Published on October 18, 2005

The Education Ministry will ask for a further Bt12 billion for the fiscal year 2006 to fund its mega-project scheme, following the Budget Bureau’s approval of just Bt4 billion.

Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang said yesterday the ministry would ask the Cabinet, who will consider the mega-project agenda in its meeting on October 31, for a further Bt12.396 billion from the central budget of the fiscal year 2006.

The move came after the Budget Bureau allocated a budget of just Bt4 billion for the ministry’s mega-project scheme leaving the Education Ministry to find the further funds required for the project from its existing annual budget of about Bt120 billion.

Chaturon said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had promised to find a further Bt100 billion in addition to the ministry’s annual budget, to allow the ministry to improve school buildings, buy 250,000 computers with Internet connection for public schools nation-wide, improve personnel development and promote quality teaching.

He said the Cabinet had already approved a Bt96 billion budget frame for the ministry’s mega-project scheme and the ministry expected to receive around Bt25 billion per year, in addition to its annual budget, for four years.

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