On 4 February 2021, Ms. Salisa Piromrat, the President of Tak Red Cross Chapter, along with Ms. Jaroonlak Chotimanon, Deputy President of Tak Red Cross Chapter, and representatives from organizations followed up on supporting the Youth Learning Development in Remote Areas Project at Ban Pa-de School and Thanpuying Thawee Maneenut Border Patrol Police School in Mae Sot District, Tak Province.
Students of Ban Pa-de School are different from each other in various ways such as intelligence, emotion, sociality, and physical condition. Teachers teach them using the Thai language and new techniques to attract their attention in reading and writing. They use a practicing program which takes 20 weeks and was created by Tak Primary Educational Service Area Office 2. Students in Grade 1-3 should focus on basic reading such as spelling and combining letters of the alphabet.
In Thanpuying Thavee Maneenut Border Patrol Police School, it was found that students are more illiterate with the Thai language because parents speak local dialects causing children to lack opportunities to practice the Thai language. Moreover, teachers are yet to create strategies and lack educational materials to support students’ reading skills.
Therefore, the boards and management teams of the schools should be concerned about Thai literacy especially in a critical time of COVID-19 pandemic. There are several ways to improve students’ educational skills; doing homework, visiting children’s homes for extracurricular courses and not learning by rote or carrying out activities. Likewise, instructors must use interesting techniques to attract students’ attention and encourage them to speak Thai.
