Education Minister Treenuch Thienthong says her staff have prepared a host of activities for students ahead of the first semester of this academic year on 1st June.
Ms Thienthong said the ministry had already devised various plans for 17th-31st May so students can use the time wisely ahead of the new term, which was postponed to prevent the spread of the pandemic in schools.
She said the country was now in the grip of a third wave of COVID-19 and it was widely feared the situation would get worse. Her ministry didn’t want children to lose any opportunities to further their studies and it was important their parents felt reassured about their well-being.
Her staff had therefore organised online courses for them to study during the 11 days before the actual opening of the semester, she said.
Ms Thienthong gave no further details about the courses but said students would be taught life skills through their real-life experiences; the ministry would be assigning advisers and teachers to organise related activities.
The minister said that when schools finally reopened on 1st June, teaching would be organised through five channels: at school under strict conditions; on TV, via the DLTV education channel; on-demand, through online applications; via the internet; and through courses organised by the print media.
A survey of schools had shown that most expected to arrange classes on-site.
Doing the best for students during the pandemic required the ministry to work closely with private organisations and parents and make the best use of the various channels available in their areas, said Ms Thienthong.
The courses would be run informally, with no assessments when they finish, but would all have to follow strict health measures, she said.
The ministry will be launching a web portal that will have a learning database and provide practice activities in various fields of education. Offline courses will be organised by schools, local ministry staff, and the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration to provide a wide range of courses to cater to students’ interests.
