In Thailand, many universities operate demonstration schools, also known as laboratory schools (Thai: โรงเรียนสาธิต, sathit or satit schools) as part of their teacher-training programmes. These schools provide student teachers with practice-teaching opportunities, and are also used by the universities for education research and development. The oldest dedicated teacher-training schools in Thailand are the and Patumwan Demonstration Schools of Srinakharinwirot University, which opened in 1953 and 1954, respectively. Many more schools have since been created or re-purposed, and there are now sixty-four demonstration schools in the country.