Study-work policy to keep kids in class

The Digital Economy and Society Ministry is pushing a policy allowing students to earn additional income while studying in a bid to bring out-of-school children back into the classroom.
Digital Economy and Society Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong chaired the first meeting of the Thailand Zero Dropout committee on Tuesday, which Nahathai Thewphaingarm, assistant to the Prime Minister’s Office’s minister and vice-chairwoman of the committee, also attended.
The committee is addressing the issue of children and youth dropping out of school, in line with the government’s education policy.
As part of this, a special panel will look at launching a flexible programme in which students can study and work part-time so they can earn income to sustain themselves, making them less prone to dropping out of school.
The move also combines education with practical work experience through partnerships with the private sector to boost career skills and meet labour market demand, advocates say.
The Digital Economy and Society Ministry says the programme is being pushed under the Learn to Earn project, which the Ministry of Finance, the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Thai Industries, and the Equitable Education Fund will take the lead in implementing.
More broadly, the Thailand Zero Dropout committee aims to streamline the education system and offer people access to lifelong learning across all age groups in response to the government’s nine-point education master policy announced on Sept 12.
Mr Prasert, also deputy prime minister, said the dropout problem needs to be systematically tackled in the long term.
This was one of the priority issues adopted by the cabinet on May 28. He pointed to the urgency of assisting 1.02 million children outside the mainstream education system.
The committee plans to focus on data integration and sharing between agencies to improve the identification and support of out-of-school children, return them to formal or informal education programmes, and possibly provide them with occupational training.
A subcommittee will be formed to integrate data from various sectors to better allocate resources, including welfare budgets from agencies like the ministries of Public Health, Social Development, and Human Security, to further push the policy.