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Published on March 27, 2008

What is the purpose of being born into the world?

There are two schools of thought.

The first school believes that, as the Lord Buddha said, life is suffering and only good deeds in this life can lessen the suffering.

The second believes that we live to cherish changes to come. Anyone who's been alive for 40 years has enjoyed so many changes. From a handful of small shopping malls to a legion of gigantic ones. From black and white TV with a few channels to giant colour TV screens with multiple cable and satellite channels. From simple dial telephones to modern gadgets to play with like MP4 devices and mobile phones with a whole world of new functions.

I guess most people fall into the first category, as their resources are never enough to cherish all the new changes that could come into their lives. As they still struggle to make ends meet, it is difficult for them to spend on new things, particularly when they must save for their retirement.

Many surveys show that Thais start to save late in life. Mostly, they think about retirement when they pass 40 or when they have children. In either case, they have 20 years, more or less, to save for their retirement and for their children. The lucky ones will have enough money left for their retirement, after saving enough money for their children's education.

A recent survey by the Government Pension Fund in cooperation with Chulalongkorn University revealed that most people were still struggling to provide a good education for their children. The survey also showed that they put their children before their retirement.

But what makes it interesting is that they know that after retirement, they will be on their own rather than depending on state assistance or support from their children.

That's sad, isn't it? No matter how devoted they are to their children, they know that the next generation will struggle too and not have much energy left to support parents.

On Tuesday, the Cabinet approved a state contribution to cover tuition fees for students in Grades 1 through 12, worth a total of Bt2.9 billion for this year. The purpose is to give educational institutions higher contributions per head, so they will not charge extra fees for new enrolments (so-called Pae Jia).

If all goes as planned, this should help poor parents. With lower tuition fees parents may change the way they think about why they are born into this world.

Achara Deboonme

achara_d@nationgroup.com