The Mathayom 1 policy recruits 50 per cent of students from inside a school's service zone, 40 per cent from outside the zone and 10 per cent from special-ability programmes.

The 40 per cent from outside the zone are further divided into two groups. Students recruited via entrance exams throughout the country account for 30 per cent, with the other 10 per cent coming via a lottery system solely for students from the school's province.

The survey conducted nationwide on 20,657 respondents - 6,962 students, 6,995 parents, and 6,700 teachers and school directors - revealed that more than half (57 per cent) disagreed with the new formula, while 41 per cent said otherwise and the rest gave no comment. Upcountry, there were 11,965 respondents who disagreed (59 per cent) compared with 8,692 in Bangkok (55 per cent).

When separated into groups, teachers and school directors upcountry were the group most objecting to the new ratio, at 60 per cent, followed by upcountry parents at 59 per cent, upcountry students at 57 per cent, Bangkok parents at 56 per cent, Bangkok teachers at 55 per cent and Bangkok students at 54 per cent.

After a ministerial executives' meeting considered the survey on Wednesday, caretaker Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang said the BEC would soon gather all sides' opinions to formulate the 2007 recruitment policy. It would aim to maintain the policy for at least three years as a way of helping parents and students.

Chaturon said it was important the policy didn't hurt established schools, as in recent years. It should ensure justice, giving rural children the same access to quality education as city kids, he said.