Thai Students Face Lack Of Opportunity To Develop Potential

By Minggu Simon Lhasa BANGKOK, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- Thai students still face problems over the lack of opportunity to develop their potential, and on the issue of school dropouts. As much as 600,000-800,000 students do not have the opportunity to attend school or have to drop out of school before finishing basic education, according to the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) Monday. It said, for students aged between six and 14, about 33 per cent of them do not attend school due to sickness or disability; lack of funding (24 per cent) and disinterested in education (15 per cent). For students aged between 15 and 17, half of whom consider themselves as having graduated in education, 23 per cent do not have sufficient funding and 18 per cent disinterested in school, it added. NESDB said most of the out-of-school children were from low-income families, at the rate of 4.6 per cent aged 12-14 years, and 31 per cent, aged 15-17. Considering by region, Bangkok and the South have the highest out-of-school children aged 15-17 years, at the rate of 47.15 per cent and 30.03 per cent, respectively, it said. Approximately 550,000 out-of-school children joined the workforce while 50,000-60,000 children were prosecuted for narcotic drug crimes and are treated in rehabilitation centers. About 24,000 children are sick and disabled while 30,000 others are homeless, said NESDB. It said more than 100,000 students were found illiterate, had low learning achievement, lacked work and apply skills such as English, use of technology for calculation and creativity, leadership and communication. -- BERNAMA