All children have access to free, compulsory education
from the age of six to twelve years of age. Almost ninety percent of
primary school children attend either public schools or those run by
Buddhist monasteries. In 1995-96, there were about six million
students enrolled in primary schools. After the primary years, the
attendance rates drop to just over fifty percent for secondary education,
during the same school year listed above, only 3.8 million children
attended lower- or upper-elementary schools.
The Thai
government is talking about raising the required six years of education to
nine years, although Thailand's literacy rate is one of the highest in
Southeast Asia, at almost 95%.
There are many universities
to choose from and and over 600,000 students did enroll and attend
institutions of higher learning during the early 90s. The largest
universities in Thailand are located in Bangkok (Chulalongkorn University,
established in 1917) and in the north (Chiang Mai University, established
in 1964).
Ethnic
groups:
Thai
75%, Chinese 14%, other 11%
Religions:
Buddhist
94.6%, Muslim 4.6%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.1%
(2000 census)
Languages:
Thai,
English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic
and regional dialects
Literacy:
definition:
age
15 and over can read and write
total
population: 92.6%
male: 94.9%
female:
90.5%
(2000 census)
School
life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
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