Village leaders and residents from Tambon Chaiburi in Nakhon Phanom’s Tha Uthen district jointly submitted a petition against the small-school merger project at Nakhon Phanom City Hall.
Chaiburi Administrative Organisation member Banjong Saensorn said he had received a letter from Ban Na Nong Bok School director Pranee Taoklang inviting the Basic Education Commission, community leaders and students’ parents to participate in a meeting to discuss the policy to manage small schools.
“The policy is that schools in the area which have less than 40 students have to be merged with Chumchon Ban Chai Buri School, which is four kilometres from our village” he said, adding that residents disagreed with the plan for several reasons.
He said residents opposed the plan because the small schools would eventually be closed and abandoned, resulting in students being forced to travel a greater distance while parents would have to shoulder more expenses.
“Nakhon Phanom Primary Educational Service Area Office 2, however, tricked us by implementing the project on November 1, when the second semester is opened for the first day, without permission, displeasing villagers,” he said, adding that villagers will not let their children go to the larger school which was located farther away from the village.
Working at Nakhon Phanom’s complaint centre, Chaiwut Watcharensoonthorn, who received the petition, said he would send a letter to the Primary Educational Service Area Office 2 to reconsider the small-schools merger project.
“I have sympathy for the |villagers because they have to take care of their children despite being impoverished,” Chaiwut said. “These children are facing the problem of broken families – the parents work in other places, so the grandparents have to take care of them instead.”
He added that he would raise the matter with senior officials as soon as possible.
The scheme is to be implemented by the Office of the Basic Education Commission.
Minister of Education General Dapong Ratanasuwan said the policy to merge small schools faced a number of challenges including consent from local communities, which would be adversely affected if their schools are merged with others.
However, he said it was fortunate the scheme had been largely welcomed by local communities.