BANGKOK: -- Temporary-contract teachers and school clerks are threatening to stage a massive protest if the government continues to exclude them from its policy to provide monthly pay of at least Bt15,000 for bachelor-degree holders.
More than 800 gathered in front of Government House yesterday to press for higher pay. Currently, many teachers on temporary contracts earn just Bt5,000 a month.
When Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang assured them that the Cabinet would consider their demands next month, the protesters dispersed peacefully but vowed to return if their demands went unheeded.
"We have been waiting for two years already," protest leader Wittapong Phumboonpark said.
He added that he believes more than 65,000 temporary-contract workers under the Office of Basic Education Commission would join the protest if the government did not approve a pay increase as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, students of the Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) Faculty of Education attacked Chaturon's idea of allowing professionals from various fields to work as teachers.
Chaturon had floated the idea in the hope of solving the shortage of teachers with specialised knowledge.
"It's unfair to students who have studied to become teachers," student leader Kris Kongpia said.
He pointed out that teachers needed more than knowledge to conduct their classes.
"Teachers must know about child psychology. They must have the attitudes and the soul of teachers," Kris said.
He was speaking at a seminar at the SWU entitled: "What will happen if Thai teachers do not need to carry a licence?"
Kris said his group would urge the education deans to ask Chaturon to scrap his idea.
"We also plan to request a meeting with the education minister on September 25 to air our opinions," he said.