Political instability impacts Thai economy, education

Thailand's ongoing political instability has badly affected its economic growth and education. Ath Pisalvanich, director of International Trade Studies Center under the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, on Tuesday said the country's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to fall below 3 percent in 2014 if anti-government protest is prolonged into the second quarter. Ath was quoted by the Bangkok Post as saying that the operation of businesses, especially the small and medium-sized enterprises ( SMEs), has been severely impacted, resulting in declining orders from clients. Clients are shifting their orders to other countries as Thai enterprises could not ensure a fixed time for goods delivery due to escalating violence and protests in the country, Ath said. Political instability in Thailand would also impact the competitiveness of Thai enterprises. Ath predicted that Thailand's competitiveness would likely drop from the third in 2013 to fifth among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), following Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. Meanwhile, statistics from the caretaker government's education ministry showed that some 934 schools with 316,982 students and 18, 164 teachers have been affected by protests so far. UNICEF Thailand Tuesday expressed concerns over the rights of students and urged relevant agencies to ensure that schools remain open.