Billions needed to cover fees

The government will have to provide at least Bt23 billion more to ensure children actually receive 12 years of free education.

While the Constitution requires the government to provide 12 years of free education to children, the government has only waived tuition fees. Parents still have to pay school fees for other things such as computer courses and electricity usage for air-conditioned classrooms.

This has raised the question as to whether the government is complying with its constitutional duty to ensure children receive free education.

"We have been looking into the regulations," secretary-general of the Basic Education Commission Khunying Kasama Varawarn said yesterday. "We are going to forward this information to the Council of State for review".

Kasama said that Education Minister Wijit Srisa-an had instructed relevant authorities to examine whether the collection of study-related fees was against the Constitution.

To prevent schools from collecting study-related fees from parents, she said the government must provide adequate teachers and computers for schools, plus funds for infrastructure, building maintenance and teaching aids to help underprivileged children.

"Many schools have to pay huge repair costs each year as they don't have adequate funds to maintain their buildings properly."

She said that excluding salary costs for more teachers, the government would have to pay at least Bt23 billion in additional funding to schools.

Kasama said her office would report the findings to Wijit, who was expected to raise the issue with his successor.

Supinda na Mahachai

The Nation