Cabinet OK to build 100 classrooms for science studies
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The Cabinet yesterday gave the green light to an Education Ministry proposal to build more than 100 classrooms especially for science studies at a cost of Bt1.04 billion.

This will include special classrooms at 20 schools, which will be under university supervision.

Education Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said that in addition to Mahidol Wittayanusorn School and Chulabhorn Rajawittayalai School the ministry was to provide improved facilities for students to achieve science excellence. The Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec) planned to open 96 science classrooms at schools under its supervision.

The Cabinet meeting yesterday approved the ministry's proposal to obtain funding under phase 2 of the economic stimulation project to open 96 science classrooms, for which Obec and the Office of Higher Education Commission would select qualified schools and baby-sitting universities, he said.

The ministry has also joined with the Science and Technology Ministry to launch a "Science in School" project at four secondary schools that are paired up with universities, he said.

These are: Chiang Mai University Demonstration School and Chiang Mai University; Prince of Songkhla University Wittayanusorn Demonstration School and Prince of Songkhla University; Ratchasima Wittayalai School and Suranaree University of Technology; and Darunsikkhalai School and King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi. The Cabinet meeting also approved the "Science In School" project expansion in another 20 schools with from the fiscal year 2010 to 2012.

"The science classroom expansion is to produce more science graduates but the budget needed was still under review," he said adding that the academic year 2008 had seen 21,669 students join the "Science In School" project but it could only accept 3,528 of them.