation makes it more difficult for poor families to afford necessities and can force parents to choose between feeding their children and sending them to school, Pumsaran said.

The government should increase monthly financial aid to poor students from 1,000 baht to 1,190 baht at the elementary level and from 3,000 baht to 3,300 baht at the secondary level to prevent them from dropping out, a report by the Equitable Education Fund recommended.

Pumsaran cited data from Unicef that said the cost of 500,000 students dropping out of school was equivalent to US$ 6.52 billion, or 1.7% of GDP. The data was compiled by the UN agency in 2015. If every student in Thailand receives basic education, GDP will rise by 5.5% during this century, Pumsaran said, citing a study from 2020.

Kraiyos also called on the government to work with his organisation to create a national database on students, saying it would help Equitable Education and its partners determine the exact number of students requiring financial assistance.

Government officials should also find creative ways for the private sector to help students from impoverished families to reduce the costs to the government, he said.

Kraiyos said youths from impoverished families are most likely to drop out during middle school.

Financial assistance for higher secondary school grades will help them remain in school until they finish high school, Kraiyos said.

He said that research by the Equitable Education Fund found that financial aid for students in impoverished families had a 700% return on investment.

"This means that investing in education is always worthwhile,” Kraiyos said. Equity in education will ensure Thailand does not fall into the middle-income trap, he said, adding that Thailand will become a high-income country faster if more young people complete higher education.

If the 2.5 million young people from poor and extremely poor households are able to pay taxes when they are older the number of taxpayers will rise from 11 million to 13.5 million, according to research from the Equitable Education Fund.