Report Thai Govt Pledges Continued Support for Equal Education Access

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Picture courtesy of nbt WORLD

 

The Thai government has underscored its dedication to making education accessible for every student. According to the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC), over 300,000 seats are still available for students enrolling in Mathayom 1 (Grade 7) and Mathayom 4 (Grade 10) for the forthcoming academic year.

 

OBEC revealed that following the April entrance exams and subsequent enrollment processes, roughly 1.097 million students have secured placements in schools within its network.

 

This includes allocations for 218,400 kindergarten students, 266,800 in Prathom 1 (Grade 1), 372,200 in Grade 7, and 240,324 in Grade 10. Despite these numbers, 217,200 seats in Grade 7 and 97,511 in Grade 10 remain unfilled across the nation, allowing more opportunities for late admissions.

 

As of April 21, 18,700 students had applied for school openings—14,800 for Grade 7 and close to 3,900 for Grade 10. School placement results for Bangkok will be out this week, while national results and enrollment need to be finalised by the end of the week.

 

Following the completion of this phase, Bangkok is projected to have about 6,500 vacant seats, which offers flexibility for additional applicants.

 

 

 

Students who are yet to find a spot can seek placements through their respective OBEC area offices. The policy permits students aged 3 to 18, who missed out earlier, to enroll anytime during the semester once seats are verified as free.

 

This reinforces the government's strategy to address educational gaps and reintegrate out-of-school children via its "OBEC Zero Dropout" initiative, part of the broader "Happy Learning" policy.

 

These efforts focus on offering flexible options to accommodate every learner, ensuring inclusive and equitable education across the board.

 

The government's proactive approach aims to curb school dropouts and foster an environment where quality education is accessible to all, aligning with the Ministry of Education’s objectives for widespread literacy and learning happiness.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from [source] 2025-04-25

 

 

 

[Tropicalevo]

Does that mean that age 12 is when kids start to drop out of the education system and 15 is when they start to work?