The closure of schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic has severely affected millions of students countrywide, causing them to miss many on-site classes over the past two years. A number of research works point to the adverse impact of long-time school closures on children, in terms of learning, mental health, and lost opportunities. A team of researchers led by Suchart Kilenthong of the Thai Chamber of Commerce University found that closing schools takes a heavy toll on kindergarteners, for example. Each missed day of school means they lose 98% of that day's learning. This means that home schooling in Thailand cannot compete with going to school.
Teenagers are another hard-hit group. A survey by the Mental Health Department conducted on 190,000 people under 20 years of age from the start of the outbreak until September 2021 found that 28% experienced high stress, 32% had a tendency to develop depression, and 22% considered committing suicide.
Apart from the losses to individual students, closing schools has a serious impact on the country as a whole. Due to their regressive skills, the current cohort of students will earn less income throughout their lives, compared to those who studied before them. Moreover, there should be concerns regarding economic losses. Some forecasts project that, as a result of the school closures experienced in the first half of 2020, Thailand will see 1.5% lower annual GDP on average until the year 2100. And the longer they stay closed, the greater the loss.
