Equitable Education Fund Thailand

🎓 TZD+ Board Appoints ASEAN Zero Dropout Sub-committee to Drive Regional Lifelong Education Goals

🗓️ On June 30, 2026, the Thailand Zero Dropout Plus committee officially appointed the ASEAN Zero Dropout sub-committee, chaired by Mr. Khanapoj Joemrith.

🤝 The sub-committee is tasked with integrating structural innovations and tools with regional networks to reduce the number of out-of-school children and youth and ensure equitable education across the ASEAN region.

🌏 This mechanism will leverage Thailand’s upcoming ASEAN Chairmanship in 2028 to invite all 11 member states to adopt regional targets under the concept “All for Education, Education for All,” commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Jomtien Declaration.

🏆 Additionally, the meeting approved the awardees for the 2026 Prime Minister’s TZD+ Awards to honor pioneering provinces and learning units. A new database system was also reported, already integrating student data for over 11 million individuals nationwide.

🛡️ These flexible learning pathways and structural measures serve as crucial tools to protect the educational rights of vulnerable youth.

🎓 What would it take to make zero dropout a regional reality?

Across ASEAN, tackling dropout means more than expanding access to education. It means knowing who is being left behind, why they are dropping out, and how systems can bring them back.

Thailand Zero Dropout Plus (TZD+) shows how learner-level data, flexible learning pathways, and coordinated action can help address dropout as a system challenge.

Building on this experience, ASEAN Zero Dropout 2030 envisions a regional commitment to ensure that every learner is seen, supported, and given a pathway to continue learning. 🌏📚

🔗 Read the full article : https://en.eef.or.th/2026/08/18/isee-early-visibility-linking-system-level-data/

iSEE Early Visibility: Linking System‑Level Data to Learner‑Level Visibility for Timely Support How EEF’s (Thailand) iSEE Turns National Data into Early Visibility for Children at Risk of Exclusion iSEE is a solution to the OOSCY targeting challenge that turns system‑level out‑of‑school children and youth data into specific, up‑to‑date learner‑level records, instead of aggregate ...

🌏 Building a stronger future for Thai education through research, collaboration, and partnership.

🔎 At ThaiCER 2026, EEF (Thailand), the Office of the Education Council (OEC), and partners launched the Thailand Education Research Association (THERA) — a platform connecting researchers, educators, policymakers, and practitioners to turn evidence and knowledge into meaningful change.

🤝 Strong partnerships and networks are essential to connecting knowledge with action. THERA aims to strengthen collaboration within Thailand while connecting Thai education research with the global community.

💡 For EEF (Thailand), THERA is an important step toward building an education ecosystem where evidence informs policy, collaboration drives innovation, and every learner has the opportunity to thrive.

📖 Read the full article: Click the link in the comments below.

EEF (Thailand), Phayao University, and SMILE Shanghai Launch 3-Year Trilateral Partnership to Build Learning Cities and Reduce Educational Inequality

🌏 On July 17, 2026, EEF (Thailand) signed a MOU with the University of Phayao and the Shanghai Municipal Institute for Lifelong Education (SMILE) in China to establish a 3-year "Learning City" initiative spanning 2026–2029.

📉 The 3-year roadmap responds to a national inequality crisis in which average schooling stalls at 9 years, 20% of youth leave education after Grade 9, and over 64% of the workforce lacks basic foundational skills, using integrated databases to match vulnerable groups with tailored learning and employment opportunities across 7 Thai cities and Shanghai.

📖 Read the full article: https://en.eef.or.th/2026/08/10/connecting-local-national-global-advancing-learning-cities/

Connecting Local–National–Global: Advancing Learning Cities for Seamless Opportunity Equity On July 17, 2026, the Equitable Education Fund (EEF) Thailand signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Phayao and the Shanghai Municipal Institute for Lifelong Education (SMILE) in China at the University of Phayao to establish a trilateral collaboration connecting local, na...

🌍 Education is expanding, but more children are still falling through the cracks.

This article looks beyond access to a harder question: why so many learners do not stay in the system. With 273 million children and youth out of school, progress and exclusion are happening at the same time.

It explores how EEF Thailand is approaching this differently, focusing on targeted support, better data, and system design to reach those most at risk.

📖 Read the full article: https://en.eef.or.th/2026/08/09/from-expansion-to-exclusion-reframing-the-global-education-crisis/

From Expansion to Exclusion: Reframing the Global Education Crisis as a System Design Problem How EEF (Thailand) Positions “Equity by Design” as a Path to Recovery Equity by Design is EEF (Thailand)’s approach to configuring educational systems so that financing, provision, and data only prioritize learners at highest risk of exclusion as systems expand. The global education crisis is ...

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 EEF (Thailand) and Partners Launch a Flexible Learning Model to Reintegrate 100 Restorative Youth into Society

🏨 EEF (Thailand), the Department of Probation, Prince of Songkla University, and the Infinite Intelligence Foundation held a workshop at the Grand Jomtien Palace Hotel in Chonburi Province, bringing together 32 central and regional probation directors and officers to develop customized educational tools and curricula for probationers.

📖 This new initiative introduces flexible learning models, including credit transfers and work-and-study programs with local businesses, to convert behavioral rehabilitation into certified academic progress. To support this model, probation officers are being trained as learning facilitators who directly assist students with their life and career goals.

💼 These tailored curricula link rehabilitation with vocational training to help probationers find employment, avoid reoffending, and safely reintegrate into society.

🎓 The program is currently operating across 16 pilot probation offices, supporting 100 students from the primary to upper-secondary education levels, with the first cohort of learners being scheduled to graduate by September 2026.

📌 EEF (Thailand), in collaboration with the Faculty of Education, Kasetsart University, and the Office of the Education Council, invites you to decode global education trends and tackle new challenges!

💡How can research serve as a compass for the future of education? Those interested in the future of learning are warmly invited to broaden their perspectives at the distinguished international lecture and dialogue:

🍀"Educational Research for a Changing World: Global Trends and the Role of WERA"

Join us for a thought-provoking session to explore emerging global trends in educational research and the evolving role of the World Education Research Association (WERA) in shaping the future of education. Gain insights directly from leading international scholars:
✨Prof. Joe O’Hara
President, World Education Research Association (WERA)
✨Prof. Dr. Mustafa Yunus Eryaman
Past President, World Education Research Association (WERA)

🗓 Thursday, August 6, 2026
⏰ 13:00 – 15:00 (BKK Time)
🎥 Watch the Live Broadcast via Facebook: EEF - กสศ. กองทุนเพื่อความเสมอภาคทางการศึกษา

Let us leverage data and research to build a resilient, future-ready learning system together!

🌏 As education budgets come under increasing pressure worldwide, how can countries ensure that limited resources reach the learners who need them most?

💡 This article explores why targeted equity financing is becoming increasingly important in an era of fiscal constraints. Drawing on global evidence and Thailand's experience, it highlights how smarter, evidence-based budget allocation can help keep vulnerable children connected to education.

Discover why data-driven financing is becoming a key strategy for advancing educational equity beyond 2030.

🔗 Read the full article: https://en.eef.or.th/2026/08/01/targeted-equity-financing-rethinking-equitable-financing-policies/

Targeted Equity Financing: Rethinking Equitable Financing Policies While Looking Beyond 2030 How Scarce Public Budgets Can Still Keep the Most Vulnerable Learners in School Targeted equity financing is the explicit and traceable use of finite education budgets to prioritize learners in greatest need, and only insofar as it remains within a broader mandate to reduce educational inequality sy...

🏙️ A Learning City is not limited to schools; it brings together data, opportunities, and local systems to improve people's quality of life.

💡 Dr. Kraiyos Patrawart, Managing Director of the Equitable Education Fund (EEF) Thailand, explained that the starting point for building a Learning City is understanding data about the people who need support.

🤝 Once these target groups are identified, different sectors—from families and schools to local governments, national agencies, and international partners—can work together more effectively. A Learning City is not about bringing everyone back into the same educational system; it is about connecting people with education and employment opportunities that match their needs, while supporting sustainable economic and social development.

🌍 EEF (Thailand) is committed to expanding international partnerships so that cities can share best practices with one another. By working together, cities can help create greater educational opportunities and a better future for children and youth in every community.

🌳 Just as a tree grows best under the care of the person who plants it, education also depends on the commitment of local leaders.

🎯 Professor Woothisarn Tanchai, Chairman of the Governing Board of Equitable Education Fund (EEF) Thailand, shared his perspective on building a Learning City. Improving education and reducing inequality must go hand in hand if Thailand is to move forward.

🚂 If education is a train, then a Learning City is the station that provides an environment for lifelong learning. It is a place where people can build their lives, enjoy well-being, and live with dignity. Local governments therefore play an important role in creating cities of opportunity.

🎯 This requires leadership and innovation. Local leaders need to identify those who need support and expand access to learning opportunities, both within and beyond the formal educational system.

✨ When cities become stronger, the country becomes stronger. A strong learning system helps communities grow from within. The most important outcome is better quality of life and greater opportunities for people to develop their potential.