The United Nations, which seems to have given up on world peace and now spends all its time issuing scary statistics, says that in another 35 years there’ll be 101 geezers tottering around for every 100 kids under 14 making fun of them!

So one answer to the above question is to turn the old-timers loose cracking some insolent juvenile heads, but there’s a community in Sukhothai that’s got an alternative idea.

Tambon Tan Tia is taking the Ageing Society Challenge by sending all the old codgers back to school. Rather than the central government shifting some of its Army budget over to making these folks’ autumn years a pageant of fun and leisure, the local government in little Tan Tia is going to teach the old-timers how to take care of themselves.

“The School for the Elderly teaches seniors how to have a better quality of life,” says Achara Somuppahad, acting chief of Social Development and Human Security in the province. “The Tan Tia Sub-district Administrative Organisation has designed a learning pattern to develop our seniors’ potential in self-care for a better quality of life in all four dimensions – body, mind, socially and spiritually.”

Ongart Peng-eiam, the organisation’s chief executive, comes right out and says the idea is to make sure the wrinklies don’t become “a burden for their families, communities and society”.

Frankly we’d rather be sentenced to life in “attitude adjustment” at Camp Prayut, but evidently they’ve lured 60 Sukhothai seniors into the programme, which involves two semesters of 30 weeks each. They’re being schooled in “Dharma and Spirituality of Life”, “Wellbeing of Body and Mind”, “Folk Wisdom and Culture”, and “Citizen’s Roles and Responsibilities”. (Maybe this is an attitude-adjustment camp after all.)

It says here the aim is “to elevate our seniors’ quality of life and encourage them to develop lifelong learning.” We’re told the students – erm, seniors – ride their bicycles to school and have their own kiddie uniforms, and that everyone was laughing at the opening ceremony. Lifelong learning? We’d be laughing too! Get some chuckles in before the crying starts. The school day begins with singing the national anthem and raising the flag, plus a prayer and a solemn vow to “be a good person”.

Lucky Boontham Rueangmee, age 66, got elected class leader. “I’m so excited,” she giggles on the Administrative Organisation’s website (http://TanTia.go.th). “I feel just like I’m a high-school student again. Hopefully this activity will help me and my friends associate more with society.”

Can we find someone a little less enthusiastic? Not really. Glom Tengyam is at 80 the oldest “student”, not that you can actually tell the seniors from the juniors. She’d worked in the rice paddy until her worried family ordered her to stay home, but she started feeling lonesome. “When I heard about this programme I signed up immediately,” Glom says. “It’s a chance to meet people my own age and socialise and exercise together and grow stronger together.”

They need to put their heads together and form a union, that’s what they need to do.