Thailand reduces school hours in major curriculum overhaul

[Chosenfew]

Follow Singapore, best education system in the world.

[arick]

5 hours ago, dinsdale said:

It doesn't mean a cut back in education. What it's about is trying to drag the education system here out of the mid 20thC into the 21stC.

That might be giving all the poor people in the North and the poor provinces the ability to compete with the elite in the city.

[robsamui]

Any ministerial or government proposals regarding education is earmarked as a joke before it's even off the ground. The government has no intention of educating their people - the last thing they want is a restless generation of informed and world-aware workers causing internal strife

 

The top few percent of the populace -  the HiSo and/or wealthy Thais - already educate their children privately and always abroad . . . certainly when it comes to higher education and university. 

 

Their own workforce they regard as factory fodder, deliberately 'educated' to have no insight, creativity or initiative.

 

It'll be many generations before Thailand realises that it's not an island, and that it can't survive without being a useful and cooperative member of the big wide world outside.

[Neeranam]

31 minutes ago, Butts said:

Having native speaking western teachers actually teaching English and more educational TV programs other than Thai Dram with constant fighting and crying on the television might help also.

Maybe get these kids to watch Coronation Street, Neighbours, or Jerry Springer.

[Neeranam]

13 minutes ago, Chosenfew said:

Follow Singapore, best education system in the world.

Or Finland/Scotland.

[Neeranam]

40 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Throw out teaching by rote and replace it by pupils asking questions. If the teacher does not know the answer it is the teachers job to find out the answer. That way the teacher AND the pupils learn.

 

If the school directors, the ministry of Education or OBEC don't like that, then sack them and replace them with younger and more progressive people.

 

Enter the 20th or even the 21st century and NEVER regress to the 19th or even the 18th century.

 

Only then will Thailand progress from the stagnation it is in now.

12 members of the MoE were jailed for taking bribes from the director of my daughter's school in Khon Kaen city. 

40 million to get his position. He was found not guilty of any wrong 🤣

[GarryP]

5 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Maybe you can explain how reducing the hours of a school day equals to taking money out of the education system to be used elsewhere. Not mentioned in the article but I would think a reduction in the time of one study period from one hour to forty five minutes may be one thing they are considering or a reduction from six in class hours a day to five or maybe both. How on earth does this equate to taking money away from the budget.

Save on electricity. 😉

[thesetat2013]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Initially set at 7.6 billion baht (US$ 205.5 million), the budget was reduced to 4.1 billion baht (US$ 110 million).

“The cut will hurt the project's overall efficiency,” lamented the deputy minister.

This new budget with half what they asked for will not do anything to affect how many hours the students will be in classrooms. What it will do is make class sizes bigger. Make school lunches cost more as well as uniforms and supplies for the teachers. They can not reduce the pay for the current teachers ( or maybe they can) but they can hire new teachers paying them less. I expect the budgets cut will affect the parents expense increasing it drastically. 

[kingstonkid]

6 hours ago, dinsdale said:

A brief response.

A few things here. I agree that the school day should have a reduction in hours (ban homework also IMHO) and that not just tech based but 21C teaching as a whole that needs to be adopted. Associated problems: Way too many activities that takes students out of the classroom. A good example is scouts which is nothing more than a military recruitment exercise. There are just so many other examples of out of class activities to list. Beneficial activities like excursions I don't have a problem with. As for tech based teaching and as I said 21stC teaching this needs to be supported with the correct learning environment. Schools with 40+ students in a classroom that has no technology is NOT the ideal learning environment.

The challenge for most kids is not the length of time of the official classes.  

 

The Challenge is that some kids are getting in vans at 630 to get to school

Most schools end at 3 - 3:30

 

The challenge is that a lot of the schools because the teachers can not teach, have classes after school.

 

I had a Pratom student who started class at 730. His parents drove and picked him up.

Finished regular school at 3

Then I had an extra class from 3-4. Then another class from 4-5.

 

Homework is not an issue if done right.  Hell all of us growing up had homework.  If done right and mom or dad can help it is the only way these kids will learn anything by doing the homework.  Also for most kids homework is the time to play their favorite game   CAW PEE

 

Pratom 6, Mat 3, and Mat 6, the kids get hammered. 

 

First, the school says that Somchai has to stay and have an extra class for ONET (yes, schools still do it. Do they put up the advertising banner that says we had 15 students score high on the ONET test to see how good we are?)

 

Pratom 6 and Mat 3: They then have extra classes to prepare for the Mat 1 and Mat 4 entrance exams. Mat 6 students are getting ready for TCAS, so yeah, they have a lot of time to spend learning how to prepare in 6 months for something they should have been preparing for 3 years.

 

Add to this that if the parents have the money the kid also does at least a couple of hours a week at least of tutoring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dinsdale]

2 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

That's quite a magical feet!

 

Converting a GDP of US$500 billion, or THB 18.4 trillion, into a 200 trillion baht education budget.

 

Must be all those hours of Thai maff edumacation.

Pity you didn't read my post where I corrected my error.

[Srikcir]

For some context: teachstarter.com

• Ranked among the top of African countries in terms of education, Kenya typically educates its kids between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. with an extra hour and 15 minutes afterward for games and clubs. 
• Russian primary school students spend 470 hours in the classroom during the school year, compared to the 990 hours required in 35 American states. Russian school schedules extend from Monday to Friday in most places, with kids typically attending from about 8 a.m. to 1 or 2 p.m.
• Chinese students spend 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at school with an hour and a half for lunch, but in other areas, kids get to head home for nap time at lunch! 
• School days in Australia typically run Monday to Friday, and they usually from 8:30. to 9 a.m. until 3 to 3:30 p.m.

[dallen52]

7 hours ago, mfd101 said:

How very dare you ask a question! Are you implying I haven't taught you properly? Get out of my class I don't want to see you again.

My partners daughter got told that at Buriram university. 

If they didn't like the way the teacher taught,  they can all leave. 

 

The same teacher who had them working in the family shop for free.

To gain experience. 

[DjSilver]

The best way to continue being a 3rd world country is to make sure your people stay uneducated. No wonder Thailand today is 70 years behind western countries and now, this <deleted> wont help.

 

And Thai people keep bending forward to get XXX even harder 🤣

[mfd101]

29 minutes ago, dallen52 said:

My partners daughter got told that at Buriram university. 

If they didn't like the way the teacher taught,  they can all leave. 

 

The same teacher who had them working in the family shop for free.

To gain experience. 

Yes, and it's not just at school. The 'Don't ask questions' barrier is everywhere. I notice this in my peasant family (mostly illiterate) and with my b/f. No intellectual curiosity and you have to choose your moment (which I'm not good at). Because I ask questions my b/f says I always 'blame' him ...

[NoDisplayName]

7 hours ago, dinsdale said:

I think the entire budget is the more than Bt200 trillion that popped into my mind.

 

More thai maff?  Total GDP is only 18.5 trillion baht.

 

Quote

 

The national budget for the 2024 fiscal year is set at 3.48 trillion baht, an increase from 3.185 trillion baht in the 2023 fiscal year.

 

https://thailand.prd.go.th/en/content/category/detail/id/48/iid/247069

 

 

[sambum]

Did I not read somewhere that the standard of education in Thailand is "abysmal" - especially in written and spoken English (which, like it or loathe it - it is accepted Worldwide as a "second" language)

 

So to remedy this shortcoming, they reduce school hours to "incorporate more practical and tech-based learning."

 

Marvellous!

[sambum]

3 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Maybe get these kids to watch Coronation Street, Neighbours, or Jerry Springer.

 

I like it! "Corrie" instead of "Eastenders"!

 

I wonder which accent the Thai kids would find harder to understand  - Mancunian or Cockney? 

[wensiensheng]

7 hours ago, bob smith said:

....It will take more than an internet connection and a few ipads to sort out the dreadful mess that is the Thai education system!

 

bob.

Wasn’ t there a political party promising a tablet for every student a few years back? During election season of course. Bet there aren’t many of those tablets around now, if indeed there ever was.

 

The issue with Thai schools is rote learning. Until they change that, students may or may not pass exams, but they won’t be intelligent, logical, science based, problem solvers who have a global perspective.

 

How could they be with all the garbage and propaganda that they are fed on a daily basis.

[Nicholas Paul KNIGHT]

Good ideas, however where are they going to find educational professionals , currently Education is a mess, supposed to be changing it for the last 22 years to my knowledge . Sounds like just another sound-bite top attempt to change an outdated system that will never change 

[bob smith]

2 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

Wasn’ t there a political party promising a tablet for every student a few years back? During election season of course. Bet there aren’t many of those tablets around now, if indeed there ever was.

 

The issue with Thai schools is rote learning. Until they change that, students may or may not pass exams, but they won’t be intelligent, logical, science based, problem solvers who have a global perspective.

 

How could they be with all the garbage and propaganda that they are fed on a daily basis.

agreed.
 

Traditional Thai education is about as bad as it gets.

 

Private & International schools aren't that great either!

 

bob.

[bob smith]

10 minutes ago, Nicholas Paul KNIGHT said:

Good ideas, however where are they going to find educational professionals

they could hire a committee of farangs to sort the mess out for them, since they are incapable of doing it themselves due to cultural constraints. 

 

compared to the Thais most foreigners have had an Ivy league education, even those who attended bog standard state schools on council estates..

 

We know what good education is/should be.

It's time the Thais listened to us and adapted themselves.

 

Shape up or $h!t out!

 

bob.

Edited Thursday at 10:48 AM by bob smith

[Surasak]

7 hours ago, Robert Paulson said:

Yep. People overemphasize the importance of school. The “good” stuff kids learn in school would mostly be learned if they were at home. 
 

People really think schooling is some paradigm set out from the heavens above, never to be questioned. Yet the fact is, it’s completely unnatural. There’s no basis for it at all in my opinion. Schooling should be much more personal. You NEVER see this accounted for. For example some kids do well in school, and maybe school is the best place for them to be. Others do horribly and simply cannot concentrate. Maybe they’d much rather be out dedicating themselves to a sport or other similar passion. Yet we just lock them up under this very odd social paradigm that “all kids must be in school”. It’s so weird… school in part is just another way to make better taxpayers in my estimation. And don’t even get me started on college. 
 

I think what kids need to be taught is how to learn. And how to think critically. And no, this won’t take 14 some odd years to do. That way as they go through life they are able to independently learn stuff at their leisure and as they are interested in it. Motivated by getting better at it. I think the proof is in the pudding. Make a contest between a student in school who studies French for a year and a kid who lives in France for a year who’s interested in learning French. Everyone knows the truth; kids learn nothing about foreign languages in school even after YEARS of studying they can barely put together a sentence. School is a giant mirage I tell you. I suppose it’s just another thing to add to the list of stuff it’ll take people decades to figure out. You should be home schooling to btw I don’t care what your situation is. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk on the inadequacies and misunderstandings of schooling 

100% agree. Find out what the child is interested in doing and teach them accordingly. That system would cost more due to specialist teachers being required. The end result would be brighter and happier students/adults with a more knowledgeable workforce. The country can only gain.   

[wensiensheng]

3 hours ago, Chosenfew said:

Follow Singapore, best education system in the world.

I’d probably take issue with that statement. 
 

Academically, you may be right. The whole Singapore system is geared to passing exams. And when Singapore sets out to design a system to achieve a specific result, it does it. Exceptionally well.

 

But there are deficiencies in such a system, more than a couple of which are recognized by the government and they have taken or are taking steps to correct.

 

First of all, the system is set in place to derive a specific answer to a specific question, in order to achieve test marks. That is rote learning and stifles innovation and abstract thinking. The government put in place a specific innovation program to try and change things. It pretty much hasn’t worked.

 

secondly, the drive for high test marks makes for a brutal educational process where any child who isn’t academically minded, is branded a loser. To try and ensure no Singaporean is left behind (government words) a lot more emphasis has in recent years been placed on vocational colleges.

 

Nevertheless the in built bias in the system for rote learning in order to achieve high exam results, is very hard to correct.

 

Yup. I’m Singaporean.

[wensiensheng]

4 hours ago, Purdey said:

Another excuse to dumb down The Children^TM while seeming to care.

Where are the educational opportunities for The Children^TM of poor families?

Where is the policy to improve the education of teachers while they have more free time?

Where is the attempt to improve PISA scores?

When will classes have just 15 students?

15 students to a class is impractical. The U.K. doesn’t have that few students to a class. Even international schools usually cap them at 20.

[BritManToo]

22 minutes ago, bob smith said:

compared to the Thais most foreigners have had an Ivy league education, even those who attended bog standard state schools on council estates

I used to teach in those UK council estate schools, and they were worse than the Thai government schools I've encountered.

 

My 12yo son currently attends Thai government school in the CEP class (Chinese and English Project). Way better than any Brit highschool I ever taught in. 8kbht/term with a class size of 25.

[paulikens]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Deputy Education Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul expressed concerns about budget constraints impacting the ministry's Learning Anywhere Anytime project, which focuses on online learning for Mathayom 4 to 6 students.

The students love online teaching cuz they just don't turn up.   

[paulikens]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Deputy Education Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul expressed concerns about budget constraints impacting the ministry's Learning Anywhere Anytime project, which focuses on online learning for Mathayom 4 to 6 students.

#

Edited Thursday at 11:38 AM by paulikens

[paulikens]

They could save a lot of money on electricity bills if they told Thai teachers to stop having lights on in the daylight ffs.  I can never get my head round that, they have all the lights on in the classrooms and offices and the sun is blazing away.  You only need lights on at night. weirdos 

[herfiehandbag]

6 hours ago, herfiehandbag said:

I'm not sure where Priests come into it?

Actually,on reflection, maybe I have an idea.

 

Was your application for a job at a Catholic School turned down? The interview panel is normally headed by the priest whose parish the school is attached to!

 

There is a lot of criticism of the Thai educational system on this forum. A lot of it is absolutely justified, the post commenting on the classroom arrangements in the OP photograph for example.

 

However quite a lot of it, I suspect, is driven by those who thought it would be easy to walk into a job, on the strength of a white face and and being an English speaker. That may once have been the case perhaps 25 years (or more) ago, and it was a backpacker's staple, and an easy way to get a visa. It is not, certainly in any half decent school, the case anymore.

 

You can expect a fairly rigorous interview, will probably be required to teach a competent demonstration lesson with lesson plans and worksheets, and also to have any credentials you submit checked.

 

Before I retired I was on several occasions asked to serve on these panels at the school I taught at. It was a private Roman Catholic School, albeit with a wide range of discounts and scholarships available for Catholic pupils, especially hill tribe children who boarded. It was quite a good school, fairly popular in the City, although not particularly wealthy.

Each panel looked at half a dozen applicants. The panel included the Parish Priest (English speaker who had studied in the USA), senior nun who had studied in France and 3 or 4 senior teachers. They particularly wanted me to review, and interpret for them, the qualifications presented. Some were very vague and unverifiable - claims of degrees in particular. They were easily verified by emailing the registrar's office of the University - twice the answer came back that they had no record of the individual concerned.

 

Of course it is entirely possible, probable indeed, that you are not one of those. There are however quite a number of them around. A surprising number in fact.

[BangkokReady]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

reduces

 

aiming to reduce

 

These two are not the same.