PUBLISHED : 2 Oct 2024 at 14:54
Education Minister Permpoon Chidchob has asked all schools to suspend student field trips in the wake of Tuesday’s horrific bus fire, amid growing social media debate over children’s safety.
The education minister on Wednesday announced a temporary ban on study trips at state schools, and asked other schools to follow suit.
It follows the tragic incident on Vibhavadi Rangsit road, near the Zeer Rangsit shopping centre in Lam Luk Ka district in Pathum Thani on Tuesday.
The minister said all school trips should be suspended for now. They could not be cancelled permanently because students benefitted from such trips. He did not say how long the suspension should last.
Schools must ensure the safety of the vehicles used on trips by working with the Department of Land Transport, and of the intended destinations, he said.
Students must also be divided into age groups. Small children should be accompanied by their parents since teachers might not be able to take care of all of them, and students should be drilled on what to do in an emergency.
Pol Gen Permpoon emphasised the importance of study trips, saying they allowed children to learn outside the classroom. However, field trips should be within the province and near the schools if possible, he said.
Tuesday’s horrific accident, which killed 22 students and three teachers and maimed others, sparked heated debate on social media over the safety of children taking study trips.
Some netizens argued schools should cancel all outside activities, to ensure such a thing never happens again. Others felt that students need such experiences outside the classroom to round off their learning, and said poor transport safety was to blame for the deaths and injuries.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra also emphasised the value of field trips.
“Field trips give children experience in exploring the world. The activity was not the cause [of the tragedy], and we should solve the problem at its root cause, which is the unsafe condition of the bus,” she said.
“Right now, the Ministry of Transport has to work on enforcing the rules.”