I think a lot of issues with many things are related to the word defamation.  It goes against society to tell anyone that they are doing something wrong or that it or they should be doing whatever it is better, correctly or in accordance with the law.  It applies to service in restaurants, hotels, and even police not being on the roadways and stopping people for breaking traffic laws.

2 minutes ago, Sig said:

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.

The web site appears to be the one that is quoted in the article as the % points match. The article says that they are testing reading skills at 15 years of age but I did not see anything about how the data was collected. Still it shows that Thailand is lagging behind some of its neighbours in literacy which seems to be a common perceptive of the area. 

Drugs alcohol and getting married at 14yrs old 

13 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

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.

 

 

You're talking to 17 year old girls who are your "friends" about sexual transmitted diseases? 🤔

22 minutes ago, Sig said:

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.

 

Are you talking nero ability to read or just poor reading? I've caught Thai people making really obvious spelling mistakes which surprised me but never met an actual Thai person who could not read at all.

There is a seismic shift taking place. The youth are getting tired of the tiny boxes they are being asked to live within, and becoming more open, forward thinking, creative and progressive. They want the nation to move forward. And there is a significant percent of the "older" population that wants everything to remain the same, feels a level of comfort living within that tiny box, with a very limited horizon, and is scared, very scared of change and progress.

 

Part of that progress has to be encouraging the ability for students to question their teachers. How are you supposed to learn if you can ask questions and if you're being taught by people that are so fragile emotionally, that they can't handle being asked a question by their student? 

 

The top 10,000 cannot afford an educated lower class, namely the remaining 70,000,000. This would seriously jeopardize their leading position. Therefore, leave them stupid!

14 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

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.

Something I want to say here about the literacy rate. The numbers quoted (over 90% for Thailand) mean only "persons who can read and write" (literally!), they are no indication whatsoever of what sort of material is actually read. In the case of Thailand, my impression is that material read is extremely little. With years spent in Thailand, I cannot remember having seen many Thai people reading sthg of quality. In Isan, for example, apart of religious material, nothing whatsoever. Has any one ever seen a bookshelf in Isan???

 

The result is an appalling intellectual shallowness with I think most of the population. And yes, I agree, it's partly on purpose.

In 40 years living here I never ever read anything else. They increased the number of years; that's it. 

A school provides EDUCATION. Bilateral dialogue between teachers and pupils/students is the key and not the doomed American system which hammers everything into brains to remember a short time to carry the kid through the test.

The European system is based on logic, i.e. know where to look something up. The brain is furthermore trained to juggle between languages these days - here again Thailand follows the American system and the result is extremely poor if non-existing command of a second language. 

The family back home provides BRINGING UP, teach the rights and the wrongs, being a member of a (small) community where the individual - specially the kids - are not the most important thing. Playing simple board games is much more fun than being glued to a smart tablet or a mobile phone. In a family everybody has his/her little role to perform, be it cleaning its own room, making the bed, do the dishes or carrying out the garbage. 

Today it seems, that parents wake up because the unpaid alarm went off, feed the kids unhealthy breakfast in a hurry, drop off the kids in an unpaid car and then queue in endless traffic jams - as a daily routine - on the way to work. Once there, perform a unliked job, have a quick, mostly unhealthy sugar- and MSG-loaded street food lunch, race back to the office, reverse the trip back home in traffic jams in the unpaid car and eventually cook a TV dinner in the unpaid kitchen/house. This neo-slavery is rampant, on the country side it is the same dependence as the agricultural land is, more often than not, being "mortgaged" with a loan shark while the revenue usually hardly pays the actual costs. 

You have to revamp the society system; teach Thais that making mistakes in learning has nothing to do with losing face, the family hierarchy begins at the top and ends with the children, upbringing a child is the responsibility of parents and family and certainly NOT the school with its fancy school buses and silly uniforms. 

Don't hammer racism and an undeserved superiority feeling into children's brains, the dirty Farang or the Khaek from Southasia or Africa are people like them, teach them languages by starting to broadcast TV programmes and cartoons in their original language (English, Japanese?) which will teach the kids a second language before they are ten years of age. Only spend money you've earned already, free yourself from the slavery of maxed credit cards and towering monthly payments for years if not decades to come.

Impossible; yes - I will not see anything improving in my life anymore - but every long journey starts with the first steps. Do not depend on the state or governments, start within your range of authority. Vote for professionals who present a party programme for country and people and get the oligarch elite out of your life. A long and tedious outlook but that's what every country, every society on every continent is going through; some more, some less successful. But not doing anything is the worst which can be done! 
 

My first visit to Thailand was in 2004.   14 trips since .  Last one in 2019.  On my first trip in 2004 I was in general impressed with the general education of the Thais I met.  They could read and write and do basic math.  I am in America and was born in 1957,  The high school kids I now see and hear can barely form complete sentences.  So in a relative way, I thought the Thailand education level for what I will call "blue collar" working class seemed pretty good.

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

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

 

 

not one word about poor quality of teaching.

all these new forms are very nice, but the one who has to teach is not competent.

there should be focus, instead of all new methods...

in Thai schools they don't teach general history, except Thai history only!

geography: "mai mee"!

like there's no other country but Thailand!

like there's nothing drastic happening in the world of today!

i just cannot understand this!

 

    We get an article like this every year.  And, every year, Thailand drops from the year before.  And, every year, the same 'scrutiny' declared, but maybe a different word used.  Lots of blah, blah, blah, promises of change and improvement, etc., etc., but then right back to the same old same old.  Next year's headline might be, "Thailand vows reforms after yet another poor global educational ranking."   Or, perhaps, the ever popular, ever vague, "ponders" in place of "vows".  

14 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

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.

Soon, there might be no need for education as all you need is an electronic devise and connection to an AI app. 

47 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

 

You're talking to 17 year old girls who are your "friends" about sexual transmitted diseases? 🤔

That's what I said 

15 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

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 Govern ?ment.

very true,the goverment could not cope if they were educated. ever wondered why you hardly see anything agout,riots,protests uprisings on tv. ??????

If we look around, we see a country in great transition.  When my 50 year old wife was very young, in a countryside village, there was only one television in the area -- certainly no computers, search engines or AI.  Now, every kid has a smart phone with international data access through social media and search engines.  With the growth in AI -- which actually does require critical thinking to use properly -- the definition of education will be changing. 
In the north, above Chiang Mai, many of the people over 60 years of age only speak the Northern language, they do not even speak Thai -- and of course, they are 100% Thai citizens, born and raised.  Funny when I go to the local market and speak Thai and no one understands me -- and in this case it's not my accent. 
Critical thinking is key to education, and critical thinking has historically not been allowed, or encouraged in public schools.  It will take another generation to better control education and corruption, but Thailand seems to be moving in the right direction -- albeit slower than some people might like.  Medical training must improve, the civil code legal system has a lot of room for improvement, and I believe this will all happen over time.  Even the legalization of cannabis, which I support, turned into a cluster f*** due to a serious lack of critical thinking.  This lack of critical thinking results in the government closing the barn door after the horses are already out.    

 

Quick story: the hotel reservation girl had a Thai teacher boyfriend who needed help with an English exam. He taught physical education. Sure I said.
 

One day she shows up with her phone which has English questions on it, as the boyfriend was screen capturing, while taking the exam. 

 

Oh well, said I would help. Didn’t realize this was the way. Long story short….He passed. 
 

But, never again from my part.

16 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

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.

 

Sounds like the UK. Ate least the Thai economy isn't going under like the UK.

15 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

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.

 

Luckily they have your "hands on" experience to fall back on…

15 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

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.

 

Why are you meeting and talking to 17-year-old children? 

1 minute ago, Advocate said:

 

Sounds like the UK. Ate least the Thai economy isn't going under like the UK.

Actually nothing  like the UK if you consult Pisa educational tables. It does have a different set of issues relating to mental health, but not the insidious,chronic structural educational problems of Thailand for which there is no desire to properly address. 

4 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Why are you meeting and talking to 17-year-old children? 

Shall I drop you a pin..? 😜 

2 hours ago, rumeaug said:

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

I've had numerous conversations with the director at my school about the future of our students. Now, this school is like no other school I've taught at. This director got educated in London and she is a realist. I had a serious disagreement with the "head" of our English department and she took my side, usually unheard of here.

 

What you say here is most likely their best option. Not necessarily a weed shop, but the service industry is their best hope of finding a way to feed and clothe themselves. And, as disgusting as it sounds, influencers actually make good money, but it's a very tough row to hoe. Initially it takes a lot of money to get them rolling and it's nowhere near as glamorous as they make it look. The future looks bleak overall for youth, and that's all around the globe.

2 hours ago, Sig said:

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.

It was exactly like this over 30 years ago at the top Thai universities.  Nothing has changed!

16 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Why are you meeting and talking to 17-year-old children? 

Why are you calling bar girls children?

 

Very disrespectful Fritzy. 😡

 

 

51 minutes ago, Kat Hao said:

If we look around, we see a country in great transition.  When my 50 year old wife was very young, in a countryside village, there was only one television in the area -- certainly no computers, search engines or AI.  Now, every kid has a smart phone with international data access through social media and search engines.  With the growth in AI -- which actually does require critical thinking to use properly -- the definition of education will be changing. 
In the north, above Chiang Mai, many of the people over 60 years of age only speak the Northern language, they do not even speak Thai -- and of course, they are 100% Thai citizens, born and raised.  Funny when I go to the local market and speak Thai and no one understands me -- and in this case it's not my accent. 
Critical thinking is key to education, and critical thinking has historically not been allowed, or encouraged in public schools.  It will take another generation to better control education and corruption, but Thailand seems to be moving in the right direction -- albeit slower than some people might like.  Medical training must improve, the civil code legal system has a lot of room for improvement, and I believe this will all happen over time.  Even the legalization of cannabis, which I support, turned into a cluster f*** due to a serious lack of critical thinking.  This lack of critical thinking results in the government closing the barn door after the horses are already out.    

 

I see no evidence of any meaningful shift in critical thinking,nor the environment that might usher in that - in fact there’s an institutional structure that prevents this. What is unarguable is that vs the rest of the region, and globally, Thailand continues to fall further behind. Nor do I see any motivation at base level for that to change. An intellectually incurious culture. 

4 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Why are you calling bar girls children?

 

17-year-olds are not allowed to work in a bar and they are children as they are under 18: Thai Child Welfare: https://www.thaibusinesslawfirm.com/articles-news/thai-child-welfare-a-guide-for-foreigners-and-the-role-of-a-lead-law-firm-in-bangkok/

Just now, FritsSikkink said:

17-year-olds are not allowed to work in a bar and they are children as they are under 18: Thai Child Welfare: A Guide for Foreigners and the Role of a Lead Law Firm in Bangkok - Thai business law firm 

Only a fool would think 17yo are not working in bars. 

 

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

Soon, there might be no need for education as all you need is an electronic devise and connection to an AI app. 

Well that’s certainly an uneducated appreciation of what AI is about….

1 minute ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Only a fool would think 17yo are not working in bars. 

 

Hope you get arrested while dating children.