PHICHIT: Thirteen more schools are facing the prospect of being merged with others, after three small schools were shut down recently due to teacher shortages and declining student numbers, according to a provincial education official.
"These schools have only two teachers," said acting Maj Suvisit Ganta, deputy chief of Phichit Primary Educational Service Area Office 1. "They have student numbers ranging from zero to 42."
If the schools fail to enrol more students, it would be impossible for these schools to be assigned additional teachers, Maj Suvisit said, referring to a ratio of 20 students per teacher as laid out by the rules.
"It may also be necessary for them to merge with other nearby schools," he said, adding this practice has been applied to several other schools in the past.
Acting Maj Suvisit said his office has a budget to provide transport for children whose schools are forced to merge with others.
According to acting Maj Suvisit, at least 40 schools in Phichit's rural areas have been forced to shut down over the past decade.
Two schools in Phichit's Wang Sai Phun district were recently closed, namely Wat Nong Jik Pao School in tambon Nong Plong and Ban Nong Pla Lai School in tambon Nong Pla Lai.
Dong Pa Kham School in tambon Dong Pa Kham of Muang district, which has 12 students, would be shut and merged with Dong Klang School in the same tambon from Oct 1, according to acting Maj Suvisit.
There are two Primary Educational Service Area Offices in the province. Out of 137 schools within Area Office 1's jurisdiction, three schools only has one teacher each, he said.
The schools are Wat Hong School in tambon Yan Kao of Muang district, which has 26 students, Lam Chala School in tambon Hua Dong of Muang district, which has six students, and Wang Kradon School in tambon Pho Prathap Chang of Pho Prathap Chang district, which has 12 students.
He said his office has been working to recruit more teachers to work in these schools.
According to observers, the closures of small schools in rural areas happened due to declining birth rates and parents' preference to send their children to study in schools in Muang district.
Parents in rural areas commonly use school buses to send their kids to study in either private or public schools in Muang district, which is 15-40 kilometres away from their hometown, observers said.
Private schools are booming in Muang district, as the government also subsidises teachers' wages and provides financial support based on the number of students.
The student transport business is gathering steam with hundreds of cars used to carry students from rural areas to schools in Muang district, observers said.
They said many teachers have requested to move to Muang district, where they could earn more money by providing tutorial courses.