The Office of the Basic Education Commission has resolved to allow students to apply and sit for high school entrance examinations online, as the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak is expected to persist beyond the start of the new school term in May.
Obec secretary-general, Amnart Wichayanuwat, yesterday said the commission met with a student admissions working group to discuss the possibility of moving the application, examination and enrolment for Mathayom 1 (Grade 7) and Mathayom 4 (Grade 10) online in light of the Covid-19 outbreak.
The arrangement was based on the scenario that the outbreak will continue well into May, when the new school term is supposed to begin. "In which case, classes will be moved online as well," he said.
The Obec had earlier ordered education district area offices across the country to delay accepting applications for Mathayom 1 and 4 — originally scheduled for March 21-25 and March 21-22, respectively — until further notice.
Entrance examinations for both Mathayom 1 and 4 — initially set to take place on March 28-29 — have also been indefinitely postponed.
Also postponed are student enrolments, which were supposed to start on April 6 for Mathayom 1, and April 7 for Mathayom 4.
Mr Amnartt said Obec is still trying to assess the extent of the disruption on education should the Covid-19 outbreak continues throughout May and figure out the best way to mitigate its impact.
Local education area offices will be allowed to decide the approach they will take to deal with the situation, he said.
