Wijit Srisa-arn
Wijit Srisa-arn (Thai: วิจิตร ศรีสอ้าน) is a former Thai politician and was appointed Minister of Education in 2006 by a military junta following a successful military coup. As Education Minister, he has cancelled several key Thai Rak Thai-government policies like Thailand's participation in the One Laptop Per Child program and plans to install broadband internet connections in all Thai schools.
Democrat MP
Wijit was a Democrat MP following the 2001 general election which the Thai Rak Thai party won in a landslide. He became head of the Democrat Party’s committee on educational issues.[1]
Minister of Education
In 19 September 2006, the Thai military overthrew the elected government in a coup. The junta appointed Surayud Chulanont as Prime Minister and Wijit Srisa-arn as Education Minister. Key policies Wijit enacted included:
- The cancellation of Thailand's participation in the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program.[2]
- The cancellation of plans to install personal computers and broadband internet connections in every public and secondary school in Thailand.[2]
- Forcing 430 prestigious schools across the country to accept half of their students from the local neighborhood. All other schools would be required to accept all applicants; if applicants exceeded seats, a random draw would choose which applicants would be accepted.[3]
Due to escalating violence in the South, all schools in Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat provinces were shut down indefinitely from 27 November 2006. Over 1,000 schools were closed.[4][5]
See also
References
- ↑ The Nation, Opposition slams PM's U-turn, 10 October 2001
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bangkok Post, Education Ministry axes 3 schemes, 28 November 2006
- ↑ The Nation, Famous schools ordered to take in half of new students from neighbourhood, 14 November 2006
- ↑ The Nation, All schools in restive south to be closed, 27 November 2006
- ↑ The Nation, Over 1,000 schools closed, 28 November 2006
