About Bt50 billion is being circulated before new school term

BANGKOK, May 12 (TNA) -- Parents are spending about 50 billion baht for the new school term of their children, according to the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC). A survey showed that parents were paying 50,196 million baht and the spending rose 2.14% year-on-year, Thanavath Pholvichai, director of UTCC’s Center for Economic and Business Forecasting, said on May 12. The spending was increasing because parents earned more income and the prices of learning equipment and materials were rising, he said. Average spending per parent stood at 12,295.70 baht. Forty-three percent of the spending is for tuition fees, 28% for donations to schools and 6% for school uniforms and learning equipment and materials. UTCC’s survey also found that 53% of parents could not easily afford the spending and must depend on loans from pawnshops and other financial institutions. Some parents viewed that special tuition classes were still necessary for their children and payment for such classes worsened their financial burden. The payment was 10,704 baht per pupil, 9,740 baht per lower secondary school student, 11,064 baht per upper secondary school student, and 14,814 baht per university student. The survey also found that 46% of parents felt improvement in Thai educational systems, 20% saw no difference and 16.3% considered them as worse. Respondents gave 7.58 points out of 10 for the quality of Thai educational systems. (TNA)