Teachers, parents fret over mergers

The Education Ministry yesterday admitted that a proposed plan to merge 5,447 small-sized schools into larger ones over the next three years is worrying the many teachers and parents who will be affected.

The mergers, part of the past government’s education reform package, have already won approval from the cabinet and are due to go ahead next year.

The Federation of Teachers Associations of Thailand plans to hold a gathering of teachers from across the country to submit its petition to various House committees as well as the Education Ministry tomorrow, said Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan.

The group is calling on the House committees and the ministry to seek a suspension on the cabinet’s resolution and only proceed when there is a clear plan to mitigate negative impact on the schools, teachers and students, said the minister.

“I’m more concerned about the low ratio of teachers to students, which is a key factor in ensuring the quality of education,” he said.

He said he is now focusing on first speeding up the development of more than 3,000 small schools that aren’t suitable for merging to ensure their teaching quality.

Of the 5,447 schools that are set to be merged, 1,398 are to be merged into larger schools next year, another 2,963 in 2021 and the rest in 2022, said Mr Nataphol.

He was citing the latest version of the plan reported to him recently by permanent secretary for education Prasoet Bunruang.

The plan has provoked concerns among teachers and school administrators at small schools about how the schools will be run after the mergers, he said.