Fund to focus on 'very poor' students

[webfact]

Fund to focus on 'very poor' students

By THE NATION

 

Photo from: www.insanpost.com

 

These Children don’t even have enough for a proper breakfast’

 

THE EQUITABLE Education Fund (EEF) is trying to boost financial aid for more than 600,000 students who fall in the category of “very poor” or have just Bt42.7 in their pockets per day on average.

 

“We hope the increase will go into effect next month,” EEF assistant manager Kraiyos Patrawat said yesterday. 

 

He was speaking after the EEF, in collaboration with the Office of Basic Education Commission, used proxy means tests (PMT) to indirectly determine students’ household income and the money each student is likely to have. 

 

 

A young boy stands surrounded by garbage near his home in the Khok Samrong area of Suphan Buri’s U-Thong district. Poverty-stricken youth like him need immediate aid and access to educational opportunities, experts say. 

 

“Our estimate is that students in the ‘very poor’ category are allotted just Bt1,281 per month from their family’s income. If we divide this figure by the number of days in a month, each student in this group gets just Bt42.7 per day. That’s not even enough for a proper breakfast,” Kraiyos said. 

 

He said about 12.9 per cent of the total number of students in the country fell under the “very poor” category, while some 22.3 per cent or 1,075,476 students were in the “poor” category. 

 

The provinces with the highest percentage of cash-strapped students are: Mae Hong Son, Narathiwat, Kalasin, Si Sa Ket, Chiang Mai, Maha Sarakham, Buri Ram, Roi Et, Mukdahan and Ubon Ratchathani, Kraiyos said. 

 

“The EEF will focus on the ‘very poor’ group first,” he said.

 

Currently, the government grants Bt1,000 per semester to primary students and Bt3,000 per semester to secondary students in the “very poor” category. 

 

Sompong Jitradub, a professor at the Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Education, called on teachers to seek help for “very poor” students. 

 

“For instance, they could seek funds for activities to boost the potential of these students. They could also work on inspiring these students,” he said. 

 

Chonchanok Nurod, a school director in Suphan Buri province, said her students raised donations to help pay for poor students’ education and meals. “When we visit them, we bring along a 5-kilogram bag of rice,” she said. 

 

Weeranat Tanawang, a teacher in Nan province, said some families earned so little that their children walked to school in order to save the Bt15 a day granted to them as travel allowance by the state. 

 

Kraiyos said that EEF plans to boost financial support for very poor students by Bt1,000 to Bt2,000 per semester. 

 

“We will hold public forums to hear the opinions of stakeholders in all regions, starting with the North,” he said. The first forum will be held in Chiang Mai province on August 15, with many more to follow. 

 

10 Provinces with the highest percentage of poor students 

Mae Hong Son – 61.88%

Narathiwat – 56.52%

Kalasin – 54.95%

Si Sa Ket – 52.64%

Chiang Mai – 50.4%

Maha Sarakham – 49.91%

Buri Ram – 49.75%

Roi Et – 49.72%

Mukdahan – 48.33%

Ubon Ratchathani – 47.28%

 

Source: Equitable Education Fund

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30351754

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-08-09

 

[Samui Bodoh]

I think it is wonderful that there is a fund to assist the "Very Poor" students.

 

However, due to all the corruption scandals regarding the embezzlement of funds for the poor, what steps are being taken to ensure that the money gets to those who need it? The lesson from recent investigations is that the Thai State Employees who administer these types of funds are not above stealing them.

 

Allocating money for the 'very poor' is good ONLY if it actually gets to them.

 

[kannot]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Currently, the government grants Bt1,000 per semester to primary students 

900 of which goes in "administration"

[Cadbury]

No matter how well-meaning this is it just appears to be another bucket of funds ready for the milking. Just like those funds for the elderly, destitute and poor that was siphoned off by civil servants. Or the funds allocated for school lunches which were pocketed by crooked school directors.

It would be easy to believe that those at the top of the ladder are already making plans and scheming ways to get their grubby hands on it. Naturally there will be no audit process just to make sure no one gets caught with their hands in the till.

I am hoping for the best for the children but wont be surprised if there is some press announcement later that certain individuals have been caught redirecting the money into their own pockets.

 

 

 

[Lungstib]

This is really just an admission that there is extreme poverty in Thailand and lots of it. It looks like half of the families in those listed provinces are suffering. Poor kids do not evolve from rich parents, its simply that whole families are dirt poor and can't adequately provide for their kid's education. Massive wealth inequality which will never be properly tackled by feeding a few students. 

[JAG]

1 hour ago, Cadbury said:

No matter how well-meaning this is it just appears to be another bucket of funds ready for the milking. Just like those funds for the elderly, destitute and poor that was siphoned off by civil servants. Or the funds allocated for school lunches which were pocketed by crooked school directors.

It would be easy to believe that those at the top of the ladder are already making plans and scheming ways to get their grubby hands on it. Naturally there will be no audit process just to make sure no one gets caught with their hands in the till.

I am hoping for the best for the children but wont be surprised if there is some press announcement later that certain individuals have been caught redirecting the money into their own pockets.

 

 

 

 

And have been savagely, brutally punished by being transferred to another job... 

Edited August 9, 2018 by JAG

[mikebell]

Another trough for the swine to feed from.

[JAG]

If they have the resources, time and money to collect statistic accurate to two decimal places on children who cannot afford breakfast, then in heavens name why can't they devote some of those resources to ensuring that the children have breakfast, school uniforms and so on? 

 

Those photographs are an absolute disgrace to this country. Doesn't that count as "loss of face"? 

[greenchair]

Lunch for k1 to g6 is already free. The uniform, books and utensils such as pencils are all reimbursed. They get a travel allowance of 15 baht. School milk is free. Sticky rice and pork for breakfast is 20 baht. If we rounded their daily allowance up, it works out at 50 baht a day. 

All of the above, used to be provided in western schools 30 years ago. Not anymore. 

The little boy at the rubbish tip that doesn't attend school, is more than likely a stateless child, which is a whole other issue. 40 percent of Australian and around 60 percent of new Zealanders are living below the poverty line. 

Everyone has money problems. This is just another populist policy, not likely to make any changes to the child's life. 

[Poottrong]

13 minutes ago, greenchair said:

. 40 percent of Australian and around 60 percent of new Zealanders are living below the poverty line. 

 

The way poverty is measured in the west is in terms of how much poorer you are in comparison to the rest of society. It is not an absolute measure which measures things like access to 3 meals, running water, schooling etc. It is completely misleading, possibly deliberately so.

[Juan B Tong]

Authorities are encouraged to form a proper line

[greenchair]

2 hours ago, Poottrong said:

The way poverty is measured in the west is in terms of how much poorer you are in comparison to the rest of society. It is not an absolute measure which measures things like access to 3 meals, running water, schooling etc. It is completely misleading, possibly deliberately so.

I'm not really under standing what you are infering. Thai citizens have access to 15 years of compulsory free education(12 in the west )

It also has free healthcare, which I have been to some of the government hospitals, very nice service. 

As for running water, to my knowledge thailand has always had running water, we're not talking Ethiopia here. 

Thai standards also compare the wealth gap. More than 20 percent of the population is considered wealthy, compared to 2 percent in the west. Thailand is the 4th richest country in Asean .

I just don't see them as being destitute. 

In the maslo hierarchy of needs ( the UN evaluater )

They have sufficient shelter, schooling, healthcare and so on. 

I see many low income people. No different from the west. 

There is a big difference between poor and low income. 

[connda]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

These Children don’t even have enough for a proper breakfast’

That's utter BS.  Food is cheap and plentiful even in the poorest areas of rural Thailand.  I really dislike this type of clap-trap nonsense.  What's a 'proper breakfast?'
Ham, eggs, hashbrowns, a glass of milk, and orange juice?  This isn't the West.  A proper breakfast is more likely to be a bowl of jok rice porridge which even in 2018 Thailand cost no more than a few baht to make.
However, kudos for providing the poorest of the poor with assistance.  Everything helps, although I wonder how much of the funds provided to the 'poorest of the poor' are siphoned off at the top.  Remember - TIT.  It's difficult not to be skeptical.

[connda]

4 hours ago, JAG said:

Those photographs are an absolute disgrace to this country

Those photographs are there to mislead the reader.  I can take a kid to the local dump, snap some pictures, and write an article about the plight of poor in <enter name of some third-world or developing country>.  It disingenuous and it's meant to be just that.

 

3 hours ago, greenchair said:

Sticky rice and pork for breakfast is 20 baht.

I can make rice porridge with pork or chicken for about 5 THB per serving.  Sticky rice and pork for less than 10 THB.  Somebody is making money off that deal.

 

5 hours ago, Cadbury said:

No matter how well-meaning this is it just appears to be another bucket of funds ready for the milking. Just like those funds for the elderly, destitute and poor that was siphoned off by civil servants.

Unfortunately that's the reality although some of those funds may actually 'trickle-down' to those who need them the most.  But not before the cream has been skimmed off the top based on what is too frequently reported as corruption within state agencies.  There is definitely a 'I'll take care of myself first and the hell with everyone else' attitude in Thai culture.  Not to mention the belief that poverty is a consequence of bad karma in your past life (but good karma for you seeing that you have a job at the top of an agency that gives you direct access to money that can be diverted toward your own personal enrichment) <confused> 

[OldSiamHand]

The only effective long term solution would include at least some of the following: (i) tax inheritance at near 100%, (ii) make it illegal for men and women to procreate out of wedlock, without finishing secondary school and without at least one parent gainfully employed, and (iii) make absent daddies responsible for the welfare of their children.

 

tossing a few baht here and there won't solve anything.

[Poottrong]

4 hours ago, greenchair said:

I'm not really under standing what you are infering. Thai citizens have access to 15 years of compulsory free education(12 in the west )

It also has free healthcare, which I have been to some of the government hospitals, very nice service. 

As for running water, to my knowledge thailand has always had running water, we're not talking Ethiopia here. 

Thai standards also compare the wealth gap. More than 20 percent of the population is considered wealthy, compared to 2 percent in the west. Thailand is the 4th richest country in Asean .

I just don't see them as being destitute. 

In the maslo hierarchy of needs ( the UN evaluater )

They have sufficient shelter, schooling, healthcare and so on. 

I see many low income people. No different from the west. 

There is a big difference between poor and low income. 

Thailand has not always had running water. My wife grew up without it and her family did not have a toilet for many years in her youth. Same for her entire village. She spent years in Kong Toey slums with similar conditions for thousands of people. She left school when she was 12 as did all the other kids her age in her village. She slept under trucks at the wharf to unload containers. Her father slept under bridges when he was a labourer. This is not uncommon.

 

Have you visited the slums or any poor villages ? How about looking at the way millions of labourers live in camps throughout the country? Anything like that in the west? I just can't see how you can say "I see many low income people. No different from the west." The poorest people in the west live nothing like they poorest people do here except if you count homeless people in the west who are there through their own poor life choices or because they are mentally ill and they are only a tiny percentage of what is considered "the poor".

 

 

 

. 

 

Edited August 9, 2018 by Poottrong

[tryasimight]

3 hours ago, OldSiamHand said:

The only effective long term solution would include at least some of the following: (i) tax inheritance at near 100%, (ii) make it illegal for men and women to procreate out of wedlock, without finishing secondary school and without at least one parent gainfully employed, and (iii) make absent daddies responsible for the welfare of their children.

 

tossing a few baht here and there won't solve anything.

I agree with your third point but having trouble comprehending your first two.  Why should inheritance be taxed at any percentage let alone nearly 100%. This sounds like a communist ideal.... Don't bother working hard and saving for the kids. What's the problem with giving your kids your assets after you have passed. 

Your second point is absolute nonsensical.  What if the parents lost their job..... Are you advocating they lose their kids as well?? 

[Number 6]

They should create an NGO and open this up to allow only foreign expat volunteers to run the program in it's entirety with a Thai government comptroller.

 

I never realized how poor many of those provinces are. 50% poor kids. That's a disgrace.

 

[Poottrong]

11 minutes ago, Number 6 said:

They should create an NGO and open this up to allow only foreign expat volunteers to run the program in it's entirety with a Thai government comptroller.

If that actually worked Africa would be full of first world countries by now.

[Number 6]

4 minutes ago, Poottrong said:

If that actually worked Africa would be full of first world countries by now.

No, not professional aid workers 555. Local people that have committed their lives and have families here.

 

[OldSiamHand]

17 hours ago, tryasimight said:

I agree with your third point but having trouble comprehending your first two.  Why should inheritance be taxed at any percentage let alone nearly 100%. This sounds like a communist ideal.... Don't bother working hard and saving for the kids. What's the problem with giving your kids your assets after you have passed. 

Your second point is absolute nonsensical.  What if the parents lost their job..... Are you advocating they lose their kids as well?? 

the first point on inheritance should be an easy one, if you believe in moving more towards a meritocracy and away from a sense of entitlement.  of course raise your kids and provide them all the benefits of your wisdom so they can be as successful as you.  don't let these benefits extend to the wealth you created.  they should be able to create their own if you do a good enough job parenting.  this creates more of a level playing field for all.  why have a wealth advantage through inheritance merely by dint of your lucky birth?

 

as to the second point, of course you would not lose kids if you lose your job.  think of it as a condition to have kids in the first place.  in other words, you need to show you're responsible enough to at least have a job and education when you decide to conceive.  if you subsequently lose your job, you don't lose your kids, but will presumably try to get a new job (at least you'd be more likely to try to compared to someone who has kids without having a job in the first place).

 

there are no easy solutions to solving poverty among children, but all other half-arsed measures are unlikely worth the paper they are printed on.