The reputation of the Thai education system is taking a hammering lately, with the latest findings showing 15 year old Thai students rank below average compared to their peers in other countries.

 

This comes on the back of a recent study of English proficiency in the ASEAN region, which found that Thailand was bottom of the pile.

 

The 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment, conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, found that Thai students rank below average in science and maths – and much lower in reading.

 

By Peter Roche

Caption: PHOTO: The Borgen Project

 

Full story: Phuket GO 2023-12-06

 

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Well, that comes as a surprise! 

Honestly, I don't blame the students - if the teachers have empty heads, what can they possibly teach/pass on? A never ending cycle. 

This should really come as no surprise!

The last thing the ruling families want is a well educated underclass asking where their share of the national pie is.  That share is reserved for the offspring of the ruling class, usually educated abroad.

Technically, that was the goal, so.

Yeah but they are tops at marching about, wearing silly uniforms and singing nationalistic songs

Dumb people give governments more control.  It is very sad.

"Thai students rank below average in science and maths – and much lower in reading."

 

So what is it:

 

Is it that too many Thais don't LIKE to read?

 

or

 

too many don't KNOW HOW to read very well?

 

What do you expect if the curriculums are outdated, no progression is made to come into the 21st century but lot of times are being wasted to stand, pray, march, and copy..... No questions allowed and the teacher is the all knowing otherwise they loose face. Kids brains are overworked as many leave home at 6 am and return at 6 pm...with hardly an hour break in the afternoon for lunch. With 40/50 in a class there is no time to teach a kid, because what can you learn in a minute? I wrote many times already my ideas but nothing will ever change as long as the army and conservative governments are in power..

2 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

What do you expect if the curriculums are outdated, no progression is made to come into the 21st century but lot of times are being wasted to stand, pray, march, and copy..... No questions allowed and the teacher is the all knowing otherwise they loose face. Kids brains are overworked as many leave home at 6 am and return at 6 pm...with hardly an hour break in the afternoon for lunch. With 40/50 in a class there is no time to teach a kid, because what can you learn in a minute? I wrote many times already my ideas but nothing will ever change as long as the army and conservative governments are in power..

in america  schools are from 8am-2pm . so do you mean it makes the kids much better?

The issue is very simple, it is the lack of skills or education from the teachers. I remember one day in Isaan, I was presented to a female highschool teacher. By the way very beautifull. I was told she was an English teacher. Impossible to conversate with her due to the lack of English  knowledge. But my God she was a beauty. Ahd i will not tell the end of this story

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The reputation of the Thai education system is taking a hammering lately

 

Lately?!?

I've seen this same story and the same replies posted for almost two decades (and that's all I'm aware of - most likely has been going on long before).

 

 

Edited December 6, 20232 yr by HappyExpat57
brevity

11 hours ago, djayz said:

Well, that comes as a surprise! 

 

said no one ever. 

Half an hour lost every morning, lined  up like toy soldiers while the colours are raised. Thai schools are more about brain washing than brain building.

well what did you expect with such an antiquated backward education system,   the whole schooling here is a joke and seriously needs a complete overhaul. 

 

Firstly,  I would make English a mandatory subject ....   then go from there ...  

9 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

to have a hung over westerner

and therein lies part of your answer .....    

 

as I said,  the whole system needs revamping,  ....    you ask any student .. say 10yr old ... where is France located on a map and I bet he can't tell you.    They only know where Lao, Cambodia ... and their nearest 7-11 is located.    Lol

6 hours ago, anotherexpat4444 said:

in america  schools are from 8am-2pm . so do you mean it makes the kids much better?

I don't know for America, but kids going to school at 6 am because they have to go by the schoolbus to school and being at home at 6 pm also because of the schoolbus .. Other kids whoi special classes after the normal lessons and are finished too at 6 pm.. I think it is too much. Yes at 2 pm the kids in America will go home and will have time to relax and play, as here in Thailand probably in most days the kids have to do homework too. When will the brain of a kid relax?  

5 minutes ago, steven100 said:

and therein lies part of your answer .....    

 

as I said,  the whole system needs revamping,  ....    you ask any student .. say 10yr old ... where is France located on a map and I bet he can't tell you.    They only know where Lao, Cambodia ... and their nearest 7-11 is located.    Lol

 

I used to work for the largest private school system in all of Southeast Asia (and if you know, you know). I did time in several of their branches, and they had one constant - many of the foreign teachers got PLOWED on a nightly basis, and the school admins were aware. Of course not all, but a disturbing number of them. As long as you had a white face and didn't get caught molesting the students, you were good to go.

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The reputation of the Thai education system is taking a hammering lately, with the latest findings showing 15 year old Thai students rank below average compared to their peers in other countries.

And continues up to the age of graduation from university.

More "Soft Power"?

 

 

2 hours ago, Ben Zioner said:

Half an hour lost every morning, lined  up like toy soldiers while the colours are raised. Thai schools are more about brain washing than brain building.

Indoctrination for the masses to keep the elites companies productive.

10 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Dumb people give governments more control.  It is very sad.

And/or is it that Thai people have no control over a progressive government they want?

Prayut's military coup, followed by 10 years as PM, then PTP abandons the elected majority MFP to essentially follow in Prayut's foot steps.

10 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Dumb people give governments more control.  It is very sad.

 

I seem to recall a recent election where the people's choice was rescinded by the military in power. I wouldn't call the people dumb, I'd say rather they're helpless to do anything.

 

 

Edited December 7, 20232 yr by HappyExpat57
punctuation

No surprise.

 

Because Thai Education System is all Sabai-Sabai. Many schools in Thailand are not enforcing pupils' homework anymore. It used to be different about 20-30 years ago as my wife says.

Many threads along these same lines as of late.

 

Most countries teach myths to their young. This is done for various reasons. Thailand does it better than most nations...so thorough is it, in fact, that there are even laws that make the questioning of the myths a crime punishable by imprisonment.

 

There are those who benefit greatly from both the teaching of myths and the failure to provide a good education, and the benefactors are not about to change. The Thai elite or 1% control 75% of all wealth in the country, creating one of the worst qini coefficients in the world.

 

Unleashing the ability of the Thai people, which would take both a revamping of the system and a generation or two, would likely create a much larger pie from which the elite could benefit, but even if net-net they would gain more, they would control a smaller overall percent of the pie. Both wealth and control seem to the the goals, so absent a majority---rather than a mere plurality---in an election, no change is going to come.

Wonder if it has anything to do with the schools being constantly closed doe public holidays, or the kids going for just a half a day as its some monks day. 

 

That said, I do not think the government here want educated people, they want tourists and waiting at the end of a table or putting ice in someone's beer really does not need any education !

 

 

That's because they don't give a <deleted> & you can't fail them !

Looking at 32,018 Higher Education Institutions from all over the world and ranked by countries (July 2023 edition):

https://www.webometrics.info/en/distribution_by_country

COUNTRY             TOP 100  101-500  501-1000   1001-5000   5001-10000   TOTAL

Thailand                     0              2              5                  31                  63              192

The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories where English is either an official, administrative, or cultural language.

Thailand compared to several English-speaking countries:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-speaking_world#Countries_where_English_is_an_official_language

USA                         53            97            89                536              1569            3180

United Kingdom       8            36            33                  63                  51               337

Australia                   6             17            12                     7                   19               187

Singapore                 2              0              2                     5                   14                45

South Africa             0              4              4                    15                    4               124

 

Overall I rank Thailand at about mid-point, but only because there are so many poorer English speaking countries than Thailand. So still not desirable, especially in terms of international relations. Surprising to me is that The Philippines would rank far below Thailand, but both have about the same annual GDP (2022). https://countryeconomy.com/countries/compare/thailand/philippines

Two thoughts about this.

 

A majority of the teachers here are substandard, and do not even know the lesson plans they teach, and cannot even pass the tests they give their students. To call the Thai educational system low quality, poor, ineffective, and outdated, would all be an understatement. Much reform is needed, and an argument can be made that the extremely toxic elite here, want to keep the system the way it is, for reasons of avarice, selfishness, and a false and ancient notion that it will protect their status. Those vermin have alot to answer for.

 

By international standards, the two top universities in Thailand are Mahidol and Chulalongkorn. World University Rankings created by Times Higher Education takes into account the reputation of research done by universities and how often papers produced by universities were quoted around the world. They have Mahidol ranked at #610, and Chulalongkorn ranked at #801, worldwide. That is the best this nation is capable of. Shows you how important education is to the elite (who send their kids overseas for college) and this spectacularly toxic administration. I know this thread is primarily about grade school, but I doubt there are international rankings for that.

 

In the West the value of a college degree is questionable. The cost of a college education relative to the benefits are marginal. Unless one graduates with a medical degree, medical tech, nursing, an MBA from a top 20 school, or a degree in engineering, the prospects are not what they used to be. And the debt can be outrageous. College seems to be a racket these days. Big business. And who wins in the end? The university.  

 

Vocational school, or specialized training, may have more application, in this world. 

 

Not sure the same applies here, as opportunity is very limited, without college, unless one is entrepreneural. 

 

 

 

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The reputation of the Thai education system is taking a hammering lately, with the latest findings showing 15 year old Thai students rank below average compared to their peers in other countries.

The World is slowly, but surely sliding into aT

This comes on the back of a recent study of English proficiency in the ASEAN region, which found that Thailand was bottom of the pile.

For a Government and Country that is  the "Hub " of everything, and aspires to be a 4,0 Society, these revelations should be the biggest embarrassment the Country has ever had