Thailand’s Education Ministry has implemented a new regulation that will allow pregnant students to continue their schooling. The ministry also wants to reform sex education with an aim at reducing Thailand’s teenage pregnancy rate.
On 5 August 2016, Kamchorn Tatiyakawi, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, told media at a press conference that the ministry is training and updating its staff on the reforms brought by the Teenage Pregnancy Act, which has been enacted since 31 March this year. This law will allow pregnant teenagers to enroll in Thai public schools, reported BBC Thai.
Kamchorn said that public school teachers have to understand that pregnancy is a student’s choice, so the continuation of their education cannot be refused. He added that the ministry also wants to reform sex education in order to effectively resolve Thailand’s high teenage pregnancy rate.
“From now on, executives and teachers have to understand that pregnancy at a schooling age is a right of students. The students’ right to education cannot be denied,” said Kamchorn.
In 2013, Thailand's teenage pregnancy rate was the second highest in Southeast Asia, after only neighbouring Laos, according to the Bureau of Reproductive Health at the Thai Public Health Ministry.
The graph shows the increasing trend of Thailand’s pregnancy rate at ages below 20. The data was collected between 2008 to 2012. (source: ICT Media)