Cabinet 'yes' to B50 billion extra for education

The cabinet yesterday approved the Education Ministry's request for an extra 50 billion baht to pay the academic entitlement allowance owed to teachers and boost state subsidies to schools providing 12 years of free basic education. The extra funding will increase the ministry's budget for fiscal 2007 to 280 billion baht. Education Minister Wijit Srisa-arn said the cabinet agreed in principle to set aside an extra 50 billion baht for the ministry. Of this, about eight billion baht will be used to pay the academic entitlement allowance the ministry has owed to 240,000 teachers across the country since February. Another 12 billion baht will be earmarked for the academic entitlement allowance for 300,000 more teachers next year, said the minister. The ministry will also use some of the extra funding to increase state subsidies to schools providing free education. The increase is aimed at preventing state schools from imposing extra charges on pupils.

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http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/15Nov2006_news09.php

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Good to see the new government is taking positive steps to try to rectify the mismanagement and abysmal educational policies of the previous administration.

It's great how easy it seems to be to start solving the big problems with a gov that has no future and wants to please the international press.

Good for all Thailand.

Perhaps now the students in the villages might get pens and paper. Maybee even text books.