New law will let pregnant students continue studying
- The Nation 2010-12-16
Pregnant students will be given the choice of continuing with their studies or resuming after delivery once the Reproductive Health Protection Act takes effect, the Education Ministry said yesterday.
The Cabinet approved the draft law on Tuesday and it is now being forwarded to the Council of State for review, after which the Cabinet will study the bill again before presenting it to Parliament for legislation.
The key point of this draft law is to give students the right to continue their studies if they become pregnant during their school years.
Education Minister Chinnaworn Boonyakiat said yesterday that even though he personally did not agree with the idea, his ministry was ready to act in line with the law.
"We are preparing necessary measures," he said.
Under the law, if a student gets pregnant, she can continue studying via either the formal or informal system. If a pregnant student quits school, she must be allowed to enrol again after delivering the baby.
"Apart from these measures, we will focus on preventing pregnancies among students," Chinnaworn said.
Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit, however, said the bill was not designed to encourage pregnancies among students. "We just hope to help the students if they happen to get pregnant," he said.
If legislated, the Social Development and Human Security Ministry will provide accommodation to pregnant students who need help.
"If students cannot raise their babies, the ministry will get the babies adopted," Jurin said.
He said as a preventive measure, the Education Ministry would also be required to provide appropriate sex education to students.
The Reproductive Health Protection Act, if legislated, will also require senior government officials and employers to prevent sexual harassment at workplaces. Failure to protect subordinates or employees may result in fines of up to Bt60,000.
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