One parent with two children at the school told Spectrum that if the students don't sing Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha's tune, Return Happiness to Thailand, they are threatened with cuts to their Thai-language grades.
"Some students told me they already have questioned what morning assembly is good for as teachers often make them stand for 30-45 minutes in the sun without much educational value — that, coming from a kid, is very critical," said the parent.
"My main concern is the kids, including my own, around here have no chance to experience a proper education and instead are going through a surreal neo-Orwellian nightmare that represents everything that rings alarm bells with any concerned parent."
The National Council for Peace Order's plan to instil in Thai children a sense of civic duty and patriotism via education reforms is well in train. Civic duty will be extracted from the broader topic of social studies and become a subject in its own right later this year.
But the parent in Isan, who asked to remain anonymous, said the attempted inculcation of young minds could be counterproductive and may force him to take his children out of the school.
He added that things such as patriotic marches, flag parades, the formation of "neo-fascist" youth cadres, criticism by teachers for lack of participation and threats to mark students down were "crossing the line".
"My main problem is the kids' frustration with all sorts of problems that originate in the education system will have the kids lose interest," he said. "This latest episode has only added to the kids silently doubting the value of much of what is offered by the education system."