Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has expressed disagreement with suspending educational field trips for students, saying that the measure does not solve the basic problem.
She said that such trips are not harmful to children and blamed poorly-maintained public transport for road accidents, adding that all transport used for educational field trips should be properly checked, especially for long journeys.
The prime minister made the comments after the Education Ministry ordered the immediate suspension of all educational field trips by schools under its supervision, except for trips which are deemed necessary, and that the trips should be confined within the schools’ province.
Read more : Education Ministry suspends all school field trips
Meanwhile, Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit announced today that all the 13,000 plus public buses which use compressed natural gas (CNG) as fuel must be subjected to thorough checks within 60 days.
He also said that he has ordered the Land Transport Department to coordinate with the Education Ministry, and all educational institutes which organise field trips for their students, to arrange inspections of the vehicles to be used.
He added that the drivers must be trained to cope with an emergency situation, so they can help passengers.
The minister disclosed that, in the past, when the Transport Ministry planned to issue regulations to tighten up controls on the use of aging vehicles, public transport operators often protested.
“But this time around we will not acquiesce to their demands or protests,” said Suriya, adding that new measures will be introduced to ban aging vehicles from being used as public transport.
