Main content

The school run by kids

The Thai school that’s proving a model for Thailand and beyond.

If you could invent a new kind of school what would it look like? What skills would you teach children, and how would the school be run?

On this edition of People Fixing The World we visit the Mechai Pattana School in Thailand which was founded by the campaigner Mechai Viravaidya in 2008, on principles of charity and leadership. Children are responsible for every aspect of running the school, from buying food for the kitchens to disciplining fellow students and even recruiting new staff.

The children also run their own businesses, and perform several hours of community service every week. Many of the students come from underprivileged backgrounds, but their school fees are “paid” by planting 800 trees a year, together with their families.

The idea is for the school to produce “change-makers” – could it be a model for others to follow?

Presenter: Myra Anubi
Producer/reporter: William Kremer
Series Producer: Jon Bithrey
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Sound mix: Annie Gardiner

Available now

23 minutes

Last on

Yesterday03:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 14 May 202407:06GMT
  • Tue 14 May 202414:06GMT
  • Tue 14 May 202417:06GMT
  • Tue 14 May 202421:06GMT
  • Sat 18 May 202421:06GMT
  • Sun 19 May 202409:06GMT
  • Mon 20 May 202402:06GMT
  • Last Tuesday08:06GMT
  • Last Tuesday15:06GMT
  • Last Tuesday18:06GMT
  • Last Tuesday23:06GMT
  • Saturday23:06GMT
  • Sunday10:06GMT
  • Sunday18:06GMT
  • Yesterday03:06GMT

People fixing the world on YouTube

People fixing the world on YouTube

Watch stories of people changing their world on the World Service English YouTube channel