The cabinet made an unwelcome decision on Tuesday that shows its disrespect for freedom, rights and privacy of young people. It approved a draft ministerial regulation curbing the conduct of students as well as where they can go. Containing blanket and broad restrictions, this regulation is prone to be used a tool to control rather than protect students. Ultimately, it will do more harm than good.
Pushed by bureaucrats at the Education Ministry, the draft regulation, which is waiting to be vetted by the Council of State, is a more restrictive version of a 2005 ministerial regulation that states nine things students are forbidden from doing, such as skipping class, drinking alcohol, smoking, using illicit drugs, and gambling.
The new regulation enhances three of these restrictions, namely, those on instigating violence, expressing intimacy and engaging in sexual behaviour, and leaving one's home at night. The existing three rules are already seen as broad and invasive in terms of young people's rights and privacy. But the new regulation promises to be even worse.
Regarding the first prohibition on instigating violence, it additionally forbids students from engaging in "gatherings that will probably cause disorder or constitute a breach of good morals". Given the repressive political climate under the current military regime, a number of university students have questioned the motive behind this amendment. They are correct in pointing out that it could be used as a state tool to restrain and curb student political activities against the government. In the four years since the coup many college students have been at the forefront of staging protests amid a series of harsh state crackdowns.
While the existing rule stops students from expressing intimate or sexual interactions in public, the new regulation disallows such behaviour even in the privacy of their own places of residence. Students will not be allowed to even take pictures of themselves engaging in intimate acts and share them on social media.
Additionally, the new regulation expands the period of time during which students are prohibited from going out or gathering at night in a manner that could cause trouble to themselves or others. This restriction will be applicable on a 24-hour basis.
This regulation likely targets high-school and college students as they enjoy greater freedom than younger children. University campuses are expected to adopt it as part of their internal regulations. Its broad definition, however, leaves rooms for diverse interpretations, especially the "probability" of the said consequences. Moreover, those who enforce the regulation against students can claim their own interpretation, which poses a threat to students' rights.
The new rules are also out of touch with reality, especially when they address the sexual proclivities and intimate relationships of young people. It demands sexual abstinence, which is a conservative and ineffective solution.
The Education Ministry should rather provide young people with more information on safe sex to curb the high rate of unwanted pregnancies and help limit the spread of sexually transmissible diseases and infections.
It would not be an overreaction to see this regulation as being susceptible to "selective" treatment against certain individuals, for example student activists. One thing is clear -- students will face a higher risk of being suspended or expelled.
This absurd regulation should not have been introduced in the first place. Thailand has the Child Protection Act to safeguard minors and this should be sufficient. The Criminal Code can also be used to tackle student violence, usually instigated by students from rival technical schools.
University students should be treated with respect as young adults. Education institutes can help keep them informed of the potential dangers or trouble they may face, and let them think and decide for themselves. There is no need to turn education into a system of mind control and make Thailand inch closer to becoming a nanny state.