New rules to protect teen mums-to-be

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In: South-East Asia

Schools can’t ban pregnant girls

Forever learning: A group of students learn about news broadcasting at the Thai-Japanese Youth Center in Din Daeng district on Saturday. The activity is called 'Open Education' organised by City Hall to promote learning outside the classroom. Students can participate in activities such as drawing, calligraphy and games.
Forever learning: A group of students learn about news broadcasting at the Thai-Japanese Youth Center in Din Daeng district on Saturday. The activity is called ‘Open Education’ organised by City Hall to promote learning outside the classroom. Students can participate in activities such as drawing, calligraphy and games.

A new ministerial regulation prohibiting schools, colleges and universities from dismissing or transferring pregnant students has taken effect in a move aimed at improving the protection of student rights.

It was jointly signed by Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Minister Anek Laothamatas and Education Minister Treenuch Thienthong, and published in the Royal Gazette on Saturday.

The regulation says that all education institutions in the kingdom must not dismiss pregnant students or force them to transfer to another school against their will.

It also says the move is aimed at ensuring the protection of students’ right to a proper education.

The regulation applies at all levels of schools, colleges and universities.

The Education Ministry says the regulation is also part of the government’s plan to address teen pregnancies and their impact on the lives of young people. Meanwhile, the government reports some progress in getting the teenage pregnancy rate down.

According to a ministry source, the drop-out rate among pregnant students has been falling since the 2016 act on adolescent pregnancy prevention and solution was put in place.

In 2016, only 13.7% of pregnant students continued studying at school while up to 53.5% quit, the source said.

In 2021, the percentage of students who continued studying after getting pregnant rose to 33.8% while the percentage of those who quit dropped to 36.1%, the source said.

As a result of a campaign on teen pregnancy prevention led by the Ministry of Public Health, the rate of adolescent pregnancies has also fallen significantly over the past year, the source said.

The pregnancy rate in the age group of 15 to 19 last year dropped to 25 per 1,000 population when compared with the 31 per 1,000 population recorded in 2019, the source said.

Meanwhile, the pregnancy rate in the age group of 10 to 14 also dropped to 0.9 per 1,000 population last year as opposed to the 1.1 per 1,000 population recorded in 2019.

The ministry now aims to bring the rate in the 15 to 19 age group further down to 15 per 1,000 population and the rate in the 10 to 14 age group down to 0.5 per 1,000 population, the source said.