We send our children to school to learn, grow and be safe. Instead, two schools have become hunting grounds for sexual predators. Last week, that grim reality was exposed twice -- just two days apart. Two schools, dozens of children, and the people accused of shattering their lives were their teachers.
On July 10, families in Kanchanaburi exposed a school director who had allegedly been sexually abusing young students for years. He threatened to take away their scholarships if they spoke out. Most of the victims were poor and stateless. On July 12, another scandal erupted at a prominent school in Bangkok's Bang Khen district. A teacher there allegedly molested nearly 30 male students.
These were not isolated security lapses. They are systemic failures from institutional negligence and a culture of cover-up.
The two cases -- along with several others reported this month -- are merely scratching the surface. Fear and intimidation keep victims silent, making reliable data on sexual abuse in schools scarce. Without official complaints and criminal charges, the Office of the Basic Education Commission continues to insist such cases are rare and are dealt with swiftly through dismissal.
That claim does not hold up. Take the Bang Khen case. The accused teacher had faced similar allegations at his previous school. Instead of being removed from the profession, he was transferred to another school, where he allegedly continued abusing students. Had the case not attracted media attention, no action would likely have been taken. Even now, he has merely been moved to an inactive post pending investigation.
The Kanchanaburi case tells the same story. One former student said the school director had molested her since she was in Primary Four. Terrified, she carried the trauma in silence for years. Other teachers knew what was happening but did nothing. When some girls finally spoke up, they were told to keep quiet to protect the school's reputation.
Too often, schools weaponise "loyalty to the institution" to bury children's suffering. The school's reputation becomes more important than its students, especially when the victims are poor and powerless. Consequently, classrooms become hunting grounds while others who turn a blind eye become passive accomplices. The imbalance of power is reinforced by another cultural belief that urgently needs rethinking: the sanctification of teachers.
Thai society places educators on a pedestal of unquestioned moral authority. Children are taught to regard teachers as "their second parents". On Teachers' Day, students prostrate themselves before them in a ritual of respect. Teachers are honoured, revered and celebrated. Children are taught that they owe their teachers lifelong gratitude and obedience. That deeply rooted belief makes it extraordinarily difficult for victims to seek justice. When teachers are regarded as figures to whom students owe an unpayable debt, any child who reports abuse risks being branded ungrateful or troublesome.
Predators understand this all too well. Many deliberately target those they know cannot fight back. In rural areas, victims are often stateless children who depend on scholarships or the goodwill of school authorities. In elite urban schools, students are threatened with the release of videos of the abuse or warned that speaking out will destroy their academic future. The tactics differ, but the strategy is the same: exploit power to silence the victim.
Administrative wrist-slaps will never deter sexual predators. The Ministry of Education must stop treating these crimes as internal disciplinary matters. Sending an accused predator to "assist" at a district education office during an investigation is not protection for children; it is protection for the accused.
The proper response is criminal prosecution. That is exactly what happened after one family filed a complaint in early July. Police searched the suspect's home, found videos allegedly used to intimidate victims and arrested him.
Any sexual predator who pressures a child into silence should face criminal prosecution. So should anyone who knowingly enables or conceals such crimes. Yet stronger laws alone will not solve the problem. Society also needs to rethink what we teach children about authority. Respect must be earned, not forced. Gratitude towards teachers must never require unquestioning obedience.
Above all, children must learn that their bodies belong to them alone, that their boundaries deserve respect, and that no adult has the right to violate them. Every scandal prompts promises of change. But unless a child's safety matters more than an institution's reputation, the next scandal is already waiting.
