Caring for Senior Citizens: Thailand opens schools for the elderly

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20 percent of Thailand's total population will be senior citizens by 2021. To brace for this aging boom, local communities are opening special schools for seniors. Our correspondent Dusita Saokaew reports.

It's a school day.

Like most households with kids, a crisp school uniform hangs ready to be worn. It's a symbol of youthfulness and belonging.

For Paen Panniyom, that is exactly how she feels putting on the uniform. She is 67 years old and she is getting ready to go to school.

PAEN PANNIYOM STUDENT, SCHOOL FOR THE ELDERLY "It helps people our age get out of the house and interact with their peers. We are proud and happy to go back to school."

For this class of almost 50 seniors, the school day begins just like any other school in Thailand as they assemble to sing the national anthem. Then come classes of academic learning with subjects on healthcare, social and cultural issues followed by music and yoga.

DUSITA SAOKAEW AYUTTHAYA "These schools are the local community's way of offering older people relief from the stresses of living alone. It has become a place where they can mingle and interact, and that helps to lift their spirits. But what you see here is emblematic of a larger problem in Thailand -- a rapidly ageing population."

Thailand is now among the world's most rapidly ageing countries with more than 16% of the population over 60 years old. By 2040, Thailand is forecast to become a "super-aged" society, with elderly people accounting for more than a quarter of the expected population.

Making matters worse is Thailand's fertility rate. Now, at 1.5, it's among the world's lowest and well below the 2.1 needed to keep population steady.

KUA WONGBOONSIN PROFESSOR OF DEMOGRAPHY AND SENIOR RESEARCHER CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY "Thailand is witnessing demographic disruption with fertility, mortality and migration. Lower fertility rates have seen a decrease from 6 to 1.5 kids, below the replacement level of 2 kids per household."

While the government offers a universal health care scheme, many elderly people, especially those in rural areas, struggle to access it. Most do not have retirement savings and can only count on a paltry $20 a month state pension.

Thailand doesn't have much time to fix its problems. As authorities scramble to figure out how to deal with the elderly population, community care programmes, like this senior citizen school helps to fill the gap.

APISIT AKARAWATTANAKUL MAYOR, CHIANG RAK NOI MUNICIPALITY "With this project, we want to make sure the aging population will not be forgotten as well as to better quality of life for the elderly"

As this group reminisces about the "good old days", the reality is that, for Thailand, the ratio of young to old is set to become severely imbalanced, putting unprecedented weight on the ties that hold society together. Dusita Saokaew, CGTN, Ayutthaya, Thailand.