The rollout of state distance learning television (DLTV) and online classrooms got off to a bumpy start as children on Monday could not tune in to the broadcast, had no internet connection or were even led to online advertisements instead of school programmes.
The problems not only caused many families to get up early to set up their TVs and computers for nothing, but also caused doubts among some students who were earlier told their semester would begin on July 1. People also took to social media to vent, with the hashtag #เรียนออนไลน์ [online learning] ranking first on Twitter.
The day-long confusion led Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to clarify the distance learning programme, saying it is only intended to help deal with the "long wait" before schools reopen, government spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat said on Monday.
The 2020 academic semester was supposed to begin on Monday, but the Covid-19 pandemic prompted the Education Ministry to postpone that date to July 1.
"We were only running an online teaching trial to prepare our students," Office of Basic Education Commission secretary-general Amnat Wichayanuwat said on Monday. "It is not official teaching.''
Officials gave 1.5 months from May 18 to June 30 to organise distance learning for students of all levels. Kindergarten, elementary school and junior high school students are encouraged to keep up with their subjects on TV while senior high school students can study on the internet.
A Mathayom 3 (Grade 9) student in Songkhla's Hat Yai district said he was ready to study at 8.30am, but when he turned on the TV channel for 9th graders, he only saw advertisements. The boy decided to try his smart phone and then laptop.
"All I saw was a circle spinning as the page was loading," he said. "I waited for nearly one hour for nothing. My friends also faced similar problems."
