Amidst ongoing anti-government protests in the Thai capital, Bangkok, schools have been instructed to permit their students to discuss and express political views at school, even during school hours according to sources in Bangkok.
It is a move announced by Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan in recent hours it is being seen largely as an effort to placate an increasingly frustrated populace looking for political change.
There have been reports of students donning white ribbons – a symbol against dictatorship – and even using a now-popular three finger salute, a gesture that has now spread to schools outside the capital.
Schools in several areas have already seen demonstrations of such, with around 50 students at Samsen Witthayalai School in Bangkok joining a protest and making three-fingered gestures as they shouted “Down with Dictatorship.”