Education in Thailand is provided mainly by the Thai government through the Ministry of Education from pre-school to senior high school. A free basic education of twelve years is guaranteed by the constitution.
Formal education consists of at least twelve years of basic education, and higher education. Basic education is divided into six years of elementary education and six years of secondary education, the latter being further divided into three years of lower- and upper-secondary levels.
The school structure is divided into four key stages: the first three years in elementary school, Prathom (ประถม) 1–3, are for age groups 7–9; the second level, Prathom 4 through 6 are for age groups 10–12; the third level, Matthayom (มัธยม) 1–3, is for age groups 13–15. The upper secondary level of schooling consists of Matthayom 4–6 for age groups 16–18 and is divided into academic and vocational streams. There are academic upper secondary schools, vocational upper secondary schools and comprehensive schools offering academic and vocational tracks.
The school year is divided into two semesters. The first begins in the beginning of May and ends in October; the second begins in November and ends in March.
Due to budgetary limitations, rural schools are generally less well equipped than the schools in the cities. The standard of instruction, particularly for the English language, is much lower, and many high school students will commute 60–80 kilometres to schools in the nearest city.