To solve a long-running epidemic of violence among vocational ed students, education officials have zeroed in on the real culprits: ink and stainless steel.
Starting next year, the Vocational Education Commission has decreed that any incoming students with any tattoos or piercings will be denied entry to all of the 21 vocational colleges in Bangkok.
This comes amid much hand-wringing about the endemic problem of technical college gang violence, which in recent weeks has spiked into an epidemic, with six students accused last week of a series of revenge murders.
The colleges must also only accept students who are “well behaved,” or don’t have violent records, according to a statement yesterday from Secretary Chaipreuk Sirirak.
Those students who do enroll will be required to wear their uniforms appropriately.
Vocational ed is typically an option for students looking to continue post-secondary education but without the scores to matriculate into a full university program.
Chaipreuk added the organization will also keep records of the students’ brawls. If students from a particular major have misbehaved, their college will not be allowed to accept new students for that particular major for the next year and their teachers will be transferred to another institute temporarily.
As the organization believes the brawl problems are mainly caused by students’ inability to adapt to the new environment, a “pre-vocational college” intensive orientation program is being planned in order to prepare them for college. The program is expected take two-to-three months before the semester starts and will help “adjust” new students’ attitudes and teach them how to make the most of their time.
“Taking an intensive course would make students adapt to colleges more easily,” Chaipreuk said. “We’re currently considering if we should allow colleges to train their own students, or they should be mixed and trained together in order to get to know each other. Once they’re separated to their own colleges, they would not fight. All of this is done to solve violence problems among vocational college students,” Manager reported.
Photo: Alexander Hotz
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