Wijit Srisa-arn


Wijit Srisa-arn is a former Thai politician and was appointed Minister of Education in 2006 by a military junta following a successful military coup. As Education Minister, he has cancelled several key Thai Rak Thai-government policies like Thailand's participation in the One Laptop Per Child program and plans to install broadband internet connections in all Thai schools.

Democrat MP

Wijit was a Democrat MP following the 2001 general election which the Thai Rak Thai party won in a landslide. He became head of the Democrat Party’s committee on educational issues.

Minister of Education

On 19 September 2006, the Thai military overthrew the elected government in a coup. The junta appointed Surayud Chulanont as Prime Minister and Wijit Srisa-arn as Education Minister. Key policies Wijit enacted included:
Due to escalating violence in the South, all schools in Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat provinces were shut down indefinitely from 27 November 2006. Over 1,000 schools were closed.