National Education Bill far too flawed to sail through: educator

By Chularat Saengpassa 
The Nation

 

File photo

 

THE NATIONAL Education Bill – which was drafted in the hope of bringing better changes to the Kingdom’s educational sector, is far too flawed to sail through, a prominent educator said.

 

“I believe this bill will not be implemented as law, as it has too many flaws,” Chulalongkorn University’s lecturer Asst Professor Athapol Anunthavorasakul said the other day. 

 

He was speaking after the Council of State cleared the bill, and members of the public were given until last Tuesday to express their opinions on the draft via www.krisdika.go.th. 

 

“More importantly, this bill did not receive much support from education officials and educators,” he pointed out. 

 

Athapol

 

Some key highlights of the bill are:

 

* The Office of the Education Council transforming into a policy board; 

 

*Educational institutions being given greater independence in handling their own human resources, as well as managing and using their funds without needing to return leftover budget to the state; 

 

* Agencies facing punishment if they fail to facilitate integrated educational services and leave goals unfulfilled; 

 

*Special pay for teachers working in difficult situations; 

 

* Teachers being granted academic ranks based on their students’ development; and 

*School directors being renamed headmasters or headmistresses regardless of the school’s size. 

 

“When officials are unhappy with a policy, they just stay idle. They don’t fight. Instead, they just wait for the political-office holder’s tenure to end,” Athapol said. 

 

The days of the National Council for Peace and Order and National Legislative Assembly are numbered as Thailand is going to hold general elections on March 24, after which the country will get a Parliament in place of the assembly.

 

 

Athapol said the bill also does not clarify how teachers and educational personnel will gain higher academic ranks. 

 

“It will also involve restructuring and the transfer of officials. On top of this, the new bill will give the super-board immense power. Also that board will mostly be made up of permanent government officials, which will not represent other stakeholders in the educational sector,” he said. 

 

He also wondered whether the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST) will be up to the task of redesigning the curriculum.

 

“IPST has extensive experience in science and technology. It grooms whiz kids for the Olympics Academic Committee. But what are about other academic fields?” he asked. 

 

Athapol said teachers will also be worried about the changes the bill will bring to their schools if it does turn into law. 

 

“If schools become more independent, will management be really transparent?” he asked. 

 

Recently, several groups of teachers have spoken up against the bill, among them school directors who do not wish to be dubbed

“headmasters/headmistresses”. They are also upset that their teaching licences will be called “teaching certificates”. 

 

Dr Jiruth

 

Dr Jiruth Sriratanaban, who chairs a panel drafting the National Education Bill, said school directors’ duties will not change no matter what their post is called. 

 

“In essence, they will still remain school leaders or administrators,” he said. 

 

Jiruth also insisted that calling teaching licences “certificates” will not affect the prestige of the teaching profession. 

 

In defence of the National Education Bill, Jiruth said it will definitely improve the quality of education and solve many problems in the sector. 

 

“The bill will put educational institutions at the heart of educational reform,” he added. “When it becomes law, we will be able to attract more talent to the teaching profession and improve resource efficiency in the sector.” 

 

As for students, he said, the bill – if legislated – will no longer require them to sit for school entrance exams up until the Mathayom 3 level. 

 

 

“If schools have limited seats, students will be enrolled on a raffle basis,” he explained. 

 

He also added that students will no longer have to attend tutorial classes because the bill seeks to stop schools from adding content to exam papers that is outside of what has been taught in class.

 

Athapol, however, is not convinced about the benefits of this requirement. 

 

“I don’t think a law should be this detailed. It’s also going to become difficult to determine what academic content is beyond the scope of examination papers.” 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30365764

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-03-14

20 minutes ago, webfact said:

Recently, several groups of teachers have spoken up against the bill, among them school directors who do not wish to be dubbed

“headmasters/headmistresses”. They are also upset that their teaching licences will be called “teaching certificates”.

Must. Save. Face.

42 minutes ago, webfact said:

 

“When officials are unhappy with a policy, they just stay idle. They don’t fight. Instead, they just wait for the political-office holder’s tenure to end,” Athapol said. 

 

This is a very effective method given the number of Education Ministers and attempts to "fix" the system.

 

46 minutes ago, webfact said:

He also added that students will no longer have to attend tutorial classes because the bill seeks to stop schools from adding content to exam papers that is outside of what has been taught in class.

 

So no extra income for the teachers who teach to the curriculum in class and to the exam in paid tutorials.

48 minutes ago, webfact said:

 

*Educational institutions being given greater independence in handling their own human resources, as well as managing and using their funds without needing to return leftover budget to the state; 

 

 

Where will the excess go? ???? To the betterment of the school? ????

1 hour ago, webfact said:

“I believe this bill will not be implemented as law, as it has too many flaws,” Chulalongkorn University’s lecturer Asst Professor Athapol Anunthavorasakul said

by his western thinking he is totally missing the point, whether a law is flawed or not means nothing here

"...is far too flawed..."

 

This bill is akin to having the fox making the rules on how to guard the hen house. 

Edited March 14, 20197 yr by jaltsc

2 hours ago, Chang_paarp said:

This is a very effective method given the number of Education Ministers and attempts to "fix" the system.

 

So no extra income for the teachers who teach to the curriculum in class and to the exam in paid tutorials.

 

Where will the excess go? ???? To the betterment of the school? ????

What the bill seeks to avoid is teachers doing the following:

- forcing best students into private and often semi secretive tutoring sessions where they are literally given the answers to the exams as well as taught properly. In some lesser schools classes do little or nothing. The teacher literally extorts the best students into tutoring for learning and grades. It's said these classes often take place at the teacher's home, previous head teacher's homes and shophouses. The kids with no money or initiative just taje the grade, move on. They're never going to need high math or science.

 

Far too flawed...

 

For those who have or are employed as a foreign teacher, will no doubt be aware of the many darker sides attached to being employed as a  foreign teacher as well as the up hill struggle just trying to teach Thai students.

 

Corruption within schools is rife and usually filters from the top down to Thai teachers. 

 

Most Thai students act disruptive, loud, racist and rude, a far cry from the well behaved, smiling students as advertised on media such as the internet and magazines...

 

The lack of support a school, especially state run schools, as stipulated by both the Thai labour department plus immigration department laws, are usually ignored! Schools  should ensure the letter of law is acted upon, but most schools seemingly ignore there obligations and in many cases foreign teachers lose out and expected to work illigally in appalling, filthy, dirty, unhygienic, unsafe working conditions coupled with the expectations placed upon foreign teachers to work out of school grounds, which is illigal, and to lie about students grades, not forgetting the pathetic monthly salary, if paid on time, plus hidden extras sometimes deducted without prior notice!

 

My advise to those considering a teaching career within Thailand as a foreigner to seriously reconsider. I've taught at many state run schools within Thailand, over many previous years and fully aware of the scams both  schools plus agencies try to pull on foreign teachers.

 

The position is a far cry from being exciting or rewarding and is certainly not in paradise...

 

Flawed!

 

As always, a students education is compromised for the greed of money by means of corruption, fraud and extortion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why did I read: "national education bull?"

In the eyes of the faux-elite, a truly flawed education scheme would be one in which the pupils and students are genuinely encouraged to analyse, probe, question and query data provided to them. That would be heresy! Cannot have that under any circumstances.

 

The correct, desirable, non-flawed educational approach (in the tacit view of Thai offialdom) would be to continue with the highly successful programme of keeping Thais ignorant of the world, unable to think critically or analytically, knowing absolutely nothing about anything, and above all to understand, down to the level of their very cells and blood corpuscles, that they must know their place in the hierarchy and must bow and wai and smile to their Masters and Betters - without question!

1 hour ago, Sonhia said:

Far too flawed...

 

For those who have or are employed as a foreign teacher, will no doubt be aware of the many darker sides attached to being employed as a  foreign teacher as well as the up hill struggle just trying to teach Thai students.

 

Corruption within schools is rife and usually filters from the top down to Thai teachers. 

 

Most Thai students act disruptive, loud, racist and rude, a far cry from the well behaved, smiling students as advertised on media such as the internet and magazines...

 

The lack of support a school, especially state run schools, as stipulated by both the Thai labour department plus immigration department laws, are usually ignored! Schools  should ensure the letter of law is acted upon, but most schools seemingly ignore there obligations and in many cases foreign teachers lose out and expected to work illigally in appalling, filthy, dirty, unhygienic, unsafe working conditions coupled with the expectations placed upon foreign teachers to work out of school grounds, which is illigal, and to lie about students grades, not forgetting the pathetic monthly salary, if paid on time, plus hidden extras sometimes deducted without prior notice!

 

My advise to those considering a teaching career within Thailand as a foreigner to seriously reconsider. I've taught at many state run schools within Thailand, over many previous years and fully aware of the scams both  schools plus agencies try to pull on foreign teachers.

 

The position is a far cry from being exciting or rewarding and is certainly not in paradise...

 

Flawed!

 

As always, a students education is compromised for the greed of money by means of corruption, fraud and extortion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have taught at six public, public / private schools. Thousands of students. All with the exception of two classes the kids have been by and large well mannered. Yes, Thai kids do tend to talk in class, in Thai and not in hushed voices. The older students can be distracted.

 

For myself all I need is an LCD projector and decent PA for playing listening audio. WiFi. If you teach in a school that cannot provide this or maintain it move on. Why would you stay?

 

I've always loved my kids. Even the two really sketchy classes I'd had years ago, I don't fault them. I wish I had the experience I have now. But I don't fault them.

 

Yes the bill is flawed.

 

The only way to fix the system is to bring in Singapore, build a ground up system. Start with K-3 and educate master teachers that return to the provs to train new, fresh college grads. Move up to 4-6, 7-9, 10-12.

 

Thousands of teachers trained in country by universities in HK and Singapore. The best sent outside for additional training.

 

The administration should be entirely Singaporean with the best and brightest fresh grads shadowing them for 15 years.

 

In 20 years Thailand will have an education system. Short of something like this. It's hopeless.

 

Prerequisite of all top 10 universities before they take a tenured post in university, must teach at top secondary for three years.

 

6 hours ago, webfact said:

“I believe this bill will not be implemented as law, as it has too many flaws,”

Again, the junta-appointed NLA is rushing through another major piece of legislation affecting the whole country at a very fundamental level with just less than a month away from the General Election. That in itself raises questions about its legitimacy and implementation by what might be an opposition military political party.

If the Prayut regime were a "caretaker" government as specified in the constitution required to a General Election, the NLA couldn't pass such legislation before installation of the elected NLA. But Prayut refuses to place his government into caretaker status.

If the new National Education Bill is tied into the NCPO 20-Year National Reform Plan specified by the 2017 Constitution, it will be very difficult (at least for the next five years after the installment of the new elected government) to amend or repeal because of the Junta-appointed Senate.

This bill is not democratic nor any step towards a democracy.

Fail fail failure...but the student cannot...the entire system is a failure