Thailand's Global Education Ranking Sparks Controversy and Scrutiny

[Cabradelmar]

This country is so trapped by myths and superstition that it's no wonder their education system gets poor grades. Not to mention they allow anyone to drop out after grade 9. And nothing will change as long as the people in charge first reaction is to question the survey methodology (stop blaming the messenger). This is not the first, nor will it be the last, time the education system in this country has been criticized.  Wake up or stay dumb it seems. You want to solve... Make education free for all through grade 12, build better schools, hire better teachers (and stop blindly praising them just because they are teachers - most are mediocre at best), and use better text books. 

[happysoul]

It's not the survey that's biased or whatever, it's Thai education system. Stop with "army" learning (all by heart and no critical thinking - the teacher is always right) and start teaching kids how to learn, how to think by themselves and be critical. But it will take a couple generations to change as today's teachers aren't capable of critical thinking themselves.

 

Once achieved, the goverment will have to secure their a.... (or do a proper governing job) as population might start a revolution.

[Larry]

If the Thai government would begin to separate words by spaces, kids would not only learn to read sooner, but more importantly, reading would be more enjoyable, and they would read more both for pleasure and for work. Good readers are more successful students and more educated citizens.

[ponder]

15 hours ago, dinsdale said:

I may be wrong on this one I agree. I think by literacy they are simply using the base standard of being able to read and write which basically doesn't reflect educational standards.

The usual definition of literacy is exactly that: the ability to read and write one's own language. I believe that that is what is measured in this World Population Review of countries' education systems. The global average quoted in this report is 72.9%, with several countries found to have literacy rates of below 50% e.g.: Chad, 27%; Burkina Faso, 31%; South Sudan 35%; Afghanistan, 37%; Central African Republic, 37%; Niger, 28%; Somalia, 41%;  Guinea, 45%; and Benin, 47%. In 2021, Thailand was found to have a rate of 94% in this survey (and this is the figure quoted in their 2025 report).

Of course, this is just one factor examined, but I consider it a very important one.

 

[MikeandDow]

7 minutes ago, happysoul said:

It's not the survey that's biased or whatever, it's Thai education system. Stop with "army" learning (all by heart and no critical thinking - the teacher is always right) and start teaching kids how to learn, how to think by themselves and be critical. But it will take a couple generations to change as today's teachers aren't capable of critical thinking themselves.

 

Once achieved, the goverment will have to secure their a.... (or do a proper governing job) as population might start a revolution.

Teacher always right  !!!!  a yank teacher  doing spelling lesson   kids spell  "colour"   no you are wrong  "color" so who is right !!  

[dinsdale]

2 minutes ago, ponder said:

The usual definition of literacy is exactly that: the ability to read and write one's own language. I believe that that is what is measured in this World Population Review of countries' education systems. The global average quoted in this report is 72.9%, with several countries found to have literacy rates of below 50% e.g.: Chad, 27%; Burkina Faso, 31%; South Sudan 35%; Afghanistan, 37%; Central African Republic, 37%; Niger, 28%; Somalia, 41%;  Guinea, 45%; and Benin, 47%. In 2021, Thailand was found to have a rate of 94% in this survey (and this is the figure quoted in their 2025 report).

Of course, this is just one factor examined, but I consider it a very important one.

 

Being literate educationally is much more than being able to read and write. The govt. is only using this base criteria 'cause it looks good. Fools no one except the fools.

[BangkokReady]

1 hour ago, Purdey said:

Hardly worth discussing Thai education if Westerners use loose instead of lose, their instead of they're in the forum.

 

Why?

[gejohesch]

21 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Photo courtesy of Bangkok Post

 

Thailand's education system has become a topic of heated discussion following its placement at 107th out of 203 countries in a global education survey by the World Population Review. This ranking has raised concerns among Thai officials, with some criticising the survey's methodology as misleading.

 

Professor Dr Prawit Erawan, Secretary General of the Office of the Education Council (OEC), questioned the survey's credibility. He argued that the rankings rely heavily on subjective opinions from 78 countries instead of objective educational metrics. "These rankings represent perceptions more than actual educational quality," Dr Prawit stated.

 

The report lists Thailand as 8th in Southeast Asia (ASEAN), sparking further debate. Thai education officials highlighted the nation's high literacy rate of approximately 99% for those aged 15 and over, suggesting that such figures should positively impact Thailand's global standing.

 

Dr Prawit criticised the survey's implicit bias towards affluent countries, noting that it unfairly links educational quality directly to economic status. He believes that if literacy were a significant metric, Thailand could potentially lead the ASEAN rankings.

 

 

 

Acknowledging the survey's perceived flaws, Dr Prawit called for improvements in Thailand's educational database to provide a clearer representation in future global assessments. "An accurate, up-to-date database is crucial for ensuring that our education system's quality is represented correctly in global rankings," he added.

 

Despite these critiques, Dr Prawit conceded that there remains a strong linkage between educational quality and societal progress. While he recognises existing disparities, he remains optimistic, suggesting that improvements in Thailand's data collection and education system could enhance its future positioning.

 

Among the top global education performers, South Korea, Denmark, and the Netherlands rank highly, while within ASEAN, Thailand stands behind Laos but ahead of Myanmar and Cambodia. The discussion continues, as officials and educators alike seek to enhance Thailand's educational landscape, reported The Thaiger.

 

-- 2025-03-26

 

 

Besides other considerations, I find the "high literacy" argument totally misleading. True, it's difficult to find a Thai person who cannot read. But what beyond just being "able to read"? A large part of the population, certainly in the rural parts, does zero "real reading". People there only read the forms they have to fill in or that they get from the administration (and often with difficulty), or religious material. Apart of that, it's all about "reading" stuff on the social media. Few people read books. It's of course not necessarily 100% true, but I guess what I see in the villages in Isan is representative to a good degree of the reality in Thailand : I have never ever seen books in a house in Isan. My wife went to school until she was 12, she can read but with some difficulty. Some members in her family cannot read at all.

[CecilM]

Seeing what errors sis-in-law's kids are learning in school, I'm not surprised.

[IrishInThailand]

Not bad to be so high in ratings ?  Thai education struggles outdated methods, limiting many kids prospects for sure .Getting a job in a "starbucksys" seems to be considered a great thing !  But still the rankings show improvement

[cdemundo]

The private school kids are smart as can be.

The parents are rich and intend that their kids will be rich as well.

 

Government schools? 

I don't know, not all are bad I guess.

[newbee2022]

22 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

These rankings represent perceptions more than actual educational quality," Dr Prawit stated.

Said somebody with experience and knowledge.

I will agree.

[thesetat]

22 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Acknowledging the survey's perceived flaws, Dr Prawit called for improvements in Thailand's educational database to provide a clearer representation in future global assessments. "An accurate, up-to-date database is crucial for ensuring that our education system's quality is represented correctly in global rankings," he added.

 

Despite these critiques, Dr Prawit conceded that there remains a strong linkage between educational quality and societal progress. While he recognises existing disparities, he remains optimistic, suggesting that improvements in Thailand's data collection and education system could enhance its future positioning.

 

Among the top global education performers, South Korea, Denmark, and the Netherlands rank highly, while within ASEAN, Thailand stands behind Laos but ahead of Myanmar and Cambodia. The discussion continues, as officials and educators alike seek to enhance Thailand's educational landscape, reported The Thaiger.

This guy is smart. If you do not agree with the test, change it to put you in a more favorable light. 

 

What he does not realize is that no matter how they change their data collection or testing. It will still not change the fact that their teaching system is severely flawed. Thailand education budget is the 2nd highest than all of the other departments in the ministries. But there is too much corruption at the starting point all the way down to the teachers. Their teaching methods are outdated and do not promote any self-thinking. The students are refrained from asking questions or offering suggestions other than what dance move they should try for the school show. About the worst in my opinion is that every kid passes. At every grade level. So there is no incentive to learn, No incentive to try and no incentive to achieve better scores as well as no accountability for students who do nothing. Schools are basically babysitters with someone at the front of the room dictating to them. 

 

[atpeace]

5 hours ago, daveAustin said:

That's all fair enough and I agree, but one has to baulk at the incredulity of the Secretary General of the Office of the Education Council in questioning the survey, which is non-bias. It is what it is. He then bandies about word salad--'objective educational metrics'--in a bid to cajole the World Population Review or impress upon readers in general that the system is wrong. 

 

The bottomline is, and aside from the occasional brilliant student, Thailand's general education standard stinks and his typical misdirection is not helping. Points mentioned above: not failing flunkers, laziness and cheating for sure. But, more so, there is an abundance of poorly trained/educated teachers overseeing bored kids with tired rote-learning, making classes 'fun' rather than educational first and foremost, saluting the flag and chanting nationalistic slogans day after day, etc. A lot of time wasted in teaching the wrong things the 'right' way. This is not showing a superior attitude. It just is what it is. I personally couldn't give a monkey's chuff that I may have gleaned a decent education or that my country might be right up there in the rankings. Who cares! I'd still rather be here after all.  

 

I'm also of the mind that the place doesn't need to be world leader, in anything, or need its populace to be proficient English speakers and the rest of it. Thailand is about right where it should be, the people are laidback and generally happier on the face of it than the so-called first world. BUT... Dr Prawit Erawan should perhaps see it how it is, focus more on the above and not try to bs the rest of the world.

Nice reply to my post.  We are basically saying the same thing but you're doing it with more clarity 🙂 Cheers

[Chongalulu]

7 hours ago, atpeace said:

Most live here because it is fun place to pass time and not stress about issues that would make this hard to do in the west.  The society here is happy for the most part and living their life while many here on this forum love the opprotunity to show their superiority which says much about the person doing so than the people they are insulting.

 

As for me, I'm cool with Thailand not becoming an economic first world ecomomy and with a pristine educational system.  Can you imagine how out of place most expats in Thailand  would look if Thailanbd was like Singapore.  I know there are exceptions but most Expats here are not  overachievers. 

 

Lack of structure is what makes Thailand great IMO.  I can relax and not worry about being what others would consider productive.  I have my hobbies and pursue them with a passion which is perfect.  Sure it can be frustrating sometimes but I just remind myself about the last trips back home  where everything was orderly and most people seemed to be just maintaining a boring unsatisfying life.  I enjoy my trips back home but coming back to Thailand even more 🙂

But that’s simply a selfish perspective with no consideration for the younger generation in Thailand whose eduction is being blighted while other more forward thinking competing countries overtake them. That means their opportunities for advancement and improvement are curtailed and with the advent of AI and a requirement for better educated employees they will in fact go backwards. Education is key to a country’s development and standard of living.

[Formaleins]

Those damn kids need a bloody good thrashing!

[atpeace]

9 minutes ago, Chongalulu said:

But that’s simply a selfish perspective with no consideration for the younger generation in Thailand whose eduction is being blighted while other more forward thinking competing countries overtake them. That means their opportunities for advancement and improvement are curtailed and with the advent of AI and a requirement for better educated employees they will in fact go backwards. Education is key to a country’s development and standard of living.

We are different and that is OK.  I  feel no need to insult you and call you selfish because that would be petty.  I think Thais are happier than most back home and if you feel economics is the end all then I'm cool with your measurement of success even though it not how I value a society.  

 

 

 

 

[sambum]

18 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

As long as the non fail policy is used, the education system creates lazy students, and stimulate not to learn or do any effort to reach something in their lives.. People are not different from other countries, but the Government keeps them stupid to stay in power. Suppose that the students are being well educated and see what is going on, they would loose their power and status quickly. And many Thai teachers in any subject have the same problem. Too many students in a classroom, nobody can fail, and some schools even oblige teachers to give no lower grades than 2,5.

 

"People are not different from other countries, but the Government keeps them stupid to stay in power."

 

Exactly - that is why they keep disbanding/barring anybody from the political opposition with any education for the flimsiest of reasons - e.g. Move Forward Party/Future Forward Party. Shameful!

[Zack61]

19 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

As long as the non fail policy is used, the education system creates lazy students, and stimulate not to learn or do any effort to reach something in their lives.

I concur. If one can not take on board, what amounts to constructive criticism, then progress is stifled. 

[LeRoux]

18 hours ago, dinsdale said:

My guess is flawed rather than misleading. 107^th out of 203? Seems way too high IMHO.

Many of the countries that ranked lower have no school system, or only private schools in their major cities.

In other countries "Centers of Islamic Learning" are classified as official schools.  (But they do learn to read Arabic in that environment).

[dinsdale]

1 hour ago, Formaleins said:

Those damn kids need a bloody good thrashing!

Most are good kids, some are lazy and disruptive and some are "special". Shutting down schools for covid IMHO was a huge mistake and has made kids lazier and even more addicted to their phones. Education's a big problem here because although huge amounts of money gets poured into the system a good deal of it ends up in pockets. 

[geisha]

The education system in Thailand is catastrophic. This is spoiling any chances the children have of advancing to something higher, and why there are so many salesgirls and boys in 7/11 jobs, shop staff, cheap restaurant staff, and let’s face it bars and moto taxi drivers. 
The government should drop any idea of Casinos , paralyzed submarines, and train lines to China, and invest in their children’s education and promise them a good chance in life for all, not only the rich. Make full education  obligatory for all too, no more children on the streets/ beaches working. Help the poor families where necessary where there are school benefits as it’s done in other normal countries.

[safarimike11]

4 hours ago, Dr B said:

Just in case you weren't aware, Professor is a position, whereas Dr is a qualification, so it is quite normal for professors to use both.

So, I guess that's the same for the case of Admiral General Aladeen 'in The Dictator' (or then again mebe not)?

[Bundooman]

20 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

 

Sure, yeah.  Edited it to viewed as being "senior".

Nonsense. You have no idea what you are talking about.

Clearly, you have no knowledge of how schools work in Thailand.

 

[safarimike11]

19 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Photo courtesy of Bangkok Post

 

Thailand's education system has become a topic of heated discussion following its placement at 107th out of 203 countries in a global education survey by the World Population Review. This ranking has raised concerns among Thai officials, with some criticising the survey's methodology as misleading.

 

Professor Dr Prawit Erawan, Secretary General of the Office of the Education Council (OEC), questioned the survey's credibility. He argued that the rankings rely heavily on subjective opinions from 78 countries instead of objective educational metrics. "These rankings represent perceptions more than actual educational quality," Dr Prawit stated.

 

The report lists Thailand as 8th in Southeast Asia (ASEAN), sparking further debate. Thai education officials highlighted the nation's high literacy rate of approximately 99% for those aged 15 and over, suggesting that such figures should positively impact Thailand's global standing.

 

Dr Prawit criticised the survey's implicit bias towards affluent countries, noting that it unfairly links educational quality directly to economic status. He believes that if literacy were a significant metric, Thailand could potentially lead the ASEAN rankings.

 

 

 

Acknowledging the survey's perceived flaws, Dr Prawit called for improvements in Thailand's educational database to provide a clearer representation in future global assessments. "An accurate, up-to-date database is crucial for ensuring that our education system's quality is represented correctly in global rankings," he added.

 

Despite these critiques, Dr Prawit conceded that there remains a strong linkage between educational quality and societal progress. While he recognises existing disparities, he remains optimistic, suggesting that improvements in Thailand's data collection and education system could enhance its future positioning.

 

Among the top global education performers, South Korea, Denmark, and the Netherlands rank highly, while within ASEAN, Thailand stands behind Laos but ahead of Myanmar and Cambodia. The discussion continues, as officials and educators alike seek to enhance Thailand's educational landscape, reported The Thaiger.

 

-- 2025-03-26

 

 

The problem with the education in Thailand is the Ministry of Education. My wife's son attended a Bi-lingual Sarasas school - starting matheon 1 - between 2017 and 2020 when he transferred to a college. He had Filipino teachers teaching English one lesson per day and an English teacher teaching one English lesson per week. Being as I worked as a "teacher" in 2 Bi-lingual schools in years previous, I taught him and helped him with his English and Grammar. However, the Maths was a completely different kettle of fish; some of the carp he used to bring home as homework I had never come across and had no clue how to approach. I later asked him if any of the pupils understood it or had completed it and he said no. I qualified as a mechanical technician (C&G Tech Certificates) and later as an electrical technician (ONC). 

[BangkokReady]

48 minutes ago, Bundooman said:

Nonsense. You have no idea what you are talking about.

Clearly, you have no knowledge of how schools work in Thailand.

 

You think that in Thailand young teachers are going to be correcting the older teachers and telling them how to teach?!!

 

It's you that has no knowledge of how Thailand works!

[safarimike11]

27 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

 

You think that in Thailand young teachers are going to be correcting the older teachers and telling them how to teach?!!

 

It's you that has no knowledge of how Thailand works!

Who are you replying to; it doesn't say?

[Andrew65]

On my many visa-runs there I found there to be better spoken English in Cambodia than in Thailand.

[BangkokReady]

6 minutes ago, safarimike11 said:

Who are you replying to; it doesn't say?

 

Bundooman.  I can see it.

[safarimike11]

Just now, BangkokReady said:

 

Bundooman.  I can see it.

Thanks.