The Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec) is seeking cabinet approval for its request to allow the rehiring of school janitors to ease teachers' burdens and allow them to focus on the core responsibilities of teaching.
Obec secretary-general Sub Lt Thanu Wongchinda was speaking in the wake of an assault on a primary school teacher at Bang Pong Klua School in Chiang Rai's Muang district on Saturday.
Sub Lt Thanu said the attack highlighted the vulnerability of teachers and underscored the necessity of Obec's proposal to rehire more than 14,000 school janitors nationwide.
Under a 1999 cabinet resolution, he said, government offices, including schools, are required to provide security measures to safeguard their premises.
In line with this, teachers are required to be on duty outside school hours to ensure schools are properly monitored, after school janitors were phased out a few years ago.
He said the proposal aims to free up teachers from non-core tasks so they can teach and mentor students full-time. Obec oversees 29,251 schools nationwide.
While the request is pending cabinet consideration, schools are advised to seek assistance from local administrators and communities to maintain safety without using teachers' time, he added.
Obec has submitted a letter to the Interior Ministry asking it to provide necessary support. The Education Minister has instructed Obec to follow up on the incident and mete out measures to maintain safe and secure school environments.
The teacher's condition is improving and a team of experts including a mental health specialist has been sent to assess her, he said.
A 38-year-old man was held in connection with the attack. He was charged on Sunday with several offences including aggravated assault using a knife.