Small public schools allocate more state support

Effective the next semester in May, all 13,880 primary schools with fewer than 120 students will benefit from a Bt500 hike in the perhead subsidy, from Bt1,900 now to Bt2,400.

Almost 980,00 primary students will be covered.

The rates will also rise at secondary schools to Bt4,500 from Bt3,500 for the lower level and to Bt4,800 from Bt3,800 for upper level.

Almost 91,00 students are enrolled in lower and upper levels at the 437 secondary schools with fewer than 300 students that are in the programme.

No figures are available on how much the government would pay each year in total.

Education Minister Jurin Laksanavisith said the increase was prompted by the results of a recent Ordinary National Educational Test which showed that students in small schools that received a similar subsidy two years ago performed better, with the overall illiteracy rate falling to only 0.3 per cent.