The budget debate is often perceived as a political showdown in parliament. Yet national budgets reveal far more than political priorities; they reflect a government's vision and the country's direction. Thailand's draft budget for fiscal 2027 offers a sobering indication of the place of education -- and, more broadly, children -- in national priorities.
The FY2027 draft budget allocates approximately 126.13 billion baht directly to the Ministry of Education, equivalent to about 3.3% of the 3.788-trillion-baht national budget. Including the separate public personnel allocation for education, total education-related spending rises to about 358.77 billion baht, or roughly 9.5% of overall expenditure.
Even on this broader Ministry of Education-based measure, the allocation remains below the 15–20% share of public expenditure encouraged under the global Education 2030 financing benchmark.
This is not a complete estimate of Thailand's total education spending, as additional funding flows through higher-education institutions under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, as well as local authorities and other agencies. Nevertheless, it raises a crucial question: does Thailand's investment in school education, learning quality, equity and child development match the scale of the country's future challenges?
A national budget reveals what a country truly values. Yet investment in future generations requires more than funding for schools, teachers and learning. Far-sighted and effective governments also recognise child protection and development as investments in human capital.
Child protection and child development should not be treated as charitable causes or secondary social concerns. They are fundamental national development priorities.
Thailand's declining birth rate makes this even more urgent. The country's fertility rate has fallen well below replacement level, to around 1.3 births per woman in recent years. If this trend continues, Thailand will face a shrinking workforce, a rapidly ageing population, growing pressure on healthcare and social-protection systems, and a smaller pool of human capital to sustain future development. In a country with fewer children, every child becomes even more important.
The answer cannot be limited to persuading people to have more children. It must address the realities that make parenting difficult: economic insecurity, household debt, rising living costs, unequal access to parental support, limited access to quality early childhood education, and insufficient investment in child protection and development. The question is not only how many children are born, but whether those already here can grow up safely, learn well and live with dignity.
Violence against children remains normalised in too many homes and schools. Even with stronger laws in place, legal reform alone will not change behaviour unless it is supported by adequate resources, parenting support, positive discipline, clear reporting mechanisms, and a stronger, properly resourced social-service workforce.
Online child sexual exploitation has become a major child-protection challenge. Children now spend much of their lives on digital platforms, while laws, law-enforcement capacity, schools, parents and social services struggle to keep pace. Grooming, sextortion, image-based abuse and cyberbullying cannot be addressed simply by telling children to "be careful". Building Thailand's digital and AI infrastructure, and promoting digital literacy, are important. But these efforts must go hand in hand with safety-by-design principles and robust online protection for children.
Poverty and gaps in social protection deepen these risks. Economic stress increases the likelihood of neglect, violence, child labour, trafficking, early marriage, school dropout and family separation. A child-protection system that responds only after harm has occurred will always be too late. Fragmentation across education, health, social protection, justice, migration, digital governance and community systems means children can still fall through the cracks.
Participation is another significant gap. Children, young people, women and marginalised communities may be consulted, but they are rarely included in decisions on public investment and policy design that affect their lives most directly.
Thailand does not need to look far for examples of long-term investment in children. Singapore has treated early childhood development as an integral part of national planning rather than merely a family responsibility. Through the Child Development Account, Baby Bonus support, preschool subsidies and stronger coordination among health, education and social services, it has built a system that supports children from their earliest years. These measures have not solved every problem, and Singapore continues to face low fertility and child-protection challenges. But they demonstrate a vital principle: when a country treats children as a national priority, investment follows.
If Thailand is serious about addressing its demographic and development challenges, it must invest not only in fertility incentives, but also in early childhood development, quality education, families and caregivers, social workers, safe temporary care, family- and community-based services, and child-protection systems that enable every child to survive, develop and thrive.
The principle of the best interests of the child must move from paper into budget decisions, institutional priorities and everyday practice. Thailand should adopt a phased and transparent approach to strengthening child-responsive spending, while applying child-impact assessments to major public investments. Thailand does not merely need more children; it needs every child to matter -- and that commitment must be reflected in the national budget.
Kohnwilai Teppunkoonngam is a human rights lawyer and policy practitioner working on child protection, gender equality, and anti-trafficking issues.
