The Alternative Education Council insists it does not oppose the Education Ministry's plan to close and merge small schools, but it is concerned some facilities that should remain open will be closed.
The council and its allies held a meeting yesterday after Education Minister Phongthep Thepkanchana announced he was standing firm on the ministry's policy of shutting about 17,000 small schools and sending students to larger ones nearby.
The closures would start with schools that have fewer than 60 students, of which there are nearly 6,000.
AEC deputy chairman Decha Phongdaeng said the ministry must establish clear criteria for the closures.
''We do not oppose the closure plan, but the ministry must be clear about the criteria that will be used to determine which schools are closed,'' he said.
''What we are really concerned about is that those schools that are necessary for their communities might be closed without good reason.''
The group points to the case of Baan Tha Sathon School in Nakhon Si Thammarat, which was forced to shut down in 2004 because it had only 64 students, lacked a director and scored low in terms of academic achievement.
Because of the closure students had to travel along a desolated and flooded route to study at another larger institution, leading the community to come together to protest successfully for the school to be brought back.
''There must be a committee that allows all parties, including us, to participate in the decision-making,'' Mr Decha said. ''The ministry must also have other plans to help develop and improve the quality and standards of schools, and not only penalise them.''
AEC secretary-general Chatchawan Thongdeelert said there was no guarantee the quality of education would improve if students were sent to larger schools as the teaching methods would be the same.
Boonsom Taorin, chairman of the Community School Network of Thailand, rejected the notion that the quality of education is poor at small schools.
''In fact, of the top 10 schools with the highest Onet scores in each educational service area office, six to eight are small facilities,'' he said.
''Most small schools have passed assessments by the Office of National Education Standards and Quality Assessment.''
Mr Boonson said the plan to close the schools would not result in savings in the education budget as the ministry has claimed.
He said it would instead result in other costs, such as the ministry having to purchase vans to take students to the larger schools which are further away from their homes.
''What about the costs of van maintenance, petrol and drivers? Also, there is no guarantee of safety with students having to travel greater distances to the new schools,'' he said.
''As of right now, school director and teacher positions in small schools will not be withdrawn, so how can [the closures] produce savings in the budget?''
While not providing details, the ministry has said that school directors would be transferred to new schools.
The group also proposed that the ministry set up another body, separate from the Office of the Basic Education Commission, that would be responsible for community schools and alternative education, with a fund of 200,000 baht a year.
They will meet the minister on Wednesday to discuss this issue.
Education Minister Phongthep said yesterday the school closing policy is being implemented to improve the quality of education in the country. He said there were not enough teachers to ensure high standards at small schools.
He said this is not the first time such a policy has been enacted, but that it had been implemented three times before over the past 20 years.