Back to school, please

As students across the country return to school for the new semester, 800 children who have been studying at learning centres for migrant and refugee students in Samut Sakhon are being forced to stay home.

- 

Their access to education has been curtailed since the provincial administration launched a crackdown on the centres last Saturday.

Five venues have been targeted that offer education, language classes and cultural assimilation knowledge. Three are run by The Labour Protection Network (LPN), a well-known NGO formed to take care of the labour rights and welfare of migrant workers.

The other two — the Marist Centre for Migrants and St Joachim Catholic Centre for Migrants — are run by the St Ann Catholic Centre for Migrants.

The Samut Sakhon provincial administrative office (PAO) said these centres need to be closed because they violate administrative laws. It said their classrooms, facilities and teacher recruitment schemes do not align with the standards defined by the education ministry.