02/06/2025
KFC joins forces with EEF in fostering educational equality, aims to help 1,000 school dropouts in 2025
ESG Asia
Because it is possible to offer educational opportunities and enhance educational equality beyond classrooms, KFC develops flexible curriculums to respond better to youth’s needs. The company firmly believes that all Thai children have diverse potential and should be empowered so that they can identify and develop their potential for their livelihoods. Currently, so many Thai children have dropped out of schools and been unable to find their way back to basic education – a poignant problem that urgently needs to be addressed.
The Equitable Education Fund (EEF) reveals that up to 1.02 million children are not registered in formal educational system, covering kindergarten up to Mathayom 6 levels. Aware of the problem, EEF has made it a mission to pursue Thailand Zero Dropout goal. In other words, it is determined to ensure there is no dropout in Thailand. Former dropouts will be encouraged to enroll in flexible educational programs that better suit their lifestyles. EEF intends to fulfill the goal by 2027.
Recognizing the importance of Thailand Zero Dropout goal, KFC Thailand has partnered with EEF and the Infinite Intelligence Center in the continuous implementation of KFC Bucket Search for the purpose of enhancing the lives of former dropouts. This initiative gives them the opportunity to choose an educational program that aligns with their lifestyles and offers flexibility in terms of time and subjects. Under the initiative, students are in Work & Study mode or vocational programs that respond to their individual needs. When enjoying flexibility, they will finally be able to complete their studies and foster their self-reliance.
KFC Bucket Search is expected to generate huge social and economic benefits for Thailand, which needs skilled labor for its labor market both today and in the future. With a flexible curriculum that allows children to learn on the job and gain entrepreneurship knowledge, this program helps develop the skills necessary for their current and future jobs. Moreover, this initiative can serve as a model for other private entities with similar visions to address the issue of children outside the education system. KFC Bucket Search will expand further to extend opportunities to more of former dropouts and curb educational inequality, paving the way for youngsters to receive and apply knowledge and experience to their jobs. With such approach, they are well set to support not just themselves but also their family, society, and economy.
Janett Rungsithikul, senior marketing manager of KFC Thailand, reveals that the implementation of KFC Bucket Search in each country has taken into account local context. In Thailand, education is considered the foundation of everything and thus KFC Bucket Search here focuses on the problem of school dropouts. For implementation, KFC has curriculums that can be enhanced for human resource development and tools that can adapt as solutions to social issues.
KFC Thailand started working with EEF since 2023, after which KFC Bucket Search in Thailand quickly covered 130 former school dropouts. Of these young participants, 60% are interested in vocational training. For example, they look for skills needed to open a barbershop or a restaurant.
“We trust that children have hidden potential. We reach out to 130 former dropouts, especially those sent to juvenile observation and protection centers. Participants in KFC Bucket Search receive not just money but also skills needed to foster their self-reliance. Under our initiative, they choose a work- and-study program of their interests. We have come up with this approach because we know these children struggle with money and family problems, as well as inappropriate surroundings. Our approach guarantees more sustainable outcomes as it makes sure that the young participants will finally have choices in their lives,” Janett adds.
She continues that after empowering the first batch of former dropouts through flexible educational programs in 2023, KFC Bucket Search plans to expand its support from juvenile offenders to teenage parents in the North and the Northeast as well as members of other vulnerable groups in 2025. This year, KFC Bucket Search aims to cover 1,000 youngsters between the ages of 15 to 24. It will also pay attention to high schoolers and students pursuing vocational certificates or higher vocational certificates, because statistics show 50% of these students have dropped out. This is undeniably a big problem.
The flexible curriculum, which uses Work and Study model, is available in two options. Participants will choose to work at either a KFC outlet or the office of YUM Restaurants International (Thailand) Company Limited.
“Helping out people contributes to the promotion of equality. We have collaborated with EEF under its Thailand Zero Dropout initiative with the aim to make it possible for all children to learn. Our collaboration seeks to ensure educational programs can be flexible enough and break free from classroom norms. KFC is the first brand to partner with EEF on this front. We equip young participants with practical skills,” Janett says,
“It’s also our way to create job opportunities for the young participants because they will finally acquire skills needed in the labor market. In terms of mindset, our programs let them know that there are many kinds of people. When young participants come to work with us, we have made sure that KFC outlet managers will be their good teachers and mentors. Our team is keen to support these youngsters, who have already demonstrated their determination. Our staff would like to contribute and they provide solid support. Employees at all KFC outlets are willing to give opportunities to youngsters in hopes that the youth will have better lives. When society gets better, so does our business.”
Currently, KFC’s offering of flexible educational programs has attracted several partners. For instance, Warner Music has already entered into a partnership with KFC on this front via WAVS project.
KFC, moreover, is in the process of negotiating with many potential partners namely Central Restaurant Group Company Limited (CRG), Restaurants Development Company Limited (RD), and The QSR of Asia Company Limited (QSA).
Additionally, KFC has secured spaces at Bangkok Design Week and Paktai Design Week for youth to showcase their potential and explore more career choices.
“If everyone is well-educated and has diverse skills that match the changing contexts, the Thai economy will roar forward and so will businesses. But in the long run, we just can’t do this alone. We will need support from allies in both public and private sectors,” Janett says,
“A teenager working at our KFC outlet (via KFC Bucket Search) is happy about being able to earn a living while studying. He has a dream of opening a secondhand shoe shop. Enrolling in one of our educational programs means he will finally get an educational certificate, make new friends, and enjoy acceptance. To him, this means the world. As we equip him with skills, we close his loop. He will not bounce out of the educational system again, thereby eliminating his risk of becoming jobless. We have truly created a cycle of self-reliance. We do not just feed knowledge to participants either. What we do is try to understand them first. Only with the right understanding can we get the right tools. We have even worked with adolescent psychologists in preparing life plans for youth.”
Dr. Kraiyos Patrawart, managing director of the Equitable Education Fund (EEF), says EEF has already brought 304,082 youngsters to the educational system since it started pursuing Thailand Zero Dropout (with the aim to achieve this goal by 2027). They are among 1,025,514 youngsters whose names were previously not registered in the system.
As of December 2024, 982,304 youngsters were not in the educational system. Of them, 279,296 were in the age range before compulsory education, 387,591 should have been in compulsory education classes, and 315,417 should have studied beyond the compulsory education level.
During every academic year, children go into and out of the educational system all the time. Some dropouts, for example, return to school while some students drop out. Some children, meanwhile, have not yet started schooling despite having reached the school age.
EEF finds it necessary to promote public awareness and understanding of how to create educational opportunities and alternatives for self-development and potential maximization during its efforts to address the issue of youth outside the educational system. Also, it is essential to explore ways to prevent students from dropping out of school, as such problem is both delicate and complicated.
“Together with our partners, we have concluded that to achieve our goal, we need two things – brainstorming and heart. We need to use our heart to understand children. If we looked at just figures and implemented measures without putting our heart in what we do, we would not be able to create learning programs that suit the lifestyles of each of them,” Dr. Kraiyos says.
The project, conducted through KFC’s collaboration with EEF, reflects the firm belief in the potential of each child. It is also designed in a way that enables members of vulnerable groups to access education and acquire vocational skills needed to support themselves. The project, moreover, provides a truly flexible educational program, thus lowering the risk of dropouts.
“Because learning is not limited to classroom, KFC has developed a flexible educational program that answer youngsters’ lifestyles. We have done this together out of conviction that all Thai children have diverse potential and should be empowered so that they can identify their potential and develop it for their livelihoods. Flexible and practical educational programs, which answer the diverse range of youth’s life needs, are crucial to the pursuit of the Thailand Zero Dropout goal and efforts to bring school dropouts back to school,” Dr. Kraiyos continues.
Statistics compiled by the Department of Juvenile Observation and Protection, the Ministry of Justice, show young offenders committed 134,988 legal offences between 2018 and 2022. The biggest group of young offenders are those aged between 15 and 18 years. Most of their legal violations are related to drugs.
Dr. Kraiyos reveals that EEF has partnered with not just KFC but also other partners in developing vocational programs for youth who are currently outside the educational system. For example, it has created Barista Class in partnership with Bellinee's and e-Commerce Training for Online Entrepreneurs in partnership with Sea Thailand, the operator of Shopee. Additionally, EEF has forged similar partnerships with Food Passion, which operates Bar B Q Plaza, and many other private entities. On top of that, EEF has been planning the creation of more learning spaces or Learn to Earn programs together with various partners including SCG Foundation and Assetwise.
“Access to education is a fundamental right. So, everyone should be educated. But due to multidimensional complexity, some groups of youth are not able to enter the formal educational system. More flexible educational programs, like the ones offered by KFC Bucket Search, will fill the gap. They open the door for vulnerable youngsters out of firm beliefs that every child has potential. They create opportunities for the vulnerable to be educated and equipped with vocational skills, which will foster their self-reliance.
“As we try to help youth outside the educational system, we will need to promote public awareness and understanding of how to create educational opportunities as well as alternatives for self-development and potential maximization. Also, we will need to prevent dropouts – the problem that is both delicate and complicated.
“Flexible education, which answer the diverse needs of youth, holds key to our efforts to achieve Thailand Zero Dropout goal.
“Education is a fundamental human right. Every child thus is entitled to receive an education, although the starting point for each child's educational journey may differ. Some may also stray off the path midway. However, their mistakes should not deprive them of their human right to education. Around 90% of teenage mothers do not return to school, despite the fact that their momentary decision should not forever bar them from enjoying equitable education”.
According to Dr. Kraiyos, about 500,000 children are born in Thailand each year and each of them is too precious to be left astray.
Thailand cannot afford to see its youngsters stray out of education any longer, because children will finally shape its future and contribute to efforts to address its many problems including poverty.
The country should bring education to children, rather than letting them struggle to find their way to education. In the face of the falling birth rate, there should be enough educational personnel to pay attention to children at risk.
“We can’t ignore this group of children. Don’t make them invisible. We need to think of them and ensure they enjoy equitable treatments and can contribute to national development just like university graduates,” Dr. Kraiyos emphasizes.
Sombat, one of KFC Bucket Search’s young participants, describes the project as life-changing.
“It has inspired me to resist temptations and to prove myself. I have put up a fierce internal struggle to ensure that I am not going back to the way I used to be. I have strictly barred myself from returning to narcotics and mingling with bad friends. I have changed myself for the better. If I don’t change myself, I will lose my happiness and probably slide back to the old situation. During my time at a juvenile observation and protection center, I reflected on my mistakes. I have already realized that I should have listened to my parents, should have studied hard, and should have avoided bad friends. Now, I think my life will be secure if I get a job and moral support,” he says.
Mali, who enrolls in a flexible educational program, says this program allows her to work and earn money with KFC providing a scholarship for her skill development. During the program, she has got useful knowledge from its many activities and demonstrated her potential in many ways – for instance via presentations. Thanks to the program, she now knows what she likes. She is service-minded and interested in becoming a bartender. Mali has received a scholarship while being an intern at Bellinee’s in Chiang Mai. Opening a bakery of her own has long been her dream. Her internship opportunities have significantly boosted her confidence in chasing that dream.
“I used to look down on myself. But I’ve learnt from my mistakes. Now, I am growing my self-worth,” she says.
