About 86% of parents are concerned about their children going back to school during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they want assurances that the schools will have taken steps to prevent the spread of the disease among the students before they reopen on July 1st, according to Kasikorn Research Centre’s opinion survey.
Between April 1st and May 10th, the Kasikorn Research Centre conducted a random survey of 480 parents, whose children are studying at kindergarten to upper secondary levels.
The survey shows that 86% of the parents want the schools to make sanitizer gel available for pupils, regularly disinfect classrooms and the school compound, reduce congestion in classrooms, ensure social distancing and reduce sports activities which might expose students to physical contact.
The parents are supportive of the distance and online learning options introduced by many schools, to help students prepare for the reopening of schools, according to the survey.
Kasikorn Research Centre reported that education-related spending by parents in Bangkok and its suburbs, before school reopening, is forecast to increase by 0.1% to more than 28 billion baht this year, although many parents are affected by widespread business closures due to the pandemic.
The survey also shows 88.9% of the parents are concerned that they may not have enough money for the tuition fees due to reduced incomes and their limited savings.
