‘Stupid’ memo highlights plight of rural Isaan

[webfact]

OPINION

‘Stupid’ memo highlights plight of rural Isaan

By Daniel Maxwell 
Special to The Nation

 

The outcry surrounding the Khon Kaen deputy governor’s letter last month to launch a programme to “stop citizens from being stupid” has largely been placated, following public apologies.
 

However, the incident highlighted the deeply entrenched bias in Thailand’s rural-urban divide, the dire underdevelopment of education and social services in the rural Northeast, and the tragedy of very real cognitive deficiencies in Thailand’s children.

 

Labelling Northeastern villagers “stupid” is a common expression of prejudice and propagates the misconception that the rural population is naturally less intelligent than urbanites. These prejudices fail to recognise the circumstances which have held back the development of children, especially in the rural Northeast, where education, healthcare, social services, investment and infrastructure are among the most poorly supported in the entire country. 

 

The Northeast’s plight is historical, with the majority of the population being ethnically Lao and speaking a form of Lao as their first language. Since the early 20th century, the Thai state has sought to consolidate its control over the Northeast through a programme of “Thai-ification”.

 

The national school system, introduced in the 1920s, brought modernity but demanded teaching be conducted only in the Thai language. The consequences are that Isaan children do not have the opportunity to access basic learning in the early years in their mother tongue, resulting in “subtractive bilingualism” – poor Thai and Lao language skills.  

 

The challenges of learning in a second language are well documented, and educational organisations such as Unesco campaign to promote mother-tongue education, to help children navigate the school environment, bridge learning at school with experiences from home, and fully engage children in the learning process.

 

Otherwise, children struggle to understand their teachers, often fail to develop a strong foundation in literacy and numeracy, and feel marginalised by the education system. It is thus not surprising that Isaan children are near the bottom of O-NET tables.

 

Following its own successful pilot programme using Yawi in the deep South, the government should begin using children’s mother tongues as the medium of instruction in kindergarten and primary school, as a bridging language to teaching in Thai. This would promote “additive bilingualism” – good Thai and Lao language skills, as recommended by Asean and obviously beneficial for trans-boundary trade.   

 

The challenge of learning in a second language is compounded by attending schools which are ill equipped. Rural schools find it extremely difficult to employ experienced teaching professionals, and these institutions all too often rely on young, inexperienced teachers who rarely remain at their posting for more than one academic year. Also, these inexperienced teachers are usually required to teach a full range of subjects, often delivering curriculum content they lack the qualifications for.   

 

The intelligence quotient of students in rural areas is another concern which authorities should be urgently addressing. Research from 2012 revealed that the average IQ of Thailand’s urban schoolchildren was 89.1, while the average IQ of rural schoolchildren was 6 points lower, at 82.5. This urban-rural disparity is not evidence of the rural population’s “natural backwardness”, since in fact an individual’s IQ is greatly affected by their health, environment, education and cognitive stimulation during childhood. 

 

Specifically, factors which impair Thai children’s IQ include disease, nutritional deficiencies, malnutrition, parasite infestation, deficiencies of iodine and iron, and inadequate cognitive stimulation during early childhood.

 

Children born into poor rural families are far more likely to suffer these problems than their urban counterparts, whose families have easier access to nutrition, health services and other intelligence-boosters such as books and toys. This is well understood, and research by Thailand’s Rajanukul and Ramajitti Institutes indicates a direct link between children’s IQ and the economic status of their parents.

 

During early childhood, thousands of children in poor Thai rural communities experience inadequate resources for physical and mental development. Insufficient vitamin and iodine intake cause gross cognitive development disorders such as cretinism and can have a largely irreversible impact, ultimately affecting educational opportunity and future economic productivity, streaming children into a life of poverty.

 

For instance, research in Khon Kaen reveals that childhood iodine deficiency disorder is still problematic, despite years of government campaigns, suggesting a need to enforce mandatory addition of iodine to rurally mined salt.

 

Then there are the very real impacts on rural children of corruption by government officials. Millions of baht assigned for poor families, for children at risk, and for children in hilltribe communities routinely disappear, with recent investigations suggesting embezzlement in excess of Bt100 million.

 

To end Thailand’s rural-urban divide, authorities need to act decisively. The task of improving healthcare, education, social services and early childhood provisions across rural communities requires an urgent commitment from a multi-agency taskforce to ensure children in these communities are not deprived of the right to begin school on equal terms with their urban peers. Education policies which enable children to use their mother tongue language in schools, as permitted in the 2008 national curriculum, are essential and should be encompassed in wider ranging education reforms which will give districts greater autonomy to provide an education which is meaningful, effective, and tailored to learners needs. 

 

There is a systematic way forward – “ethno-development”, or ethnicity-specific policies. This approach is being championed by the National Economic and Social Development Board, responsible for Thailand’s five-year plans, which direct ministerial strategic goals. The Twelfth Plan, for 2017-2021, employed ethno-development for the first time.

 

It announced specific policies to develop ethnic communities, for peace-building in the deep South, for ethnic tourism in the North, and to show sensitivity in progressing the Community Forestry Bill.

 

Ethno-development is not new to Thailand. For decades the Tribal Research Institute sought to understand and create policies for developing Thailand’s hilltribes. Devising specific policies to address the under-development of Thailand’s rural ethnic minorities can tackle problems like iodine deficiency disorder in the Thai Lao population at the community level.

 

This will prioritise scare resources, address ethnic-specific health and development.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/opinion/30342569

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-04-06

 

[Samui Bodoh]

Good article.

 

In these days of the Internet and the ability of anyone to compare a local situation to other localities in a country, it beggars belief that people in the NE are not aware of the disparities.

 

Which begs the question; why do people still question the choice of the people of the NE to vote for 'their' parties (currently the PTP) and not for Bangkok-based parties or entities like the military?

 

I am constantly amazed by this unfathomable lack of understanding...

 

Edited April 5, 2018 by Samui Bodoh
Lack of coffee

[kannot]

12 minutes ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Good article.

 

In these days of the Internet and the ability of anyone to compare a local situation to other localities in a country, it beggars belief that people in the NE are not aware of the disparities.

 

Which begs the question; why do people still question the choice of the people of the NE to vote for 'their' parties (currently the PTP) and not for Bangkok-based parties or entities like the military?

 

I am constantly amazed by this unfathomable lack of understanding...

 

FEAR, It runs on fear I can tell you now when you enter some Northern villages a  sign as you enter  will say "This is a RED  village" can u imagine the peer pressure to vote "Red" and what people would say/do if you openly  opposed this. Seen it in LOEI province. Its not just voting it extends to, it goes deep DEEP into the Thai society, but...............that cant be mentioned !

[Somtamnication]

"tragedy of very real cognitive deficiencies in Thailand’s children". Never a truer statement said. It kinda creeps up towards the government as well. 

[GinBoy2]

It's all so bizarre, but the prejudice runs deep.

My step son started off in a Govt school. It was weird, inside they could only speak Thai, outside the school gates, he, his friends, the teachers would all speak Lao.
Then you come to the more weird. Because they are only taught in Thai, when they write, it's almost a third language that they make up, written Isaan Lao using Thai characters...don't think you can buy a dictionary for that!

As for the ingrained Thai/Lao prejudice, I'll tell you a story.

My wife, a US educated graduate, when we were getting married many years ago went to buy a wedding dress dress in a pretty upscale store in Bangkok. Now, she's dark skinned, clearly Lao. The fair skinned Thai lady, demanded to see her hands...to confirm she wasn't a farmer!

There are reasons I never regret our decision to move back to the US and our son to go to University in Chicago.

This is a backward, internally racist country, and until someone wakes up to that fact and tries to change it, it's destined for continual conflict

[chrisandsu]

This article is a litttle dated . Issarn has made massive strides forward in the 15 years I have been going to Thailand . Back when I first went ,there was not much of a difference between Cambodia and issarn , now the difference is huge ! Almost to the point where most of the labourers in the fields are not Thai anymore . Back in those days you would never get someone from issarn with a decent central government job I  now know a fair few .

Reminds me of the old days when the Scottish and Irish were seen as the bottom of the barrel in England until the next wave of immigrants came in . Issarn people’s stock has risen while the Cambodian and Burmese have taken their place . Happens all over the world . 

[Chris Lawrence]

17 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

It's all so bizarre, but the prejudice runs deep.

My step son started off in a Govt school. It was weird, inside they could only speak Thai, outside the school gates, he, his friends, the teachers would all speak Lao.
Then you come to the more weird. Because they are only taught in Thai, when they write, it's almost a third language that they make up, written Isaan Lao using Thai characters...don't think you can buy a dictionary for that!

As for the ingrained Thai/Lao prejudice, I'll tell you a story.

My wife, a US educated graduate, when we were getting married many years ago went to buy a wedding dress dress in a pretty upscale store in Bangkok. Now, she's dark skinned, clearly Lao. The fair skinned Thai lady, demanded to see her hands...to confirm she wasn't a farmer!

There are reasons I never regret our decision to move back to the US and our son to go to University in Chicago.

This is a backward, internally racist country, and until someone wakes up to that fact and tries to change it, it's destined for continual conflict

There is a caste system in Thailand.

[mok199]

in my humble opinion .the biggest flaw in this countrys education system (yes it has many)is the language..students must must speak better English,fearlessly and with out feeling shy and isolated,it should be practiced at home at work and at play and.not just 30 minutes a day...English would also level the playing field ,and bring lao , thai and khemer together..Thailand will never lose its identity even if English was used more often..

Edited April 6, 2018 by mok199
speliing

[mercman24]

YES  i agree, all these companies selling whitening creams etc, it is totally wrong, how the thais put people in boxes as it were, if you are white skinned you are office material, if tanned you are only fit to be a farmer, its ridiculous, there is the western world trying to be dark skinned (sun tans) and thais trying to be white, give me a  beautiful dark skin any day of the week

[ramrod711]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Specifically, factors which impair Thai children’s IQ include disease, nutritional deficiencies, malnutrition, parasite infestation, deficiencies of iodine and iron, and inadequate cognitive stimulation during early childhood.

Just think of how these children could have benefited from a free Chinese tablet, if only someone would have thought of such a scheme. (sarcasm) On the plus side, think of how proud they will be when they watch the high speed train, that they can't afford to ride on, flash by. (sarcasm)

[Eric Loh]

6 minutes ago, ramrod711 said:

Just think of how these children could have benefited from a free Chinese tablet, if only someone would have thought of such a scheme. (sarcasm) On the plus side, think of how proud they will be when they watch the high speed train, that they can't afford to ride on, flash by. (sarcasm)

Maybe that’s the reason why the tablet scheme was withdrawn by the junta. Keep them uninformed and stupid. 

[Sonhia]

Thai students do not receive the level of education they rightly deserve, and not because of under funding, but because of the embezzlement and corrupt methods used by under qualified, home grown teachers.

 

To much:

I want to be High So. 

Look at me...

 

Not all Thai teachers are bad, I've met a few very dedicated teachers, but in general, I always felt most do not give a cxxp about the welfare of both the students and school.

 

For most, it is an easy way to get money from the students, their parents plus the Government with under-handed dealings involving employment agencies. 

 

Teachers are more interested in eating, using Facebook, taking photos, going out to extended launches, fudging exams marks, employing native speakers at below the rate of pay, not providing health care, payment assistance for both the Non B visa plus work permit, which is all budgeted for each foreign teacher. 

 

Pockets are kept lined by cheating the Government, Students, Parents plus foreigne teachers.

 

I feel concerned as well as sorry for the young generation. Many students demonstrate a lack of basic critical thinking methods.

 

Very sad

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 6, 2018 by Sonhia

[JOC]

And nothing is changing any time soon....

Two days ago there was a meeting with 'the new blood' in Thai politics at The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand...

This was the thoughts of the future of the Democrats...Warawut Silpa-archa about his fellow countrymen in the NE:

>>Though he declared for electoral politics, he did betray a strain of elitism toward voters by assigning blame for the “low quality” of Thailand’s politicians on an electorate that is “90 percent farmers” who are “uneducated.”<<

 

Lord have mercy......But the dinosaurs will be clapping their small hands in approval...

 

Sadly nothing will change here, until the underprivileged realize that enough is enough and take to the streets...

[mrmicbkktxl]

3 hours ago, kannot said:

FEAR, It runs on fear I can tell you now when you enter some Northern villages a  sign as you enter  will say "This is a RED  village" can u imagine the peer pressure to vote "Red" and what people would say/do if you openly  opposed this. Seen it in LOEI province. Its not just voting it extends to, it goes deep DEEP into the Thai society, but...............that cant be mentioned !

What else should they vote for if not red??? 

[mikebell]

Thailand's mushroom culture: grow them in the dark and covered in shitt.

[pearciderman]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Insufficient vitamin and iodine intake cause gross cognitive development disorders such as cretinism

 

Really?

 

"Cretinism is prevented by correction of iodine deficiency before or during the first three months after conception. ", so it is the mother that must ingest the Iodine, not the child.

 

Foods high in Iodine, let's see if Thais eat any of these things;

 

Dried Seaweed

For iodine deficiency, dried seaweed is the go-to remedy because of its incredible supply of this essential mineral.

 

Shrimp

Seafood is usually a great source of iodine, and shrimp is just one example. A three-ounce serving of shrimp provides 35 micrograms of iodine, or enough to account for just under a quarter of the recommended amount each day.

 

Fish Sticks

Fish sticks can be a good source of iodine if you’re worried about a deficiency in your diet. 

 

Boiled Eggs

Hard boiled eggs are a versatile, healthy food that supplies the body with Vitamin A, Vitamin D, zinc, calcium, antioxidants, and more. They’re also consumed for their iodine content. 

 

Bananas

Eating a banana is a quick and healthy way to get an energy boost, thanks in part to the high potassium content. But many people don’t realize that bananas also contain iodine, 

 

I am pretty sure Thais eat all of the above foods.

 

:-)

[JAG]

3 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Good article.

 

In these days of the Internet and the ability of anyone to compare a local situation to other localities in a country, it beggars belief that people in the NE are not aware of the disparities.

 

Which begs the question; why do people still question the choice of the people of the NE to vote for 'their' parties (currently the PTP) and not for Bangkok-based parties or entities like the military?

 

I am constantly amazed by this unfathomable lack of understanding...

 

Those who are in a position to make a difference simply do not care. They regard people from Issan  (and to a lesser extent from the North) as little more than serfs to be exploited.

 

Whatever the statistics say, these "serfs" are not stupid and they know what is being done to them. That is why they vote as they do. They do so in the knowledge and expectation that their vote will inevitably be overturned. Sooner or later they will have enough and, as someone has just said, "Sadly nothing will change here, until the underprivileged realize that enough is enough and take to the streets."

 

The real stupidity is on the part of the "entitled ones", who belief that their wealth, status and comic opera generals will be enough to sustain their hegemony.

It is mirrored by those commentators here who also think that is the case.

 

It won't, and unless they wake up to it, and do something concrete  quite fast about it, it's likely to get very messy.

Edited April 6, 2018 by JAG

[GinBoy2]

I'm not buying some simplistic, it's all in the diet thing, Isaan diet is pretty similar to most of Thailand with the addition of some really disgusting stuff.

It's all down to education, or the lack of it.

My wife got lucky and went to the US courtesy of her uncle who had moved there. She was 12, so went through HS and college in Chicago. She openly admits how hard it was to catch up, after suffering her early education in Isaan, but she was lucky that she was still young enough to make up the gap.

My step son who started in a Govt school, which I quickly realized was a huge mistake, transferred to a private school in Khon Kaen.
Even there, there is no way to compare a Thai school to anything in the West.

When he started college in Chicago, his freshman year was a nightmare, took him basically all the first year to catch up. Had he stayed in the Govt schools in Isaan, that catch up would have been all but impossible.

The BKK urban elite like to tell themselves that Pheu Thai is the result of 'stupid' people. Maybe they should reflect on what makes people 'stupid' and uneducated!

Perhaps invest in rural education and thing may change. Plenty of asian examples...South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, all pulled their rural population out of poverty by aggressively pursuing education within a generation.

Sadly it's not going to happen, there aren't any Thai politicians or leaders with that kind of vision

[robblok]

7 minutes ago, JAG said:

Those who are in a position to make a difference simply do not care. They regard people from Issan  (and to a lesser extent from the North) as little more than serfs to be exploited.

 

Whatever the statistics say, these serfs are not stupid and they realise it. That is why they vote as they do. They do so in the knowledge and expectation that their vote will inevitably be overturned. Sooner or later they will have enough and, as someone has just said, "Sadly nothing will change here, until the underprivileged realize that enough is enough and take to the streets."

 

The real stupidity is on the part of the "entitled ones", who belief that their wealth, status and comic opera generals will be enough to sustain their hegemony.

It is mirrored by those commentators here who also think that is the case.

I find the statistic quite bad.. i mean IQ under 90 for both urban as rural.

 

You say they are not stupid and IQ does not mean the same thing as smart but a higher IQ does help a lot. 

 

You are saying the hegemony won't last forever.. not of the current ones.. they will just be replaced by others or by the new entitled ones. The whole society is based on status . Do you remember YL in her blueberry boots walking above the farmers in the flooded area's ? clear sign of status and higher level too. I don't think that there are parties that will bring equality (i hope I am wrong) I just think new parties will bring new people of status into power. In almost every country I know there is a an upper and lower class. 

[robblok]

3 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

I'm not buying some simplistic, it's all in the diet thing, Isaan diet is pretty similar to most of Thailand with the addition of some really disgusting stuff.

It's all down to education, or the lack of it.

My wife got lucky and went to the US courtesy of her uncle who had moved there. She was 12, so went through HS and college in Chicago. She openly admits how hard it was to catch up, after suffering her early education in Isaan, but she was lucky that she was still young enough to make up the gap.

My step son who started in a Govt school, which I quickly realized was a huge mistake, transferred to a private school in Khon Kaen.
Even there, there is no way to compare a Thai school to anything in the West.

When he started college in Chicago, his freshman year was a nightmare, took him basically all the first year to catch up. Had he stayed in the Govt schools in Isaan, that catch up would have been all but impossible.

The BKK urban elite like to tell themselves that Pheu Thai is the result of 'stupid' people. Maybe they should reflect on what makes people 'stupid' and uneducated!

Perhaps invest in rural education and thing may change. Plenty of asian examples...South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, all pulled their rural population out of poverty by aggressively pursuing education within a generation.

Sadly it's not going to happen, there aren't any Thai politicians or leaders with that kind of vision

A lot of the IQ is hereditary, still there is a part you can still improve. 

 

Many studies rely on a measure of intelligence called the intelligence quotient (IQ). Researchers have conducted many studies to look for genes that influence intelligence. ... These studies suggest that genetic factors underlie about 50 percent of the difference in intelligence among individuals.

[Anak Nakal]

Bangkok have hi-so.

Issan have people.

I like people better.

[lanista]

Referring to Isan people as  Isan-Lao  always gets a smug  response from Bangkok Thai's including  wealthy educated farming families in the fertile plain west of the city.  Dark skinned people have always borne the brunt of silly tv commercial parodies.

But Isan is moving ahead albeit slowly due to its lousy climate. Billions of bahts pour into Isan every year due to marriages mostly with old  European men. There are millions of Isan people benefiting directly from all this cash. Alot of the  farm work is now done by Burmese and Cambodians. Thai men work in the  soi factories or not at all if they're lucky enough to have a generous farang on the family tree.

 

Isan people are not stupid. They pick up English, Dutch &German  languages very quickly and many become rich living in Europe or Isan with their sponsor husbands. Their Isan men win as well.

 

How many 'smart ' farangs have made money out of Thais???

[todlad]

Genuine question: is there a separate IQ scale for Thailand? 89.1 and 82.5 for urban and rural schoolchildren respectively are astonishing. Where I come from I think 110 is about average now.

 

Either there is a separate scale or the problems across the country, not only in Isaan, are massive.

 

Last time I read about this, an IQ of 80 was the typical score for someone with Down’s Syndrome.

[RichardColeman]

Yes, yes, but Thailand needs to use the money for a fictitious submarine war against a yet as un-named and fictitious enemy.

[pearciderman]

4 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Which begs the question; why do people still question the choice of the people of the NE to vote for 'their' parties (currently the PTP) and not for Bangkok-based parties or entities like the military?

 

How do you vote for the military?

[mfd101]

2 hours ago, todlad said:

Genuine question: is there a separate IQ scale for Thailand? 89.1 and 82.5 for urban and rural schoolchildren respectively are astonishing. Where I come from I think 110 is about average now.

 

Either there is a separate scale or the problems across the country, not only in Isaan, are massive.

 

Last time I read about this, an IQ of 80 was the typical score for someone with Down’s Syndrome.

Yes, I thought it was alarming too. Perhaps it was a Thai-devised test conducted by Thai teachers?

[FritsSikkink]

6 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Good article.

 

In these days of the Internet and the ability of anyone to compare a local situation to other localities in a country, it beggars belief that people in the NE are not aware of the disparities.

 

Which begs the question; why do people still question the choice of the people of the NE to vote for 'their' parties (currently the PTP) and not for Bangkok-based parties or entities like the military?

 

I am constantly amazed by this unfathomable lack of understanding...

 

So what have their parties done for them over the years? Where are all the good schools / education programs?  

[robblok]

2 hours ago, todlad said:

Genuine question: is there a separate IQ scale for Thailand? 89.1 and 82.5 for urban and rural schoolchildren respectively are astonishing. Where I come from I think 110 is about average now.

 

Either there is a separate scale or the problems across the country, not only in Isaan, are massive.

 

Last time I read about this, an IQ of 80 was the typical score for someone with Down’s Syndrome.

110 average .. what country is that ? 

[todlad]

36 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

Yes, I thought it was alarming too. Perhaps it was a Thai-devised test conducted by Thai teachers?

I wonder if that research is in English and available to the rest of us.

If they devised it themselves, I would expect them to have set the average nearer to 150!!

[todlad]

2 minutes ago, robblok said:

110 average .. what country is that ? 

Before I replied to this I went and checked since I was relying on my memory of that statistic. I have found a range of answers including the IQ of the UK averaging 100 at the moment. Unless, we have slipped backwards or they have recalibrated the tests, I don't believe that. On the other hand, the very first site I landed on shows Thailand with an average IQ of slightly more than 116 and the UK at slightly less than 105. Many countries in their list have averages exceeding 110.