A key Democrat figure on Friday urged the government to put the brakes on the Education Ministry's plan to provide students and teachers nationwide with a tablet computer each.
The programme, announced by Education Minister Pol Gen Permpoon Chidchob and his deputy Surasak Phancharoenworakul, was carried out by a previous Pheu Thai government a decade ago but was considered a flop by critics.
Democrat member Suchatvee Suwansawat, former rector of the King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, wrote on Facebook that technology plays a significant role in people's learning, but three concerns should be considered.
He said tablet computers are not good for small children as such devices may affect their motor skill development and keep them from interacting with others.
"The ministry needs to be certain about what age groups of children are ready to use the devices. Otherwise, it will cause more harm than good," he said.
He said tablet computers cannot guarantee children will succeed if teachers and parents lack understanding of the children's learning process.
Smart devices are only tools for learning, and parents and teachers must know how to use these tools to help children learn.
"Children's emotional development could be affected if they spend a lot of time on tablets or other devices," he said.
Children are at risk of having a short attention span, being short-tempered or developing depression, he said, adding that mental health specialists must give advice and help the policy-makers prepare for possible impacts.
"I do support the use of technologies for learning, and I must stress that Thais must have access to the internet free of charge, but a coin has two sides," he said.
Kanya Nantana, a teacher based in Nakhon Sawan, yesterday welcomed the ministry's policy to hand out tablet computers.
She said they are effective learning tools but children should not be allowed to bring them home to prevent misuse.
She said the school's devices, which were procured for online learning during Covid-19, are now obsolete as the school had a limited budget and it had to buy devices with low specifications.