Ministry wants to fast-track school director appointments

[rooster59]

Ministry wants to fast-track school director appointments

By The Nation

 

With some 4,000 public schools having no directors, the education minister has set up a special committee to amend rules so that their appointments could be speeded up.

 

Education Minister Thirakiart Charoensethsilp held a meeting of the Basic Education Commission (BEC) to discuss the vacant posts of directors of schools under the supervision of the Office of BEC.

 

Currently, the Teachers and Education Personnel Committee is in charge of organising exams to select qualified persons to become school directors.

 

Thirakiart said the exam process would take too much time so a committee would be formed to study how to amend the regulations. The special panel would come up with new regulations within two months.

 

The panel would come up with criteria for selecting school directors, Thirakiart added.

 

If approved, the new regulations would decentralise power to chief education officers of the provinces to transfer and appoint school directors without waiting for approval from the teachers personnel committee, the minister added.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30350081

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-07-15

[scorecard]

What specific value do school directors give to schools?

 

Without them what downside do schools suffer?

 

I wonder if there is a detailed job description, with specific details of what must be achieved by a school director?

 

Can school directors make decisions about spending without oversight / approval from regional officials an/or parents committees?

 

Is there specific input from parents / parents committee / other teachers in the annual performance appraisal of school directors?

 

Committee to appoint - Senior education folks or independent?  Any locals, any local parents committee people on the appointment committee?

 

Edited July 14, 2018 by scorecard

[yellowboat]

30 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

If approved, the new regulations would decentralise power to chief education officers of the provinces

Those in the area usually are better equipped to handle things than a guy sitting in a Bangkok office .    This short cut makes sense. 

[mikebell]

35 minutes ago, scorecard said:

What specific value do school directors give to schools?

What specific value do schools give to school directors?

[Get Real]

45 minutes ago, scorecard said:

What specific value do school directors give to schools?

They see to that the pupils not get an overweight problem, by embezzling the funds. 

 

 

 

[bluesofa]

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

the education minister has set up a special committee

At last! Not a normal committee, but a special one  - must need some blame deflection properties.

 

[Lupatria]

5 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Ministry wants to fast-track school director appointments

Isn't that just fair after they rushed through a fast-track, no failure, pay for grades, multiple choice exam "education system"?

[Elkski]

Directors seem to keep things running.  They write requests for projects that need funding. Unfortunately they can't fire worthless government workers who are just bidding time till retirement.  They do seem to have to many paid for meetings in other cities and they do have some elevated status which as an American I don't appreciate.  They do get money for things like the sports week, (100,000 cash in my instance)  which they can choose to spend how they choose with receipts.    They have been tasked with finding alternative sources of income like  growing chicken, fish, cantalope, rubber trees, mushrooms which help employ poor parents who get some of the product for their labor.  Some of the food grown like the eggs teaches children some responsibility as well as goes into the food program.  They are able to come and go as far as days worked and or times but some seasons are busy and they usually are doing some work while the teachers are off on holidays.   There evidently is quite the corrupt system in place where it costs over 100,000 baht to even be considered for a better school.  I think better school would mean bigger and in a bigger city.  If the school is remote they get a 4,000 allowance for housing as it maybe to far to drive from their home.  But 4,000 doesn't even pay for the gas and wear and tear on a car driving these rural, dangerous farming roads.  I know one gal and she doesn't live near school because she says there is no housing and its dangerous for a woman. She also has her son stay with sister 45 mins away to go to a  much bigger better school in a major Isaan city.  

A director does make a good GF since their schedule is flexible and you can go to work with them.  Salaries can be 45,000-60,000/ mo 

Edited July 15, 2018 by Elkski

[KiwiKiwi]

9 hours ago, scorecard said:

What specific value do school directors give to schools?

 

Without them what downside do schools suffer?

 

I wonder if there is a detailed job description, with specific details of what must be achieved by a school director?

 

Can school directors make decisions about spending without oversight / approval from regional officials an/or parents committees?

 

Is there specific input from parents / parents committee / other teachers in the annual performance appraisal of school directors?

 

Committee to appoint - Senior education folks or independent?  Any locals, any local parents committee people on the appointment committee?

 

Fully agree. I've only met 2 School Directors and they've both been clowns. But then the Thai education system has never (to my knowledge) been accused of being a fertile source of excellence.

[Lupatria]

10 hours ago, scorecard said:

What specific value do school directors give to schools?

 

Without them what downside do schools suffer?

 

I wonder if there is a detailed job description, with specific details of what must be achieved by a school director?

 

Can school directors make decisions about spending without oversight / approval from regional officials an/or parents committees?

 

Is there specific input from parents / parents committee / other teachers in the annual performance appraisal of school directors?

 

Committee to appoint - Senior education folks or independent?  Any locals, any local parents committee people on the appointment committee?

 

What specific value do school directors give to schools?

Here an example how they start their daily routine, as long as they didn't get stuck in traffic at early hours:

[dinsdale]

Oh this is sooooo easy.

Thanks. You've got the job.

Edited July 15, 2018 by dinsdale

[scorecard]

4 hours ago, Elkski said:

Directors seem to keep things running.  They write requests for projects that need funding. Unfortunately they can't fire worthless government workers who are just bidding time till retirement.  They do seem to have to many paid for meetings in other cities and they do have some elevated status which as an American I don't appreciate.  They do get money for things like the sports week, (100,000 cash in my instance)  which they can choose to spend how they choose with receipts.    They have been tasked with finding alternative sources of income like  growing chicken, fish, cantalope, rubber trees, mushrooms which help employ poor parents who get some of the product for their labor.  Some of the food grown like the eggs teaches children some responsibility as well as goes into the food program.  They are able to come and go as far as days worked and or times but some seasons are busy and they usually are doing some work while the teachers are off on holidays.   There evidently is quite the corrupt system in place where it costs over 100,000 baht to even be considered for a better school.  I think better school would mean bigger and in a bigger city.  If the school is remote they get a 4,000 allowance for housing as it maybe to far to drive from their home.  But 4,000 doesn't even pay for the gas and wear and tear on a car driving these rural, dangerous farming roads.  I know one gal and she doesn't live near school because she says there is no housing and its dangerous for a woman. She also has her son stay with sister 45 mins away to go to a  much bigger better school in a major Isaan city.  

A director does make a good GF since their schedule is flexible and you can go to work with them.  Salaries can be 45,000-60,000/ mo 

 

Well thanks for these details, but I don't see any valid reason whatever why they should be allowed to come and go, work / not work as they please.

 

They are public servants and should be subject to normal working hours like everybody else and be on time because that's the working regulations and to set an example.

 

'She had to have her son stay with her sister...'   Dangerous for a woman to travel.... . Many many Thai folks put up with far greater problems and inconvenience and danger and have very limited resources and no allowances. 

 

'They do get money for things like the sports week, (100,000 cash in my instance) which they can choose to spend how they choose with receipts'. Taxpayers money and an open invitation to falsify receipts. To be honest ti shocks me that the education ministry, after decades of serious criticism for corruption, specifically mentioning school directors, and having been labelled in professional corruption investigations, audits etc., many times as the second most corrupt gov't. agency (after police) allows such 'flexibility'. 

 

 

Edited July 15, 2018 by scorecard