Thai schoolgirls studying | Photo via Ron Lach/Pexels

 

Thailand's education system is facing serious scrutiny following recent international assessments that place Thai students in the lower half of global performance tables. This revelation has prompted education experts to warn that, without comprehensive reforms, the country may fall further behind its regional peers in literacy and skills development.

 

The urgency for transformative change was highlighted at the Beyond Assessment: Driving Educational Change Forum in Bangkok last week. According to the upcoming World Population Review 2025, Thailand’s literacy rate stands at 94.1%, trailing behind regional neighbours like Brunei at 97.6%, Singapore at 97.5%, the Philippines at 96.3%, Indonesia at 96%, Vietnam at 95.8%, and Malaysia at 95%.

 

Ong-art Naiyapatana, the Director of the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (ONESQA), pointed out that Thai students have been consistently underperforming in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which focusses on maths, science, and reading literacy.

 

Ong-art stressed, “We need to rethink our approach. Reform is essential if we are to empower Thailand’s future through stronger evaluation.”

 

The situation was further underscored by the OECD Skills Strategy Thailand report released in July, which highlighted a significant shortage of digital skills in the country. Despite efforts by the Digital Council of Thailand to boost digital literacy to 70% by the year's end, only a mere 1% of the population currently possesses advanced digital skills.

 

In response to these challenges, ONESQA is transitioning from Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) to External Quality Assurance (EQA), evolving from an evaluator to a “supportive coach.” This new strategy aims to encourage schools to create Self-Assessment Reports (SARs) and work closely with external experts to tackle their unique challenges.

 

Linthiporn Varinwatchararoj, the acting Deputy Education Minister, highlighted the need for evaluation to be seen as a driver for change rather than a mere bureaucratic exercise.

 

“Assessment is a tool for policy transformation. ONESQA is a strategic partner in ensuring Thailand’s education system becomes competitive on the global stage,” she asserted.

 

Further bolstering these efforts is the launch of an Automated QA Platform by ONESQA, promising schools real-time feedback and reducing evaluation cycles from five years significantly.

 

Piriya Pholphirul, the Director of the Centre for Development Economics Studies, argued that reforms are most effective in regions where quality is high and inequality is low. He called for increased support for schools in lower-performing areas, aiming to raise baseline standards across the board.

 

In conclusion, the path forward for Thailand’s education system lies in embracing these reforms, fostering an environment where students are better equipped with necessary skills, both academically and digitally. The efforts of ONESQA, in partnership with other educational bodies, could set the stage for substantial improvement in global educational standings, ensuring a brighter future for Thai students.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-09-08

 

 

Same song over and over again and again. The Government don't want to educate people more than now, as when the Thai people are being educated they will loose control. Same as in Rome give the people bread and games, but keep them stupid or they will see the mess the country is in and the greed of the wealthy. People's Party try to change thingd, and how much effort is made to prevent them from being in the Government.

3 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

This revelation.....

 

 

3 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thai students have been consistently underperforming

 

 

 

New news or old news?  

 

3 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thai schoolgirls studying

They don't even teach proper sex education. 

 

I'm constantly educating my female friends, they know very little about their bodies and how they can be affected by STI's 

 

I'm amazed by the young women (17yo to early 20's) I meet, their parents send them to work in Pattaya and could not careless about their sexual health.

 

The problem here in Thailand is high school because it's a distaster of mind-washing nonsense. Elementary school is average and the universities are okay... not their fault generally. It's high school where the problem is, and by the time they get to university they have been moronified (if there is such a word). There is no critical thinking taught, no soft skills taught, and if you look at your average Mathyom 3 teacher, they themselves are a mind-washed imbecile in charge of like 40 teenagers.

Once they get to university it's too late as the formative years are gone... they either sink or swin, and even the imbeciles often graduate, hence the perpetuating of the incompetence into the system.

The reform needs to happen in secondary education... that's where the problems is. Sadly, I don't think the Thailand elites want critical thinkers and super-capable graduates as it's a threat to their doninance... a subservient large % of the population as obeying drones that can't better their lives, regardless of what they do, is better for them.

11 minutes ago, Sir Dude said:

Sadly, I don't think the Thailand elites want critical thinkers and super-capable graduates as it's a threat to their doninance

This is true but I also think it also comes down to most Thai people not wanting to learn these skills either. Kids don't care, parents don't care, teachers don't care,  administration doesn't care, government doesn't care. No one gives a damn, they just want be rich. The only people who care about this topic are foreigners or foreigner obsessed Thais.
 

In a way the honesty is admirable, because why should they care? Life is very okay for most people in Thailand. Anyone claiming you need to be super "educated" to climb the ranks of Thai society is delusional, all you need is connections. The most competent person doesn't get hired, the most well connected person (or highest status) gets hired, and this is also true in the West. Thais knows this so what's the point?
 

Moreover, are the citizens of countries like the US or Bongland any better because their "critical thinking skills" and literacy are superior? Europe in general is a poor dumpster fire of a landmass where women can't even walk around at night without fearing assault or even rape. This is because of policies brought on by so called "critical thinking skills". Is it even worth commenting on the average Americans ability to reason?
 

There is another silver lining. If you educate your kids yourselves they will easily outshine their peers. Even just tutoring them on the weekends will make a huge difference. It's so easy to be a big fish in a small pond in this country. If you don't yet have the skills to teach your kid highschool level math and science hit the books old man. 

Problem in Thailand is they are taught what to think, not how to think.

Problems are numerous and deep seated but IMHO it starts with the culture of corruption which is endemic from top to bottom in the entire educuation system here in Thailand. Money goes into pockets and making schools look good rather than what's needed for actual education. Met a teacher where at the school they worked at they had a smart board. This was not allowed to be used. It was for advertising purposes only. More students in means more money generated which meant more money primarily going into the director's pocket. My daughter goes to the top public school which is the number one school in the Amphur. The director introduced facial recognition units for both teachers and students. Parents had to pay Bt500 for each child they had at the school. It's a large school. Nice profit margin on this let me tell you.

Folks the west is over run with junk food eating, TV watching, non critical thinking sheeple too....Loads off them as a matter of fact....
If Thai teachers dont know how to think independently themselves....Well...Where does that leave the kids..

3 hours ago, Sir Dude said:

The problem here in Thailand is high school because it's a distaster of mind-washing nonsense. Elementary school is average and the universities are okay... not their fault generally. It's high school where the problem is, and by the time they get to university they have been moronified (if there is such a word). There is no critical thinking taught, no soft skills taught, and if you look at your average Mathyom 3 teacher, they themselves are a mind-washed imbecile in charge of like 40 teenagers.

Once they get to university it's too late as the formative years are gone... they either sink or swin, and even the imbeciles often graduate, hence the perpetuating of the incompetence into the system.

The reform needs to happen in secondary education... that's where the problems is. Sadly, I don't think the Thailand elites want critical thinkers and super-capable graduates as it's a threat to their doninance... a subservient large % of the population as obeying drones that can't better their lives, regardless of what they do, is better for them.

 

Not that I disagree, but 40 students in a class explains so much. The classroom size is too large for effective instruction.

I benefited from elementary to high school class sizes of between 21 and 26. At a class size of 30+, the teacher  becomes more of a surveillance agent or caretaker.

 

All versions of this story (and we see them regularly) fail to report a very important point - all Asean countries create, administer, report and compare their own tests to the students. There is no common, universal standard so these correlations between Asean countries are useless.

 

Mind you, I'm not defending the Thai educational system, far from it. I have just become aware this school year of how completely useless this testing system and the results are. The school I teach at declared we would align ourselves more closely to the Ministry of Education's edicts this year, so I started studying the standards. What I found was demoralizing to the point I stepped down as a teacher for older students.

 

The tests administered were obviously not written by a qualified native speaker. Far too many misspellings, grammar errors, and the AMBIGUITY of the questions/answers was staggering. I was considering asking some of my American counterparts to give one of these tests to native speaking students to see how they fared, but ran out of steam when I realized the futility of such an effort.

 

Yes, the Thai educational system is rife with corruption, and free, frank, and fearless speech - the willingness to speak the truth for the common good - is completely suppressed, but to think these tests are a fair indication of the state of the Thai educational system is ridiculous.

9 hours ago, Sir Dude said:

not their fault generally.

I think you are wrong. My elementary kids get sent home to do homework that they have not even been taught about. Even my KG child has this done to him. My children, which are quite intelligent, struggle to understand what their Thai teacher teaches and their teachers do not explain further how to do their math problems correctly. Instead they use rote learning and question for more information is not accepted in the classroom or privately. The teachers think understanding is not needed. Last year I had a chat with the director of their school.. He flat out told me the school does not care if the children know or understand the work they are given to do. All that matters is they pass their test. Luckily he was replaced this year with a new director however, I think this attitude is a nationwide problem. 

The school system is not set up to learn. It is set up to copy and do without knowing or understanding what you do. Everyone passes their grade levels so it is not based on knowledge or performance or even comprehension. 

 

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Ong-art stressed, “Reform is essential

Hey now, you might be on to something here..., but if it stresses you  - take a lunch break. 

Well, the easiest way solve this is to stop the "automatic pass"!

When this semester started, I got 3 students who didn't know ABC and 2 who were even struggling with the Thai alphabet. And these are students that have passed grade 9!

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand's education system is facing serious scrutiny following recent international assessments that place Thai students in the lower half of global performance tables. This revelation has prompted education experts to warn that, without comprehensive reforms, the country may fall further behind its regional peers in literacy and skills development

Another scrutiny.. how many in the last decade..

How many improvements??

2 minutes ago, Kasset Tak said:

nd these are students that has passed grade 9!

Seems their teacher must learn some more English as well. (students has passed?)

My stepdaughter in elementary school here was given an exercise in English language.  10 sentences in incorrect order to be changed to proper English.  I did not see her paper until she received her grade.  9 of her 10 responses were marked as correct.  In fact, it should have been 1 correct and the other 9 incorrect.  Quality of teachers is a big problem here.  

2 hours ago, thesetat said:

I think you are wrong. My elementary kids get sent home to do homework that they have not even been taught about. Even my KG child has this done to him. My children, which are quite intelligent, struggle to understand what their Thai teacher teaches and their teachers do not explain further how to do their math problems correctly. Instead they use rote learning and question for more information is not accepted in the classroom or privately. The teachers think understanding is not needed. Last year I had a chat with the director of their school.. He flat out told me the school does not care if the children know or understand the work they are given to do. All that matters is they pass their test. Luckily he was replaced this year with a new director however, I think this attitude is a nationwide problem. 

The school system is not set up to learn. It is set up to copy and do without knowing or understanding what you do. Everyone passes their grade levels so it is not based on knowledge or performance or even comprehension. 

 

This is because the Thai teachers are teaching tutorial classes after school, and if the parents don't pay for their children to take the tutorials...

I used to work with one teacher doing like that, his salary was 15k, and then he was making about 100k from the tutorial classes...

Keep the masses down and glued to their social media .

Education might lead to large amounts of people getting ideas above their station and wealth bracket and the rich certainly don't want that .

3 minutes ago, thesetat said:

Seems their teacher must learn some more English as well. (students has passed?)

Well, it's just too easy to use the auto correct/suggestions...

If PISA would include subjects like LINE, TIKTOK, or FACEBOOK abilities....Thailand would rank at the top. (but only reels)

Education is not important. Thais don't need to know history, geography or rational thinking. They certainly don't need the language of dirty farangs. Mathematics, yes, because Chinese are good at that.

 

But most important for Thai children is that they love the country, love the flag, love Buddhism and crawl when they are ordered to. This is what makes a good Thai. Not education. 

https://www.uscareerinstitute.edu/blog/which-countries-have-the-highest-and-lowest-literacy-rates

 

According to this US survey Thailand comes in at 94% literacy, which is counting people who can read and write at 15. It may not be at the top but is certainly no where near the bottom rankings and yes its literacy could definitely do with improvement. 

I have over 10 years of first-hand experience within the university system here. The kind of political nonsense that goes on in the administration is mind-boggling! Some of them might actually think they are doing the right thing, but the professors are fighting each other incessantly. It's truly amazing anything gets accomplished at all. The sort of thing that passes for education is a complete joke on many levels. Students cheating on tests are often not punished AT ALL. Bribery, thankfully, seems to be less than in previous years. Keeping your university rank by whatever means possible is sometimes the political task at hand and there are pushes for various things to do that, which are often done by deception, lying, cheating, etc. I remember one professor who replied to me, when I asked him how on earth he can stand dealing with such a large number of students who don't care at all, don't study, fail exams, don't do homework, eat and sleep in class, etc, etc, etc.... he responded to me, exasperated - What can I do!??? If I fail them, I'll get in trouble! He was candid and said that in fact probably 75% or more of the class he was teaching at the time, should be failed! By the way, this is at a university that everyone in Thailand knows, ranking in the top 5. And the international programs are sometimes the worst, with programs thrown together in order to bring money into the department/faculty. Standards are very low for entrance in many cases and waived in many cases. The hideousness of what goes on in the universities is beyond the pale. There are, on the other hand, some professors who definitely are attempting to do well and are well qualified. But they are so often stymied by the old guard. One of them told me that they just have to wait until those in the lead age out and they hope they can bring in change. They are frustrated and sad, stuck in their predicament. A good number of these profs have excellent education from Europe, the US, Australia, etc. They've seen and experienced good education. They desire to produce it here. The system with the massively proud and corrupt power-holders is a problem, to say the least. It is such a huge mess. It's amazing anyone tries at all.

4 minutes ago, Dionigi said:

https://www.uscareerinstitute.edu/blog/which-countries-have-the-highest-and-lowest-literacy-rates

 

According to this US survey Thailand comes in at 94% literacy, which is counting people who can read and write at 15. It may not be at the top but is certainly no where near the bottom rankings and yes its literacy could definitely do with improvement. 

I'd be amazed if 94% literacy is accurate. I believe it is much lower. They must have a different definition of literacy than I. In the countryside, illiteracy is so common, it's quite shocking.

sadly the same old story.  They have promised change for the past 20 years and nothings changes and never will with the old guard at the helm

Literacy rate is just part of the problem in this part of the world. Just because you are technically literate when you leave school, doesn't mean you do anything of value with it. My wife is literate (in multiple languages), but she hasn't read a book since finishing school (sure, she can read Facebook comments). I got her to read one book earlier this year (The Outsider/Stranger by Camus, no less - and she enjoyed it), but she just doesn't have an interest in books. They were made aversive to her by her school experience, and her parents never read to her nor bought her books as a child. This also needs to change. (I've started buying books for her 9 year old nephew, and we have the parents making him read before he can play computer games... let's see if that can maintain momentum).

Banning phones would be a great start.

Never mind. Once out of high-school they'll open an umpteenth cannabis shop  and make a living out of it. All is great.