“I have learned that several private schools have now gone out of business,” Private Education Commissioner Nattawut Parapob said yesterday, citing the severe impact these strategies are having on private schools.

He said things are so bad that some private schools are even offering cash to every student enrolled.

“I know private schools should compete on the basis of quality, but I think the government should also be fair to them and not make the competition in the educational sector too fierce,” Nattawut said.

He added that there was also no reason for state schools that have less than 10 Mathayom 1 students to continue operating.

Nattawut said the Office of Vocational Education Commission’s policy to recruit students for pre-vocational education – which is equivalent to Mathayom 1 to 3 levels – had also dealt a heavy blow to private schools.

“These schools also poach students from private institutions,” he said.

Meanwhile, an informed source said state vocational colleges were known to have had approached students from private schools even before they completed their Mathayom 3.

“They offer scholarships just to ensure that the students will opt for the state school,” the source said.

Currently, the government offers subsidies to both private and state schools based on the number of students enrolled – the higher the number of enrolled students, the higher the subsidy.