New panel to reduce school dropout rates

The Ministry of Education will set up a committee to lead efforts to curb high school dropout rates.
The ministry was spurred into action by a recent survey, which found that 394,039 children aged six to 18 are missing from the country’s mandatory education system.
Education Minister Permpoon Chidchob said on Wednesday the Office of the Education Council (OEC) has been assigned to develop a strategic plan to tackle the school dropout problem.
After emerging from the Thailand Zero Dropout campaign meeting, Pol Gen Permpoon said the plan will incorporate input supplied by various organisations.
The cabinet approved the project on May 28 during the Srettha Thavisin administration. In July, the former premier ordered the ministry to speed up its campaign to reach out to children who either were left out of or dropped out of the education system.
The project led to the latest survey.
Pol Gen Permpoon added the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec) is responsible for implementing a related project aimed at bringing youths back into the mandatory education system, from Prathom 1 (grade 1) to Mathayom 3 (grade 7).
The OEC must also ensure mandatory education for children unable to attend school, such as those in juvenile detention centres, he said.
The OEC may develop a long-distance education system designed specifically for Thai children who currently live outside Thailand, he said.
A shared database system, he said, will also be developed so agencies under the ministry, whose job is to fix the school dropout problem, can continue updating their data.
A national priority, the Thailand Zero Dropout campaign has four core measures to be implemented to achieve zero school dropouts.
The first involves government agencies searching for children missing from the mandatory education system.
Second, new measures are being created to monitor out-of-school children and refer them to various organisations to provide them with proper education.
Third, a flexible, standard-quality education system is tailored to suit different groups of children with different educational needs.
And last, business operators are being urged to join forces with the government in arranging mandatory education for youths who need to work while studying.