Cram schools shut down
Owners seethe at being singled out over flu fear
- Published: 10/07/2009 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: News
Private tutorial schools across the country have been ordered closed for more than a fortnight to help curb the spread of type-A (H1N1) flu.
Students at a Siam Square tutorial school read an announcement suspending classes fromMondayto July 28 in an attempt to curb the spread of type-A (H1N1) flu virus. KOSOL NAKACHOL
The order does not apply to normal schools.
The closure, which takes effect from Monday to July 28, was greeted with anger from school operators.
. But the move has the full backing of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. The Private Education Commission under the Education Ministry has been assigned to implement the order.
The commission said there were 1,232 private tutorial schools registered with the ministry.
The order is based on a Public Health Ministry proposal which identified tutorial schools and computer game shops as major A (H1N1) transmission points for children - one of the most vulnerable groups to infection.
However, neither the Education Ministry nor the Public Health Ministry has the authority to shut down the game shops. All the ministries can do is ask them to close their doors for a while.
The Culture Ministry has been assigned by the cabinet to ask the game shops to make sure their computer equipment is hygienic, improve their ventilation and provide their customers with antiseptic hand gel. The government wants internet cafes to do the same.
"The government wants them to clean up to prevent flu infections," the prime minister said.
Mr Abhisit also asked for the cooperation of students and parents, saying pupils with flu symptoms should stay at home and not worry about tests at schools.
"The Education Ministry will allow them to take their exams later," he said.
All school executives have been given the authority to decide whether to shut their schools if they suspect any of their students have come down with the flu.
Education Minister Jurin Laksanavisit said the Public Health Ministry had come up with a new system to take care of students suspected of contracting the virus. The system would be put in place on Monday, when medical teams would be set up specifically to deal with students thought to have caught the flu.
Schools will be required to isolate students with flu-like symptoms and entrust them to the medical teams.
Schools have also been told to hold classes for students who miss school while ill so they can catch up.
Owners of tutorial schools reacted angrily to the closure order.
Anusorn Sivakul, head of the Tutorial Schools Association, said the closure was a stunt to make it look as if the government was stepping up efforts to stop A (H1N1) flu.
He said he was not convinced it would address the root cause of the problem. The decision to close tutorial schools was based on ill-founded information.
"Tutorial school operators wonder what information the Public Health Ministry is using to claim that tutorial schools are breeding grounds for the virus," Mr Anusorn said.
If tutorial schools were a breeding ground for the virus, the number of infections would be even higher given that they are attended by hundreds of thousands of students, he said.
Puea Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit said Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai lacked experience and had failed to deal with the flu outbreak. He called on the prime minister to dismiss Mr Witthaya.
Mr Prompong urged the government to fight the spread of the virus as a national priority and use an integrated approach in doing so. He also said the goverment should cover medical costs.
About the author
- Writer: ANUCHA CHAROENPO and SIRIKUL BUNNAG
