On Monday, Kallaya Tahsom, former director of Thairath Wittaya 6 School in Ang Thong province, listened to police criminal charges against her. Her alleged crimes? The former school director, also a Ministry of Education official, was accused of assisting illegal migration and neglecting her duty. In 2023, the school was founded, providing education to 126 Myanmar students who had fled their homeland's civil war, illegally entering Thailand.
If the court finds Ms Kallaya guilty, she could spend up to 10 years in jail and pay a fine of up to 200,000 baht.
Her case mirrors the nation's shameful and backward education policy. As Thailand needs more skilled and educated labourers, officials are closing the places that help meet this need simply because these education centres are not legally permitted, and students are illegal migrants.
Such a policy is short-sighted. The problem, indeed, is not about migrant children -- it's about the future of Thai society. Denying any child an education based on their ethnicity harms the entire country.
The crackdown intensified last month when authorities closed the doors of learning centres in various provinces.
In Samut Sakhon, a nationalist group and local authorities shut down a learning centre inside a shopping mall. Soon after, the provincial education office formed a task force to investigate other migrant learning centres and threatened closure.
In Pathum Thani, police raided a centre in Rangsit that had been running for over a decade. Officers interrupted classes, leaving students frightened and uncertain about their future. Officials warned that if the centre continued operating, legal consequences would follow.
In Phuket, provincial authorities ordered migrant learning centres to stop teaching immediately while they investigated the legal status of the centres, students, and their families.
Thailand is systematically dismantling access to education for migrant children, using national security and legal regulations as an excuse.
However, closing learning centres will not strengthen national security. In fact, it will do the opposite.
Proper national security isn't about shutting doors but opening them. When children grow up educated and integrated into society, they are more likely to contribute, work, and build a future in Thailand for themselves and the national economy.
Without education, migrant children are vulnerable to crime, exploitation, and other social problems. Good educators know best that education is the antidote to social problems.
Indeed, the consequences are devastating. At present, there are between 400,000 and 500,000 migrant children in Thailand, according to Mahidol University's Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia. Yet 61% receive no education at all. Only 34% attend Thai schools, and a mere 5% rely on community-run learning centres.
So, instead of closing them, the Ministry of Education must find a way to enhance the capacity of these informal learning centres.
The government should ensure that every child -- no matter where they come from -- has the chance to learn. Thailand's future depends on its people, not just those with Thai citizenship but all who live, work, and grow within its borders.
A country that invests in education invests in its stability, prosperity, and future.