Bangkok: The Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) has issued an urgent directive to all regional education offices to adopt measures aimed at reducing the financial burden on parents of students amidst an ongoing energy crisis.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Pichet Phophakdee, Secretary-General of OBEC, announced that he has sent an urgent communication to educational service office directors across the nation. The letter instructs them to inform schools under their jurisdiction about the "Announcement of the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) Regarding Measures to Reduce the Financial Burden of Parents in the Energy Crisis Situation, Academic Year 2026." The directive urges schools to implement these measures appropriately to help alleviate the financial difficulties faced by parents due to the energy crisis. OBEC has also emphasized the need for educational service offices to support, supervise, and monitor the effective implementation of these measures.
The seven measures outlined by OBEC include maintaining quality teaching and learning while reducing or waiving tuition fees, exempting or waiving the requirement for uniforms, and cutting down on the use of expensive learning materials. Schools are also encouraged to eliminate additional fees for activities and assignments and to incorporate digital technology for educational administration and teaching. The goal is to ensure that all students have equal educational opportunities without adversely affecting the quality of education and student development.
Principals are given the flexibility to adapt these measures to fit their school's context. This could involve allowing students to use the same uniforms when advancing grades or transferring, increasing the days for wearing physical education attire, and waiving the purchase of full scout/girl scout uniforms. Schools may also permit various styles of bags without emblems, design learning activities without extra fees, and facilitate digital monitoring of student progress. Additionally, online submission of assignments and documents is encouraged to further ease the financial pressure on parents.