Covid exposing weakness, inequality of Thai education: World Bank

[webfact]

Covid exposing weakness, inequality of Thai education: World Bank

By Wichit Chaitrong
The Nation

 

From 2009 to 2017, the Basic Education Commission’s inflation-adjusted total budget rose by 27 per cent, while the number of students declined by 11 per cent, says the report.

 

A new World Bank report links declining student performances in reading and stagnation in maths and science scores to inequality and inefficiency of investment across Thai schools.

 

School closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic may accelerate these trends, warns the report released on Wednesday (December 9). The report also comes amid a Thai student rebellion demanding urgent education reform.

 

The 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) evaluates skills and knowledge of 15-year-olds in reading, maths and science, and collects information on students’ attitudes, home background, learning experience, and school contexts. 

 

Thailand has participated in the PISA assessment since 2000. 

 

Of the 79 participating countries, Thailand ranks 68th in reading, 59th in mathematics and 55th in science, ahead of only Indonesia and the Philippines in the East Asia and Pacific region. 

 

Around 60 per cent of Thai students failed to meet the minimum proficiency level in reading, while 53 per cent were below minimum proficiency in maths, and 44 per cent in science.

 

Students in Thailand also reported higher levels of school absenteeism and a weaker sense of belonging at school compared to regional averages.

 

The report “Creating inclusive learning environments in schools to help improve Thailand's education performance”, further finds that investments in key financial, human, and digital learning resources were especially low in rural and disadvantaged schools.

 

It pinpoints several distinct drivers of the Thailand PISA results. 

 

First, total spending per student in Thailand from Grades 1-9 is US$27,271 – less than one-third of average spending per student across OECD countries.

 

Second, compared to other countries with the same level of spending per student, Thailand’s performance is lower than expected. Further, disparities between schools with higher and lower socioeconomic status students in Thailand are more pronounced than in other countries in the region. 

 

“The Covid-19 crisis has exposed inequities in education systems across the world including Thailand,” said Birgit Hansl, World Bank country manager for Thailand. 

 

While close to 90 per cent of relatively wealthy students in Thailand have a home computer, and nearly all have internet access, only 20 per cent of students with low socio-economic status reported having computers for schoolwork and 61 per cent reported having internet at home.

 

The report highlights three critical areas which policymakers and educators can address to improve students’ learning outcomes:

 

• Ensure that all classrooms are adequately staffed with qualified and well-trained teachers and material resources to improve learning outcomes of students, especially those in high-need schools.

 

• Enhance teaching methods and classroom management to make effective use of learning time.

 

• Provide a safe and welcoming learning environment to keep students in schools.

 

Dilaka Lathapipat, human development economist at the World Bank, suggested that Thailand needs to merge small schools in order to solve two pressing issues – a teacher shortage and the declining number of students.

 

From 2009 to 2017, the Basic Education Commission’s inflation-adjusted total budget rose by 27 per cent, while the number of students declined by 11 per cent, according to the report.

 

The country may still need to keep many of the estimated 1,200 small schools in remote areas, Dilaka said. Meanwhile 28,000 small schools should be merged to create hub schools covering a radius of six kilometres. This way, more teachers could be allocated to large schools, he said.

 

Thailand plans to pilot the merging project in Phuket and Samut Songkram.

 

Students in Thailand also reported a weaker sense of belonging at school than did students in the OECD. While socio-economically advantaged students reported a greater sense of belonging than their disadvantages peers.

 

Students in Thailand are exposed to more bullying than the average student in OECD countries. “Teachers must learn to detect bullying at schools in order to support victims,” said Dilaka.

 

The World Bank report comes amid a student rebellion in Thailand. The ironically self-named Bad Student group is calling for education reforms to tackle inequality, draconian school rules and student safety concerns.

 

Pumsaran Tongliemnak, an education economist at the Equitable Fund (EEF), said that while Thai youths have a weak sense of belonging at schools, they show high levels of interest in global issues such as human rights and climate change.

 

This suggests that schools are not providing adequate teaching of global issues, which students are learning about from other sources, including social media. He suggested teachers to present global issues in class by integrating them with reading, maths, or science.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/edandtech/30399366

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-12-10

 

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[ikke1959]

as long as no one can fail, students will not learn.. Why should they??? they pass always.. and the result is laziness and low education. Abolish this stupid law and start with the western way to stimulate these kids to learn..Not enough points FAILED!!!! Next year you will see they are doing their best much more

 

[ikke1959]

There are a lot of small schools with a few student and there are school overloaded.. Divide the student more over the schools and there will be time to teach them. Teachers are ok, but it is the mentality of the students who don't need to do anything. How can you teach 50 students in 50 minutes?? It is 1 minute for a student..So extra help can not be given there is just no time... Education ministry seems nt to know what is really going on in the schools.. Always blame teachers, but the problem are the students backed up by the law 

[petermik]

7 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

as long as no one can fail, students will not learn.. Why should they??? they pass always.. and the result is laziness and low education. Abolish this stupid law and start with the western way to stimulate these kids to learn..Not enough points FAILED!!!! Next year you will see they are doing their best much more

 

Aaah but it,s nice to see all the pomp when the students with their carefully rehearsed hand movements receive their world recognised Uni degrees...brings a lump to my throat

[JoePai]

only 20 per cent of students with low socio-economic status reported having computers for schoolwork and 61 per cent reported having internet at home.

 

Only to be expected when so many (families) have to rely on one bread winner earning just 15k baht a month (or less)

[BangkokReady]

There definitely seems to be a fall in happiness and worsening attitudes since covid.  But also these protests have really not helped.

 

Sadly, although the rebellion is aimed at the government, schools and teachers are representatives of the government for these children.  The whole student movement is bound to make kids resent their schools and  their teachers, even if individual students don't directly experience the same issues that are being complained about in their own schools.  This is just what kids/people are like.

[yellowboat]

 

5 hours ago, webfact said:

This suggests that schools are not providing adequate teaching of global issues, which students are learning about from other sources, including social media. He suggested teachers to present global issues in class by integrating them with reading, maths, or science

This is why there is no middle class.  If they adequately educated, they would be too difficult to control.    Thai adults are brainwashed.   The kids are the ones waking up.

[ourmanflint]

As usual, another disjointed article that fails to explain why student numbers are falling and why they are performing so badly. Sort of what you'd expect from someone who went through the very education system they are writing about.

I would have thought the Thai notion of saving face would prevent them from turning out lots and lots of uneducated imbeciles, and they would want to be top of the regional pile, and proud of their education system. 

 

[Artisi]

Well they need to blame something for their short comings, so it might as well be covid 19 - currently a subject that can't be argued against. 

[Artisi]

7 hours ago, JoePai said:

only 20 per cent of students with low socio-economic status reported having computers for schoolwork and 61 per cent reported having internet at home.

 

Only to be expected when so many (families) have to rely on one bread winner earning just 15k baht a month (or less)

In many cases a lot less..... 

[Baerboxer]

13 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

as long as no one can fail, students will not learn.. Why should they??? they pass always.. and the result is laziness and low education. Abolish this stupid law and start with the western way to stimulate these kids to learn..Not enough points FAILED!!!! Next year you will see they are doing their best much more

 

 

Oh dear, this old chestnut. Guess what, in reality, students do fail. Then they have to retake and pass, or try again and again and if necessary repeat a year.

 

Shocking that all those bar room myths aren't real, but there we are!

[briansbiology]

It is also the Teachers. I work at an international school in Bangkok and the Thai dept are not held to the same standards as the rest of us. They effectively have their own school answerable only to the Thai director. The gulf in ability and quality is huge and we are getting the better Thai teachers as international schools pay much more than your average Thai school. They are lazy, entitled and unwilling to adapt. The Thais must accept their educational systems is inherently screwed but they wont. 

[chainarong]

17 hours ago, yellowboat said:

 

This is why there is no middle class.  If they adequately educated, they would be too difficult to control.    Thai adults are brainwashed.   The kids are the ones waking up.

Having some interest in Thailand since 1980, as far as education is concerned there was the deliberate dumbing down effect,  that way the majority don't think only follow.

[Ventenio]

There is a CHANCE you could be a TEACHER in Thailand.......IF...

 

1.  you finished college

2.  can speak only a little English (TOIEC or whatever score of 600 is absolutely minimum, and  at 600 you can't speak with a native speaker_

3.  pass a background check in THAILAND, not your country

 

that's it....schools pay them like 20,000 baht and all the students lose.  the teacher is a fraud, the parents are confused, and the school makes money.

 

with this business model....you do the math

 

getting a "real" teacher at going rates is about impossible, you will get a clown.

 

haven't taught in a few years, but nothing changes

[ikke1959]

Believe me... in some schools they do a restest, and than passed. failed or not... no retest after restest and in a lot of schools minimal grade is 5 so always passed... easy for teachers and more convienent for teachers.

[hanuman2543]

14 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Oh dear, this old chestnut. Guess what, in reality, students do fail. Then they have to retake and pass, or try again and again and if necessary repeat a year.

 

Shocking that all those bar room myths aren't real, but there we are!

Could you elaborate because my experience is different and I heard different from Thai teachers.

[nausea]

The Thai educational system is indeed failing in its intended purpose. Guys and gals learn more off the internet than they do at school.The days of having a monopoly on young minds is coming to an end. Whether you can replace conditioning by fear, we'll have to see. Personally, a rather backward Thailand, reminiscent of the UK in the 50s, is attractive, but times change, and who am I to deny these guys their epiphany.

[from the home of CC]

it was well known prior to covid that Thai education has many shortcomings. What has surprised me was how ineffectual western education has shown itself to be with the absolute lack of common sense concerning this world wide health emergency. Stupidity is more rampant than the disease itself..