Ministry of Education issues Red Flag, concerned about children and educational institutions being overwhelmed and unable to cope


Ministry of Education issues Red Flag warning to monitor flood situation, concerned about children and educational institutions being overwhelmed and unable to cope

Mr. Siripong Angkasakulkiat, Advisor to the Minister of Education and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Education, is concerned about the flash floods and forest runoffs, fearing that they will affect students and educational institutions in every area of ??the country. He emphasized that the Office of the Educational Service Area closely monitor the situation to alleviate the suffering of students, teachers, and parents urgently.

Mr. Siripong said that according to the Office of National Water Resources has issued a warning to watch out for flooding in the northern, northeastern, eastern, western and southern regions, which is the impact of the La Nina phenomenon, causing continuous heavy rain, water drainage is not fast enough, causing flash floods, and it is expected that there is a risk of flash floods and mudslides in the upstream areas and
the lower northern region, which are downstream areas. Be prepared to cope during this period because the mass of water flowing down from the northern region comes very quickly. Some educational institutions are in dangerous areas with broken roads that cannot be traveled. They are at risk and must be especially careful. The central region and other areas also need to be continuously monitored.

At present, Pol. Gen. Phermpoon Chidchob, Minister of Education, is very concerned about the flood situation. He has emphasized that all educational institutions must be vigilant and has asked the Office of the Educational Service Area to assess the situation as appropriate. If it is necessary to announce the closure of schools for the safety of students and teachers, the school directors must do so immediately. Areas where water is coming should prepare a flood response plan appropriately. Public relations and advance warnings should be given to inform them of the impacts so that they can be prepared for immediate ev
acuation if an incident occurs. As for educational institutions that are ready to be temporary shelters, they should help with all their might while taking into account the safety of all parties involved. In order to prepare for the situation, he asked relevant agencies to closely coordinate with the provincial disaster prevention and mitigation centers and relevant agencies to take care of food and donations, including sending boats to deliver relief bags to educational institutions, teacher residences, or student homes to alleviate the suffering from the long-term impacts. If any areas are safe, survey the damage to the residences of students, teachers, and educational personnel affected by the flood. Survey the damage to the buildings, equipment of the schools under the organization and report it via the LINE group ‘Happiness and Safety Management Center’ of the Office of the Basic Education Commission for consideration of assistance and budget requests in the next step.

I would like to emphasize that all
parties should continuously monitor the water situation because there is currently fake news being released on social media that may cause confusion. I would like you to see news from reliable media outlets or government agencies only because some pages that post information may be incorrect. ‘The urgent thing right now is the safety of students, teachers, and educational institutions. When an incident occurs, it must be resolved quickly and reported to superiors immediately.’

Source: Thai News Agency