More than 900 schools have been forced to close temporarily due to anti-government protests, though all have now re-opened to pupils.
Pupils from Wichutit School in Din Daeng wait to be picked up by their parents after anti-government protesters went to their school to shut down a training session for election officials on Jan 23, 2014. (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)
Caretaker Education Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng said a total of 934 schools with 316,982 students and 18,164 teachers have been affected by the protests so far.
He said all the schools have already re-opened, but many pupils missed several days of lessons so the Education Ministry and related agencies are working to provide supplementary classes to help children make up for missed time.
Mr Chaturon said prolonged protests could damage the educational prospects of children and the country’s future.
Children's charity UNICEF Thailand meanwhile issued a statement expressing "extreme concern" about the number of pupils whose education has been disrupted by the ongoing political crisis.
The statement urged all parties involved to respect children's right to receive an education and to make every effort to ensure that schools remain open.
All 934 schools referred to by Mr Chaturon fall under the remit of the Education Ministry, the Office of the Basic Education Commission and the Vocational Education Commission.