PM promises equal opportunities for all Thai youth on Children’s Day
On the occasion of National Children’s Day, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin promised to ensure each child has equal access to education and that there are “zero dropouts”.
In an address at Government House on Saturday, the premier asked parents and teachers to help build experiences and skills for Thai children, so they are ready to live their lives and keep up with their peers.
“The government is committed to promoting every child's access to education. The goal is zero dropouts, meaning no child or youth will be left out of the educational system in this country. The government will tackle the problem of educational inequality,” he said.
“Parents and teachers must help children improve their experience and boost their skills, so they are prepared for life in the modern world. This includes cultivating morality and ethics, which also means learning to respect each other’s rights and freedoms,” Srettha said.
Addressing the children, the premier said: “Each child and youth have their value. Children will determine the future of our nation.”
He added that his “ultimate desire” is for every child to receive basic education. Every child should be encouraged to improve their knowledge, ability and creativity, so that later in life they can employ these to create happiness for themselves and others, Srettha said.
PM Srettha also welcomed many young children visiting his office at the Santi Maitri Building inside the Government House compound. The young visitors queued up to sit on the prime minister’s seat and had their photos taken with the leader.
Fun and giveaways
At Government House, one of the most popular places to celebrate Children’s Day, a variety of activities were organised for children and their guardians.
The prime minister personally visited several stations set up by state agencies and private companies, including the Culture Ministry, True Corporation and the Office of Creative Economy Promotion.
LGBTQ groups organised a “travelling the rainbow world” activity involving reading and playing board games.
In Thailand, Children’s Day is celebrated on the second Saturday of January.
On Saturday morning, Srettha presided over the opening of a Children's Day event at the Education Ministry. Also present were Education Minister Permpoon Chidchob, senior ministry officials, children and their parents.
The young visitors got the chance to visit more than 20 activity booths featuring numerous games, and received over 100,000 giveaways, including 4,000 footballs. They were also allowed to sit on the seats of the education minister and his deputy in their office. Every young visitor to the minister’s office also received a “surprise gift” from Permpoon.
In his speech, PM Srettha said it was a good opportunity for him to meet children and young people on a special occasion like Children's Day.
“I would like to encourage every child to be diligent with their studies. Develop yourself, behave yourself, be a good child, a good student, and a good citizen of society. Be committed to goodness, morality, ethics and do what you set out to do to achieve success,” the prime minister said.
He thanked all the agencies and businesses involved in organising activities to celebrate Children's Day.
“This is an important part in building the country’s human resources,” the PM said.
