The primary assignment for Prime Minister Prayut

opinion June 10, 2019 01:00

By The Nation

 

 

The Education Ministry has for far too long been a bone thrown to dogs when Cabinets are formed.  It is in fact crucial to our future and must be given utmost significance

 

Both sides of the national divide have declared that Thailand is entering an era of “new politics”, but until educational reform is given the utmost priority, we will remain mired in an era of rudimentary, barely functioning democracy. Elevating its status would be an assured means by which Prayut Chan-o-cha, now ready to resume his duties as prime minister, can overcome the cynicism reinvigorated by the self-serving post-election jostling for Cabinet portfolios.

 

The sceptics are discouraged by both Prayut, who seems to support the notion that the major parties must control the major ministries, and his coalition partners seeking slices of the pie befitting not the quality of their nominees but their respective bargaining power. It is this archaic mindset that engenders the greatest flaw in our democracy – the tendency to disregard education’s importance in fostering progress.

 

It is a woeful tradition that, with each fresh distribution of the spoils of electoral victory, the Interior, Agriculture, Transport and Finance portfolios are seen as the most lucrative prizes. The Education Ministry is invariably among the less meaty bones thrown out to the dogs on the perimeter, the grumblers in need of pacifying. No consideration is given to how capable the recipient is to run the ministry.

 

With the ministry thus belittled, it is often over the course of every government’s tenure used as a handy toy to mollify unruly allies. As a result, rather than being an institution of long-term planning and consistency in addressing issues, the Education Ministry has a steady stream of politicians walking in and out of its revolving doors, each carrying his own opinion of what needs to be done until he’s offered a better post. Policies shift annually.

 

Promising reforms are abandoned. The bureaucratic staff is unsure, confused or handcuffed. Nothing actually gets down. 

 

Prayut, who gave hints in the years after the coup that he cared about schooling, will now be preoccupied with parliamentary politicking, including slicing up the pie to best secure his administration. The current situation is not encouraging. The scrabble for Cabinet seats easily overrides any thought of improving the quality of teaching or narrowing the rich-poor education gap or making sure underprivileged rural kids can attend class.

 

At no point in the election campaign did Prayut or the Democrats or anyone else ask voters to give them the mandate to improve Thai education.

 

Evidently that is not the goal of the “new politics”, which is skewed instead to stacking the Senate and other such trickery, much the same as the old politics. 

 

If there is to be a new thrust in politics, let it be about putting the public interest first. In terms of educational reform, this could mean as radical a move as slashing the military budget so that poor kids get the help they need at school. At the least it means all Cabinet members pooling resources to get the best technology into the classrooms. 

 

Tilting Thai politics away from all the pie-sharing brinkmanship and instead lighting a fire under the Education Ministry would be a major challenge for Prayut. But he calls himself a patriot and evidently believes himself to be a strong leader. Let’s see him try. If he succeeds, he would indeed be a hero. If he tries in earnest but fails, he will at least have tried.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/opinion/30370798

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-06-10

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Is  it  retire  immediately, it  should  be!

26 minutes ago, webfact said:

The primary assignment for Prime Minister Prayut

The primary assignment for this fraudulently elected Prime Minister is to protect the interests of the elite and his military self serving cohorts and maintain their affluence and prosperity. Everything else is secondary, including education.

Not going to happen. The last thing they want is an educated population.

1 hour ago, webfact said:

If there is to be a new thrust in politics, let it be about putting the public interest first. In terms of educational reform, this could mean as radical a move as slashing the military budget

As radical and unlikely. That spending provides their income, the commission on purchases. And an educated population is the last thing an uneducated bunch of ex-military leaders want, understanding fully whats going on and watching the corruption taking place in plain sight. 

51 minutes ago, Cadbury said:

The primary assignment for this fraudulently elected Prime Minister is to protect the interests of the elite and his military self serving cohorts and maintain their affluence and prosperity. Everything else is secondary, including education.

Hear Hear. A central plank of maintaining this hegemony is to ensure that the education offered to the "lower orders" remains inadequate, and serves only to keep them in their place.

 

Nothing will really change. In education, as in so many areas, this is the whole point of installing this government.

Edited June 9, 20197 yr by JAG

Interesting to note that Education is not one of the mega-ministries that the parties are fighting over so that they can "keep their promises" to the electorate. Goes to show how important they think it is.

....to perpetuate the dictatorship.

3 hours ago, Chazar said:

Is  it  retire  immediately, it  should  be!

Hold a new election?

The Education Ministry is invariably among the less meaty bones thrown out to the dogs on the perimeter, the grumblers in need of pacifying. No consideration is given to how capable the recipient is to run the ministry.

 

Thai peoples' opinion seems to be clear. Dear Mods, the video is liked by most of our students, please feel free to remove it should it be against any forum rules. Thank you. 

 

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

No consideration is given to how capable the recipient is to run the ministry.

And herein lies the problem (one of the problems).

Wonder who got the ministry of Rolex or is it still unchanged????

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The primary assignment for Prime Minister Prayut

I suggest his primary assignment will be to try and hold this shaky coalition together. That would take a team player. And a team player, he is not.

....... is to have singing lessons.

The primary assignment for Prayuth is to leave the country, and go into exile. He is not wanted, needed or liked by his people. And he will be able to live very comfortably on his massive fortune.

 

If he is not willing to leave, the primary assignment, is to somehow convince him he needs to take his job seriously, and figure out a way to become a competent man, and leader. He could start by hiring some ministers, based on competency and merit, rather than cronyism, and the fact that they helped get him re-installed (I refuse to say re-elected). 

 

1. How about addressing some of the many dire environmental issues facing the nation? How about dealing with the air quality issues, the cane burning, the diesel epidemic, the clean water issues, and on and on and on.

2. How about figuring out a way to get the toy police to take traffic safety seriously? Get the highway patrol to start patrolling the highways. Get them to start pulling people over for reckless driving. I see 30 candidates every time I drive an hour on the highway. 

3. Be less racist. Stop hating on foreigners. We are NOT the enemy. Tamp down the ridiculous rhetoric from immigration. Get them to be more competent, and less xenophobic. Try that yourself too!

4. Get serious about the real issues that plague this nation. Sex trafficking. Human trafficking. Slavery. Illegal fishing. The use of slaves aboard many of these fishing boat. Boat and marine safety. How about occupational safety?

5. Start following ASEAN law and protocols. Start enforcing the provisions of the charters that Thailand has signed, and then blatantly ignored.

6. Try moving your country forward, rather than backwards. Consult some experts who know the definition of progress, and listen to them. Thailand is one of the least progressive nations on earth. You are at least partially responsible for that. 

7. Improve education. Post a sign in every class. You as a student are encouraged to ask questions. You are encouraged to challenge your teachers. We realize that is one of the fundamental cornerstones to a good education, and we do not want to drum the curiosity out of you. You will need that later in life to succeed, and be more interesting human beings. Let us start now. If the teachers are offended, fire them immediately. Saving face does not belong in school. It is for the meek, the weak, and the ill informed. 

7. Admit that your first administration was an utter failure. Then try to do better. 

8. Take care of the people. Not the elites. Not your buddies in the army and the police force. The people! The average Thai.

 

I could go on all day. 

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The primary assignment for Prime Minister Prayut

Maintain the status quo established in 2014 after the overthrow of the elected government?  Just guessing.

Keep politics out of the airports and mega malls... 

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Elevating its status would be an assured means by which Prayut Chan-o-cha, now ready to resume his duties as prime minister, can overcome the cynicism reinvigorated by the self-serving post-election jostling for Cabinet portfolios.

Doesn't The Nation have any archives?

September 2014 - Reform, a just society 'top goals'

PM Prayuth's policy statement that his government's major goals are to create a society where there is reform and justice, with no corruption.

• On education, the government will change the budget-allocation policy, from providing a per-head subsidy to schools and universities, to new criteria focused on suitability to match the areas in which institutions are located and the make-up of students in each area.
• The government will also promote the decentralisation of education management to local administrative bodies - and further to communities, private operators or members of the general public, while giving them greater independence through granting them authority as legal entities.

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/759452-thai-govt-policy-statement-reform-a-just-society-top-goals/

A new tire will always last longer than a retread. And retread is what PM Prayut now offers.

8 hours ago, webfact said:

In terms of educational reform, this could mean as radical a move as slashing the military budget so that poor kids get the help they need at school.

Thais always seem to talk about education reform for the poor.

 

But, in fact, it is the rich who probably need to to be educated better - especially in the areas of

- ethics

- morality

- legality

- civic duty

- nationalism vs patriotism

- Buddhist principles

- intellectual curiosity

- anti-xenophobia 

 

It is the well-schooled, well-heeled Thai "elite" who continue to ruin the country. 

Edited June 10, 20197 yr by Fex Bluse

40 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

Thais always seem to talk about education reform for the poor.

 

But, in fact, it is the rich who probably need to to be educated better - especially in the areas of

- ethics

- morality

- legality

- civic duty

- nationalism vs patriotism

- Buddhist principles

- intellectual curiosity

- anti-xenophobia 

 

It is the well-schooled, well-heeled Thai "elite" who continue to ruin the country. 

Never forget the Generals who need an education in areas that you listed. They should be in front of the line to be educated especially Prayut, Prawit and Anupong in that order. 

9 hours ago, webfact said:

The primary assignment for Prime Minister Prayut

He has not received the royal command so technically he is not the Prime Minister. Just another corrupt general