The Equitable Education Fund needs an annual budget of 25 billion baht or 5% of the education budget for the first five years of the law's enforcement, says Prasarn Trairatvorakul, a member of the Independent Committee for Education Reform (ICER).
"There are still many students in rural areas who have to stop going to school because their families cannot afford travel expenses or school uniforms. But the government now only provides 2 billon baht annually or 0.5% of the education budget. The budget amount has been capped for seven years," said Mr Prasarn, the former Bank of Thailand governor, at a forum on educational reform Wednesday.
The cabinet just approved the draft bill of the Equitable Education Fund Act to help children from poor families. But the cabinet rejected a clause setting 5% of the state education budget to the fund for the first five years. The cabinet is said to prefer approving funding on an annual basis.
Mr Prasarn said the National Legislative Assembly on April 4 will decide how the fund will be managed.
"If it ends up that the fund has to request funds on a year-to-year basis, it will not be able to meet the long-term plan, making it difficult to work effectively," he said.
Thailand has faced massive inequality in the education sector. Currently, there are 4.3 million children and youngsters in low-income families. Some 670,000 of them have quit school because of financial hardship. Mr Prasarn said 50% of children from low-income families are likely to quit school, while those from families with means can pursue advanced education.
Education expert Sompong Jitradub said investment in the country's educational sector should not be seen as a budgetary burden.
"In my opinion, 5% is still too little. It should be 10%, as Thailand is now No.3 globally in terms of educational and social inequality," he said.