SPECIAL REPORT: Thai junta steers education reform to nowhere

[webfact]

SPECIAL REPORT: Thai junta steers education reform to nowhere

By Chularat Saengpassa 
The Nation

 

 

FOUR YEARS after the 2014 military coup, Thailand’s education sector is still stuck over the same old question: which way forward?

 

Uncertainties prevail, despite the many pledges and efforts for education reform. 

 

 

New initiatives, which include reducing class hours to give children more time for well-rounded development, have kicked off only to falter over the past four years.

 

The junta may take pride in the fact that several education laws have been passed under its tenure. 

 

But concerns linger over the preparation and drafting of the laws, given that the new Education Bill is not yet ready.

 

“The National Education Bill, or framework, has not yet come out. But [much of] what is supposed to be inside this framework has already been rolled out. This means problems may occur in the future,” pointed out Assistant Professor Athapol Anunthavorasakul, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Education and director of the Thai Civic Education Centre.

 

He also hinted that education laws and reform might not head toward the same direction. 

 

Athapol

 

For example, while the Early-Childhood Education Bill seeks to ban exams for children up to the age of 8, school graduates look set to undergo tough examinations to enter universities. 

 

“And what will teacher-producing institutes do with their programmes when the Early-Childhood Education Bill is introduced as law?” Athapol asked. 

 

The educator also raised doubts about the enforcement of the Equitable Education Fund Act and the upcoming National Curriculum Development Centre Act. 

 

“Will works done under these new laws clash with the Education Ministry? Will the Education Ministry, as a key implementation agency, co-operate well with new agencies established under the new laws?” Athapol asked. 

 

He warned that efforts made in good faith could backfire if there were no clear and proper policy direction.

 

 

Although Athapol reckons the establishment of the Independent Committee for Education Reform (ICER) is a clear step towards reform, he remained worried that complications could arise. 

 

“By the third anniversary of the coup, we had hardly seen any clear progress on the educational front. It was only after the ICER was established [last May] that we started seeing visible progress. Yet that has also brought us concerns.” 

 

He said that apart from the lack of direction for the overall picture, there are issues of a lack of co-ordination, inclusion and integration. 

“How will the civil sector and the government sector work together?” 

 

 He added that the Education Ministry is in fact apparently reluctant to make any moves. 

 

“Agencies under the ministry have hardly moved forward. It’s as if they are waiting for new agencies to start new things,” he said. 

 

Such an approach suggests that new agencies established for so-called educational reform may merely follow in the footsteps of the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (ONESQA). 

 

Established under the 1999 National Education Act, ONESQA assesses schools’ quality but its findings have rarely translated into school improvements given indifference on the part of authorities. 

 

Kunthida

 

Kunthida Rungruengkiat, an independent academic with knowledge of Finland’s famed educational systems and who recently co-founded the Future Forward Party, said she had noticed little tangible progress on the educational front during the past four years. 

 

“There are some new projects, such as coupons for teacher development and the Pracha Rath schools. But I don’t see what students get from these initiatives,” she said. 

 

She also lamented the fact that instead of decentralising educational organisation, the authorities have centralised power under the current government. 

 

“The government should have realised that each area may have different educational needs. So it’s best to offer independence to local agencies in handling educational affairs.”

 

Under an order of the NCPO chief, provincial education committees were established with a goal of preventing corrupt promotion of local teachers and educational staff. However, the committees have caused management problems in several areas with top local education officials unwilling to co-operate. 

 

Athapol said problems in the country’s education sector stemmed partly from a failure to base decisions on empirical research. 

 

“That’s why we have this back and forth movement. Whenever a project attracts protests, policymakers will show reluctance and sometimes backtrack. This is because nothing has been built on solid research. They have no clear reason or evidence why they should not back down,” Athapol said. 

 

Daranee

 

ICER member Daranee Uthairatanakit is optimistic about what can be done in the future, though. 

 

“We expect new agencies such as the National Curriculum Development Centre to prepare curriculum and the Education Ministry to keenly implement it,” she said. 

 

During a recent TV interview, Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin said he recognised that a clear direction was crucial to education-reform success and that the focus should be on students, teachers and schools. 

 

“Key education laws will be introduced during the term of the current government. Then, we will get a clear picture. Also, I will ensure the Education Ministry works efficiently. Good relationships among all stakeholders can make a difference,” he said. 

 

Kunthida, however, does not believe the ICER’s reform efforts will provide a solution. 

 

“In my opinion, decentralisation is the answer. One has to believe in the potential of schools and the civil sector,” she said. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30346212

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-05-25

[Samui Bodoh]

The easiest way to assess the state of education in Thailand is to look at this major newspaper story; nowhere does it discuss children learning in the classroom. That says it all.

 

Yes, the Junta has talked about education reform. Yes, new laws have been drafted and some implemented. Yes, new 'buzzwords' have been popularized. Yes, new committees have been formed. Yes, new systems for teacher development have been discussed. Yes, new regulations have been discussed.

 

Blah! Blah! Blah! Nothing has changed in four years. Or more likely forty years.

 

According to the Ministry's own testing, Thai students at M6 level fail everything except Thai language. And if you remove Thai language from the table, Thai students don't even crack the 40% level for 7 out of 8 subjects. The Ministry's Education System is an abject failure; no other conclusion can be reached. None.

 

Thailand faces an existential crisis soon; according to everything that I read about the coming robotic/AI wave, not to mention the improvements of Thailand's neighbours, means that the days of Thailand's uneducated/poorly educated and manual labourers is coming to an end as they won't make economic sense anymore. That is a crisis, but as the old adage goes, a crisis is both a danger and an opportunity. If there is a populace that can adapt to new situations, that has the ability to learn and upgrade skills, that can use new technologies to their benefit, they will do very, very well. Those that can not will be left behind.

 

As it stands now, Thailand will be left behind.

 

There are steps that can be taken immediately. Number one is to announce that the new direction of Thai Education is to empower students to think and problem-solve, not merely to memorize and repeat nonsense. Secondly, give school principals the power to make changes in their own schools and tie their future earnings to the progress made by their students. Third, fire the top one hundred people at the Ministry of Education's Bangkok headquarters; these are the people who created this mess; they are not capable of cleaning it up. Fourth, fire the top ten people at every provincial Education office and disband every committee; tie future wages and benefits to student's progress in their respective provinces.

 

The steps above are quite dramatic, but they are only a beginning. The entire Ministry of Education needs to be re-evaluated and re-formed. And, it likely needs to be re-formed with a chainsaw.

 

The Ministry of Education is the single greatest threat that the sovereign Kingdom of Thailand faces; it needs to treated as such. Or, put another way...

 

Reform or fade into insignificance...

 

[tracker1]

when a statment is made that Thai will be the major spoken language in the world ! ones education has to be questionable !

[cornishcarlos]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Thai junta steers education reform to nowhere

 

Just following the "road map" as per everything else that they are destroying...

[YetAnother]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

The junta may take pride in the fact that several education laws have been passed under its tenure. 

what ?! because we tried , we are a success ?! something called Results is the name of the game

[mok199]

 the good news is, we are building another new mall.and we have more water parks than any other country in the world...SO THERE'S THAT..

Edited May 24, 2018 by mok199
speliings

[YetAnother]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

“That’s why we have this back and forth movement. Whenever a project attracts protests, policymakers will show reluctance and sometimes backtrack. This is because nothing has been built on solid research. They have no clear reason or evidence why they should not back down,” Athapol said. 

they Have clear evidence !  that being the current state of thai 'education' ; any number of studies and measures based on numbers; the longer one lives it here, the harder it is to Not believe that the goal is to keep thai people stupid and unquestioning and submissive

[ChidlomDweller]

News stories about education reform are such a yawn.  Always the same problems, never any change.  Just tinkering at the margins of a completely broken system.  You hear a lot of expats say that they poor qualityof education is on purpose, to keep the population dumb and easy to manipulate.  I think the real reason is chronic nepotism and incompetence, coupled with a culture of centralization and deference bordering on the religious to higher-ups.  With an MoE and learning institutions led by empty suits asserting themselves at every step, progress is impossible.  There are some good people around but they're grossly outnumbered and their initiatives inevitably run into a wall of stupidity.  Real reform would mean almost completely scrapping the MoE for starters, and there's just no appetite for that.  A committee here, some tinkering at the margins there, isn't going to do it.

 

I'm expecting the same sort of articles 20-30 years from now.  Nothing can change in this super-hierarchical system led by empty suits who are as pompous as they are incompetent.

Edited May 24, 2018 by ChidlomDweller

[kannot]

Theyre  stuck because they really dont want the masses to start thinking for themselves and questioning higher ups.

Anyway heres  your prize JUNTA........hey, if the cap fits

[kannot]

1 hour ago, Samui Bodoh said:

sovereign Kingdom

Id say thats a bigger  threat

[kannot]

5 minutes ago, ChidlomDweller said:

deference bordering on the religious to higher-ups.

Bang on!!

[kannot]

And  dont forget how "pwetty" the children look in their  little  suits!! Success.

Edited May 24, 2018 by kannot

[Eligius]

1 hour ago, tracker1 said:

when a statment is made that Thai will be the major spoken language in the world ! ones education has to be questionable !

Absolutely right, Tracker1. And have you seen the pitiful attempts of the Leader to speak in English? I remember seeing him waylaying a bunch of (Australian?) tourists on a beach here a few years ago, and he could barely even construct one simple English sentence. Correction: he could NOT construct even one single simple English sentence. It was embarrassing.

 

To make matters even more ludicrous, this same great helmsman of state, Prayuth, is married to a - Chulalongkorn professor of English! Clearly she has taught her husband nothing. But then that is the norm here - that is what 'education' here is all about: teaching people nothing of any substantive value. As Samui Bodoh says above, Thai 'education' is just getting students to 'repeat nonsense'. Some of the great leaders here cannot even do that. (On second thoughts ....!).

 

Edited May 25, 2018 by Eligius

[PatOngo]

The Mushroom system of education has worked for generations...….keep them in the dark and feed them on BS!

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, Samui Bodoh said:

The easiest way to assess the state of education in Thailand is to look at this major newspaper story; nowhere does it discuss children learning in the classroom. That says it all.

 

Yes, the Junta has talked about education reform. Yes, new laws have been drafted and some implemented. Yes, new 'buzzwords' have been popularized. Yes, new committees have been formed. Yes, new systems for teacher development have been discussed. Yes, new regulations have been discussed.

 

Blah! Blah! Blah! Nothing has changed in four years. Or more likely forty years.

 

According to the Ministry's own testing, Thai students at M6 level fail everything except Thai language. And if you remove Thai language from the table, Thai students don't even crack the 40% level for 7 out of 8 subjects. The Ministry's Education System is an abject failure; no other conclusion can be reached. None.

 

Thailand faces an existential crisis soon; according to everything that I read about the coming robotic/AI wave, not to mention the improvements of Thailand's neighbours, means that the days of Thailand's uneducated/poorly educated and manual labourers is coming to an end as they won't make economic sense anymore. That is a crisis, but as the old adage goes, a crisis is both a danger and an opportunity. If there is a populace that can adapt to new situations, that has the ability to learn and upgrade skills, that can use new technologies to their benefit, they will do very, very well. Those that can not will be left behind.

 

As it stands now, Thailand will be left behind.

 

There are steps that can be taken immediately. Number one is to announce that the new direction of Thai Education is to empower students to think and problem-solve, not merely to memorize and repeat nonsense. Secondly, give school principals the power to make changes in their own schools and tie their future earnings to the progress made by their students. Third, fire the top one hundred people at the Ministry of Education's Bangkok headquarters; these are the people who created this mess; they are not capable of cleaning it up. Fourth, fire the top ten people at every provincial Education office and disband every committee; tie future wages and benefits to student's progress in their respective provinces.

 

The steps above are quite dramatic, but they are only a beginning. The entire Ministry of Education needs to be re-evaluated and re-formed. And, it likely needs to be re-formed with a chainsaw.

 

The Ministry of Education is the single greatest threat that the sovereign Kingdom of Thailand faces; it needs to treated as such. Or, put another way...

 

Reform or fade into insignificance...

 

 

"The easiest way to assess the state of education in Thailand is to look at this major newspaper story; nowhere does it discuss children learning in the classroom. That says it all."

 

"The entire Ministry of Education needs to be re-evaluated and re-formed. And, it likely needs to be re-formed with a chainsaw."

 

Couldn't agree more, well said.

 

 

 

[Eligius]

58 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

they Have clear evidence !  that being the current state of thai 'education' ; any number of studies and measures based on numbers; the longer one lives it here, the harder it is to Not believe that the goal is to keep thai people stupid and unquestioning and submissive

You surely have to be right, YetAnother. I, too, have come to the conclusion that after decades and various different governments, under which Thai 'education' remains appalling, it is obviously tacit policy to keep the Thais dumbed down, docile, ignorant and stupid. That is what the Powers That Should Never Be want here - and ensure is maintained. It is too consistent - the unrelenting failure of Thai 'education' - for it to be just bad luck, an oversight, or an accident.

 

It is deliberate, malicious policy. And it is loved by those at the very top. It stops people from asking questions - and demanding answers!

 

Edited May 25, 2018 by Eligius

[Samui Bodoh]

41 minutes ago, Eligius said:

You surely have to be right, YetAnother. I, too, have come to the conclusion that after decades and various different governments, under which Thai 'education' remains appalling, it is obviously tacit policy to keep the Thais dumbed down, docile and stupid. That is what the Powers That Should Never Be here want - and strive to maintain. It is too consistent - the unrelenting failure of Thai 'education' - for it to be just bad luck or an accident.

 

It is deliberate, malicious policy. And it is loved by those at the very top. It stops people from asking questions - and demanding answers!

Let me disagree a bit... or rather, you are correct, but I think that the analysis is incomplete.

 

I think that there are many factors which contribute to the lack of quality in Thai education, but a few stand out...

 

Corruption. The Education System is a huge, sprawling, complex series of offices, schools, centers, locations, etc, each with their own staff. And, as we who live here often see, each staff tends to grab a slice of the pie; given the sheer number of people and places, huge amounts of money are (I am certain) siphoned off. This matters as Thailand does actually spend roughly a proper amount on education relative to GDP, at least relative to other similar countries, but the actual cash doesn't reach down to the lowest levels (the students) very well.

 

Bureaucracy. Thailand suffers from a huge burden of over-bureaucratization, and it seems particularly bad in the Ministry of Education. One example from the news story; teachers need to collect certificates, etc in order to allow themselves to be considered for promotion and/or higher pay. The natural outcome of such a system is that teachers spend time collecting these documents rather than focusing on the classroom; I would, wouldn't you? Further, simply look at the news story again and count up the numbers of bureaucratic measures mentioned; a provincial committee in each province in conflict with the local education office? Different Centers having an unclear mandate? There are more if one looks...

 

Over centralization. Education policy is one of those areas in Governance that tends to work better if authority is pushed down a ways to a more local level. However, in Thailand there is a massive over-centralization process which leads to inefficiencies. How can Bangkok set proper detailed policies for both Issan and Yala? The culture is different. The language is often different. Local economies are often different. The security situation is different. To sum up, lower level authority in setting school policies will have a beneficial effect, but Thailand does not do this.

 

Further to the paragraph above, there is also a matter of culture. Schools don't have a lot of autonomy or authority, so many things happen because 'that is the way they have always been done'. Imagine a young, bright, shiny, new teacher brimming with ideas arrives at a school. That person will be seen as a bit of a threat by the older teachers there; they have their ways and are comfortable with them. Further, the older teachers will likely have been at the school for a long time and be friends with the Principal. The new teacher will be pressured to do things 'the old, tried and true way' and will likely not have support to make any changes. That new teacher will spend a few/many years gaining seniority, certificates, higher qualifications, etc and when they finally have enough power and influence to make changes, they have become the 'old' teacher who blocks the bright, shiny, new, ones. Rinse and repeat.

 

Soooo, to sum up... I do think that the PTB have, to a certain extent, keep the 'peasants' stupid. However, that is merely one reason among many.

 

And fixing all the problems is a long, long process....

 

Any members working in the Thai Education system? Care to share your experiences? TIA!

 

 

Edited May 25, 2018 by Samui Bodoh
Lack of coffee

[RichardColeman]

I think as far as the Junta goes, just ensuring that the kids can drive a motorbike to be a taxi-bike, make som tam, shag a foreigner and don;t ask uestions will be enough !

[upena]

The junta is just doing what every previous Thai government has done - kept the Thai people uneducated and in debt. Easiest way to control the masses

[Bob12345]

Two out of three of the educational ministers have military titles (admiral and general); how could one have expected positive change?

[Eligius]

1 hour ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Let me disagree a bit... or rather, you are correct, but I think that the analysis is incomplete.

 

I think that there are many factors which contribute to the lack of quality in Thai education, but a few stand out...

 

Corruption. The Education System is a huge, sprawling, complex series of offices, schools, centers, locations, etc, each with their own staff. And, as we who live here often see, each staff tends to grab a slice of the pie; given the sheer number of people and places, huge amounts of money are (I am certain) siphoned off. This matters as Thailand does actually spend roughly a proper amount on education relative to GDP, at least relative to other similar countries, but the actual cash doesn't reach down to the lowest levels (the students) very well.

 

Bureaucracy. Thailand suffers from a huge burden of over-bureaucratization, and it seems particularly bad in the Ministry of Education. One example from the news story; teachers need to collect certificates, etc in order to allow themselves to be considered for promotion and/or higher pay. The natural outcome of such a system is that teachers spend time collecting these documents rather than focusing on the classroom; I would, wouldn't you? Further, simply look at the news story again and count up the numbers of bureaucratic measures mentioned; a provincial committee in each province in conflict with the local education office? Different Centers having an unclear mandate? There are more if one looks...

 

Over centralization. Education policy is one of those areas in Governance that tends to work better if authority is pushed down a ways to a more local level. However, in Thailand there is a massive over-centralization process which leads to inefficiencies. How can Bangkok set proper detailed policies for both Issan and Yala? The culture is different. The language is often different. Local economies are often different. The security situation is different. To sum up, lower level authority in setting school policies will have a beneficial effect, but Thailand does not do this.

 

Further to the paragraph above, there is also a matter of culture. Schools don't have a lot of autonomy or authority, so many things happen because 'that is the way they have always been done'. Imagine a young, bright, shiny, new teacher brimming with ideas arrives at a school. That person will be seen as a bit of a threat by the older teachers there; they have their ways and are comfortable with them. Further, the older teachers will likely have been at the school for a long time and be friends with the Principal. The new teacher will be pressured to do things 'the old, tried and true way' and will likely not have support to make any changes. That new teacher will spend a few/many years gaining seniority, certificates, higher qualifications, etc and when they finally have enough power and influence to make changes, they have become the 'old' teacher who blocks the bright, shiny, new, ones. Rinse and repeat.

 

Soooo, to sum up... I do think that the PTB have, to a certain extent, keep the 'peasants' stupid. However, that is merely one reason among many.

 

And fixing all the problems is a long, long process....

 

Any members working in the Thai Education system? Care to share your experiences? TIA!

 

 

Very good points, Samui. Can't disagree with you on those factors that you mention.

[Cadbury]

2 hours ago, tracker1 said:

when a statment is made that Thai will be the major spoken language in the world ! ones education has to be questionable !

To figure out why the education system is going nowhere you firstly have to look to the idiot who made that statement. 

[Cadbury]

Ineffective education outcomes are measured by the number Education Ministry committee meetings, conferences, seminars, public forums, study groups etc......and of coarse the seafood buffet lunches that go with them. The more of those they have the less chance there will be of any improvement in the education system and less hope for the children. 

 

[tigermoth]

2 hours ago, mok199 said:

 the good news is, we are building another new mall.and we have more water parks than any other country in the world...SO THERE'S THAT..

One word, bullsh.....

[car720]

3 hours ago, tracker1 said:

when a statment is made that Thai will be the major spoken language in the world ! ones education has to be questionable !

The only way to alter the ridiculous thinking here is to ban the Thai language and make them learn English from the beginning.  In doing so they make actually learn a new way of thinking because the one they have now just does not work.  

[holy cow cm]

Need to reform and kick out the junta first. No place in a country for the military to run a country. Hog Wash. 

[Anak Nakal]

Rich Thai child go Western country for school.

It clear.

[TKDfella]

I won't repeat what others have said here but something I have witnessed since school started again. Schools in my area were open so I thought that when going out I'd avoid certain places. However, on one occasion due to traffic works I had to take the route that would take me right to the 'triple parking' where children would be alighting from parent's cars. Surprise, there weren't any parked cars and not a child in sight. It was the same at the second infant school I passed. I later found out that the children were all having traditional dance lessons in a local college grounds. This was to take place for two days running. Another two days this week for something else. Now I have nothing against Traditional dancing etc. but my question is when are these children going to start their new term actually learning topics that they will need in the real world?

[TKDfella]

I won't repeat what others have said here but something I have witnessed since school started again. Schools in my area were open so I thought that when going out I'd avoid certain places. However, on one occasion due to traffic works I had to take the route that would take me right to the 'triple parking' where children would be alighting from parent's cars. Surprise, there weren't any parked cars and not a child in sight. It was the same at the second infant school I passed. I later found out that the children were all having traditional dance lessons in a local college grounds. This was to take place for two days running. Another two days this week for something else. Now I have nothing against Traditional dancing etc. but my question is when are these children going to start their new term actually learning topics that they will need in the real world?

[Eligius]

1 minute ago, TKDfella said:

I won't repeat what others have said here but something I have witnessed since school started again. Schools in my area were open so I thought that when going out I'd avoid certain places. However, on one occasion due to traffic works I had to take the route that would take me right to the 'triple parking' where children would be alighting from parent's cars. Surprise, there weren't any parked cars and not a child in sight. It was the same at the second infant school I passed. I later found out that the children were all having traditional dance lessons in a local college grounds. This was to take place for two days running. Another two days this week for something else. Now I have nothing against Traditional dancing etc. but my question is when are these children going to start their new term actually learning topics that they will need in the real world?

Yes, TKDfella. It is amazing how many days in Thai schools are wasted (again and again) on various silly 'events', dances, sports preparation, etc. when the kids should be studying. I know this from my own personal experience. I am all for the occasional break from study at school, but in Thailand it happens far too frequently.