Effects of Covid-19 on Education Worldwide

[Lost]

Couple of questions Lost.

Are you employed as a teacher right now?

Are you a parent?

Not a parent. Not a teacher (anymore).

[Lost]

I should try and curb my emotion on this topic I guess, for fear of coming across hysterical. But I promise you guys, if you'd seen all the figures and gone through all the papers/data I have, you'd be extremely concerned just the same. Particularly if you're a parent.

Having previously spent more than a decade with the little guys in class, I'm just absolutely gutted for them.

[PeteC]

I saw an online headline earlier today that all schools in Buriram are now closed through the end of the month. I'll post the article when I find it.

Buriram may be the tip of the iceberg and many more school districts will close if Omicron continues to spread.

[buksida]

Its not just Buriram, schools are being shuttered again all over the country. Education has never been a big priority here in Thailand which is why most of the bigwigs send their kids overseas.

[Big Boy]

My granddaughter returns to school today after being closed for a couple of days because of Covid. You've got to love the consistency

[buksida]

While ours have been off again for the past week due to an outbreak. They're loving it - after being closed for more than a year, the school is now winding down for the long ten-week end-of-term holiday.

Needless to say, they'll be moving when (or if) the next term ever starts, though the open/close policy seems to be happening everywhere and is unavoidable with this headless chicken government.

[Dannie Boy]

Anywhere else they’d be talking about shortening or cancelling the holidays altogether, but as has been said by numerous people, education is low on the priorities here!!

[PeteC]

I've experienced first hand what is happening with families when their child tests positive via their weekly ATK test, they're not reporting it to the International school, or to anyone. They tell the school that they were in direct contact with someone who has tested positive, and they keep the student home doing on-line classes until the time that they test negative.

This has not been a one off, but many times with several families that we know. No one wants to go through the government red tape, and possible family separation, when a positive ATK is officially reported. I would think this is happening all over the country with both foreign and Thai families.

To combine comments from several threads today, yes, the "New Cases" and essentially the Reported ATK cases are meaningless figures at present in relation to the true quantity or people here walking around with Covid in one form or another.

[PeteC]

Further to the above, all International schools that I know of are running simultaneous in class teaching and on-line class at the same time. Each classroom is set up with ZOOM and on-line students can participate just like they were there. They've been doing this since the start of the second term after New Year.

[buksida]

Finally, the junta will let the youth go back to school ...

Schools to reopen on May 17 despite cases
Schools will reopen as scheduled on May 17 for on-site teaching despite concerns about the rate of Covid-19 infections, according to the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec).

Obec is determined to push ahead with the opening of the new term after meeting school district directors and headmasters from across the country.

Yesterday Obec's secretary-general, Amporn Pinasa, said the meeting discussed and assessed the readiness of schools to reopen.

He insisted the May 17 opening date for the first term of the academic year still stands. "There will be no postponement," he said.

The Obec secretary-general said he has directed schools to conduct mainly on-site classes. However, remote learning or other teaching methods or a combination of online and other methods may provide a useful alternative.

The ground rule was that on-site classes must conform strictly to Covid-free setting requirements issued by the Public Health Ministry.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... pite-cases

I wonder what efforts they'll make to enable them to catch up on the two years they've lost due to forced closures.

[Dannie Boy]

About this much - 0!!

[HHTel]

Salesian is partially open for onsite classes. The school's split into 2 so students attend school every other day and online for the other days.
However, they test students weekly using ATK tests. If just one tests positive then the school is shut for 14 days.

I wonder if that will continue next month.

[joelle]

Schools in Hua Hin to resume onsite learning next week.

It’s likely to be music to the ears for students and parents alike.

Schools in Hua Hin will finally resume onsite learning from next week.

Most of the city’s schools will see children of all ages return to the classroom on either May 17 or May 18 for the start of the new academic year.
Like students across the country, the pandemic has meant that many students in Hua Hin have spent a whole academic year learning online.

Schools have been required to ensure that measures are in place to control potential COVID-19 infections.
Measures involved having parents make sure their children are fully vaccinated, having received at least two vaccine doses.

School staff were also told to communicate the benefits of having a vaccine to parents, as well as informing them on where they can take their children to receive a vaccination.

Walk-in vaccination services are available at Hua Hin Hospital and BluPort, parents are advised to follow the respective Facebook pages for the latest information.

While rules at each school may differ slightly, guidelines from the Ministry of Public Health state that students are only required to take an ATK test if they feel unwell or display symptoms of COVID-19.
If a case of COVID-19 is detected, the student or those at a high risk of infection are required to isolate. However, the whole class does not need to be suspended.

Locally, Hua Hin School, Hua Hin Vitthayalai School (Salesian), and Beaconside Yamsaard School, as well as all Hua Hin Municipality public schools will resume onsite learning on May 17.

Somtawin Witaedsuksa Huaymongkhon school will resume on May 18.

[PeteC]

Teens face pandemic woes

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... demic-woes

Thailand Policy Lab says many Thai teens have expressed their worries on social media through more than 100,000 messages, signalling a possible mental health problem among youths.

The organisation, established by Thailand's Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), held a seminar on Thursday highlighting issues of mental health among Thai teens.

Data collected showed the messages, posted amid the coronavirus pandemic, gained more than 10 million engagements, including public shares, likes and comments.

After analysing the messages, Pongpanott Deekong, Policy and Social Innovation Specialist for Thailand Policy Lab, said "stressed" was the most posted keyword under its mental issue aspect, while "lonely" was found in more than 42,000 messages under the social aspect.

The keyword "insomnia" was found 2,700 times under Thailand Policy Lab's physical aspect, while "clueless" was expressed under the education aspect, he said.

Other keywords indicate that some students were anxious, worried, burnt out and had suicidal thoughts, he said, adding the cause of these concerns came from online learning.

Jos Vandelaer, World Health Organization Representative to Thailand, said the pandemic has exacerbated mental health problems among students. One in seven Thai teens suffers from mental illness which has symptoms such as insomnia and loneliness, triggering suicidal thoughts, he said. He said young women are more likely to develop mental illness.

Thailand Policy Lab said the data it has collected will lead to policy development to aid Thai youths who suffer from mental health issues.

Mental health problems can occur during adolescence and will have consequences lasting until adulthood, Dr Vandelaer said, adding that it is important to promote mental wellbeing as much as possible.

[Big Boy]

Why am I not surprised? Many have little jobs now, and don't have time for school. Family need their income.

120,000 children missing from class after Covid

The reopening of schools in Thailand last week revealed a huge number of children missing from class.

“We estimate that up to 120,000 children have left school during Covid-19 and are unable to continue their education after lockdowns were lifted due to family problems and other factors,” said Education Minister Trinuch Thienthong on Saturday.

She said her ministry is working with related agencies including the police to get as many dropouts back to school as possible.

“So far, we have reached out to about 95,000 children and expect to convince them to come back to schools by June to continue their education,” she added.

Full Story: https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015842