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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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Hello everyone and welcome to the end of year blog.

Very big thanks for the amazing donations which Odet has received this year.

Odet has been able to add four more students to the numbers it is assisting which now stands at 19. They range in age from primary school level to university, and in background from city to remote rural areas. 

One thing they share is a desire to continue at school despite the considerable difficulties they face. 

Cher lives alone with his aunt in a remote Karen region of Kanchanaburi State and walks a number of miles to school everyday. He is currently in his fourth year of high school.

Kare lives with his mother and two younger sisters in rural Kanchanaburi. His mother supports the family in her daily income. 

Pichamon 14 and Maprang 11 both live in the Pilok border region of Kanchanaburi. Their homes and school is accessible only by boat. As with many children in this area neither of them have nationality or citizenship status and are confined to living in the border region. 

THE NATION

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2023

Poor Thai households earning as little as 34 baht/day post-Covid-19

Educational opportunities for Thai children from poor families are falling, a recent study has found, with extremely low-income families with school-aged children earning just 1,039 baht per month on average, or 34 baht per day in 2023.

This rate is way below the earnings of poor households under the international poverty standard of US$ 2.15 or around 80 baht per day, said Kraiyos Patrawart, managing director of the Equitable Education Fund (EEF), which conducted the study.

He added that this number reflects a drop from the 2019 statistics, before the Covid-19 pandemic, in which the poorest Thai families with school-aged children were earning 1,250 baht per month.

“The Thai economy has yet to fully recover across all sectors post-pandemic while inflation is still high,” he said. “These factors have accelerated the educational inequality among Thai children.”

He said that children from poor families are already struggling to go to school as they have little or no allowance for transport and food.

“Without assistance from the authorities, these children could become a lost generation, unable to access proper education and miss the opportunity to maximise their potential,” he said.

“Despite the government’s 15 years free-education scheme, these children are still having trouble staying in school due to family expenses, no food and transport allowance, lack of homes or having to move due to parents’ jobs,” he added.