The government is aiming to re-enrol all children who had dropped out of school by September, Education Minister Trinuch Thienthong said on Sunday.
She said the ministry has managed to track down 52,760 out of the 67,129 students who had dropped out of school during the pandemic. So far, 31,446 children have agreed to return to school, the minister said.
Out of the remaining 14,369 students, 8,741 couldn't be located, and the ministry is still attempting to reach the rest, she said.
The students were enrolled in schools under the supervision of the Office of Basic Education Commission, the Office of Vocational Education Commission, the Office of Private Education Commission and the Office of the Non-Formal and Informal Education.
"Even though the recovery rate is satisfactory, the number of students who decided to quit school remains significant, with 5,625 of them at the compulsory education level. We'll target this group in our second phase," she said.
The ministry is figuring out why these students stopped going to school and will tailor measures to ensure they stay in the system once they rejoin, said the minister.
''Some may need financial assistance while others may need help with their learning,'' she said.
Ms Trinuch also thanked all concerned parties such as teachers, officials and communities for supporting the government's efforts to bring children back to school.
The minister was in Phangnga on Sunday to inspect the "Bring Children Back to School" project.
Local authorities found 127 out of 149 school dropouts in the area, and managed to persuade 64 of them to go back to school.
The project, which sought to track down school dropouts and encourage them to return and finish their compulsory education was launched in January this year.
