Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra speaks to about 900 scholarship students at Government House yesterday. He urged them to study hard for the good of the country.

Thaksin gave a speech at Government House yesterday to 915 scholarship students studying for bachelor's degrees in Thailand and abroad.

The students, from 926 districts across the country, were selected for their good grades and behaviour, as well as their financial need.

The government earns up to Bt10 billion a year from the legal lottery (the last round alone raised Bt700 million), and a portion of this money is used to help needy people and give scholarships to poor kids.

Because the scholarships are funded by lottery tickets (mostly bought by poor people) and from district coffers, Thaksin urged the students to be grateful and to use their knowledge for the benefit of the underprivileged and their home districts.

Thaksin said he wanted the students to have a can-do attitude and to be virtuous, diligent and creative in applying their skills later on. "When I'm unemployed, I'll go visit [the students] abroad," he said.

Thaksin urged them to help promote His Majesty the King's development projects and to tell people, wherever they go to study, about the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of His Majesty's accession to the throne.

Keerati Pichaiyan, a scholarship recipient from Nong Khai's Muang district who would be studying in Germany, said he thanked the government for giving opportunities to poor kids and turning their lives around.

Keerati said he had no chance to read for the university entrance examination, as he had to work from 9pm to 7am every day to support his family.

"If I didn't get this scholarship, I don't know what I'd do. Maybe I'd be a factory worker, a waiter or work odd jobs just to make ends meet," he said.