Bangkok – The 1663 Hotline has disclosed that teen pregnancies are now on the rise, while also urging the Ministry of Education to change its approach to dealing with the issue.
According to the 1663 Hotline operation, out of 10,870 people calling the center regarding unwanted pregnancies so far this year, 17.4% of them were females under 20 years of age.
A hotline analyst, Thitiporn Dontreepong, said the number is likely to increase further due to the lack of safe-sex education and access to proper protection.
The 1663 Hotline Chief Somwong Uraiwattana said Friday that schools are sometimes a problem. Some places have failed to keep the pregnancy under wraps while some simply expelled the pregnant student.
He wanted the Ministry of Education to develop a specific course of action to deal with teen pregnancies more effectively. Somwong added that it should be mandated that pregnant students can’t be expelled from school and that assistance be given to help them cope with the situation.
Suggestions and opinions on the matter will be collected and compiled into a report for the Ministry of Education for consideration.
