Pita leads the campaign for Decharat's candidacy as Nonthaburi PAO chief, presenting five key education challenges under the theme "World-Class Learning in Nonthaburi," which must combine quality and equity without leaving any child behind. He stressed there is no plan to cut the education investment budget, maintaining it at 1.6 billion baht per year.
On 30 Aug 2026 at Eden Park, Mueang District, Nonthaburi, the People’s Party held a policy forum on Nonthaburi's education. Participants included Decharat Sukkamnead, candidate number 4 for Nonthaburi PAO chief; Pita Limjaroenrat, former Move Forward Party leader, assisting the campaign; and Kulthida Rungruengkiat, former Future Forward Party executive and Progressive Foundation board member. They discussed education system issues and presented policy proposals for the Nonthaburi PAO team of the People’s Party.
Decharat stated concerns had been raised that if the People’s Party governed Nonthaburi PAO, education budgets and teaching positions might be cut. He affirmed the education investment would remain at about 1.6 billion baht annually, with continued hiring of teachers and staff and unchanged school support. The focus must be on evolving education to meet challenges in five key areas:
1. Supporting children to discover their identity and dreams, recognizing diverse and deep interests such as pure mathematics, astronomy, or archaeology. He proposed After School Clubs inviting external experts to provide experiences and opportunities for local businesses to offer Job Shadow programs, allowing children brief real-work exposure to understand careers before choosing their paths. He also suggested developing vocational courses enhancing English skills to improve future job prospects.
2. Expanding creative learning spaces in Nonthaburi to reduce the need for children and youth to travel to Bangkok on weekends by developing creative learning centers featuring co-working spaces, libraries, museums, and youth council areas. Existing buildings could be renovated rather than constructing new ones. Schools and child care centers would open on weekends for families through the “Story House, Play Yard” project, with PAO supporting book and toy lending to families.
3. Establishing mental health care systems for children, parents, and teachers—addressing the interconnected "stress triangle" of student pressure, parental worries, and teacher workload. Solutions include school-based programs, educating parents on communication, anonymous clinics where children can seek help or report bullying confidentially, and mental health clinics for teachers. If elected, he plans to implement school mental health care within the first 30 days to start in the second semester of the academic year.
4. Reducing inequality between large and small schools by forming teams to provide direct support to smaller schools and addressing nutrition issues. Despite Nonthaburi's relatively high economic development, developmental disparities among children remain across its areas.
5. Enhancing assistance and welfare for teachers beyond maintaining employment and teaching positions. This includes "learning coupons" allowing teachers within and outside the PAO to choose skill development courses, counseling clinics for teachers, and a central "learning repository" for the province consolidating learning materials, experts, instructors, exam resources, and shared assets to reduce costs and workload for individual schools.
Decharat further explained that education is not just about knowledge development but must instill the principle "equal people, different people, similar people," meaning respect for equality, understanding differences, and empathy.
“We must enable our children to learn deeply according to their interests so they can discover their dreams and themselves. We need learning spaces extending beyond classrooms. Education in Nonthaburi should advance further and inclusively, not only for large schools or select groups,” Decharat said.
He added that his goal is not only to continue what Nonthaburi PAO has done well but to complete the education and learning system so children can survive, be resilient, and become valuable individuals in the future world. Learning must happen both inside and outside classrooms, supporting children, teachers, and parents, and ensuring all schools are equally ready to care for children.
Pita stated that the goal of "world-class learning in Nonthaburi" is achievable. He expressed confidence in Decharat based on their shared experience in policy work, teaching, and studying foreign education systems. Although Nonthaburi ranks highly in many education indicators nationally, many children still fall through the cracks. The next PAO chief must not only improve already good schools but also remember those left behind.
Regarding 21st-century skills, based on international education experience, there is the concept of "Bounce Back"—learning to cope with disappointment, bullying, or failure. Mental health and humanity must be prioritized alongside exam scores.
Pita also mentioned Flipped Classroom approaches, where students research and present more, and assessment via portfolios rather than solely exam scores, allowing diverse talents in arts, sports, and other skills to flourish. Schools should become part of learning networks connecting with libraries, learning centers, and extracurricular activity spaces.
Kulthida said local governments can be key to education management due to administrative autonomy. Data and technology should be used to improve budget efficiency, such as managing student transportation by planning routes based on residential data to reduce bus lines and design vehicles suited to road conditions, also using school start and end times data to avoid traffic congestion.
On mental health, PAO should increase personnel like psychologists and social workers and create systems enabling teachers, students, and parents to identify early mental health warning signs. At the same time, reducing paperwork and non-teaching tasks would give teachers more time to care for and develop students effectively.
