21 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.

 

Thais don’t care about anything other than money. It’s their GOD. 🤷🏼

On 9/8/2025 at 9:53 AM, 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

 

 

It’s just as well they are poorly educated or soi 6 would have no girls. 🤷🏼

"Reform is essential if we are to empower Thailand’s future through stronger evaluation.”

 

The most important word of this sentence is "if". 

 

As the power holders do not want progress in fear of loosing their grip, in real life they are not to empower masses. Education system is exactly as it is designed to be to prevent progress. 

Today I was almost hissed at because I taught some students a little bit of grammar. Only speaking and let the students copy, I was told. 

6 hours ago, cynic1 said:

Can I get a job at your school? I'll pay the school to work there.🤣 

🚨🚨🚨

On 9/8/2025 at 5:42 AM, 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.

The gest I get at the street level is that the average Thai is not dumb enough to not known whats going on in their country. They see it...but can't say anything about it, muzzeled, yes, dumb, not.

On 9/8/2025 at 3:53 PM, snoop1130 said:

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

Employing an Education minister that knows something about education would be a good start.

The Thai education system is ridiculous,pay a fee and we teach English,pay a fee for computer,pay an extra fee for everything.WHAT DO THEY ACTUALLY TEACH THAT'S WORTHWHILE FOR STUDENTS?

One of the answers is to employ native English speaking teachers who know how to communicate in Thai, vocal and written, to teach English. 

I have yet to meet a Thai who is proficient enough to teach English.

8 hours ago, tonypattaya said:

One of the answers is to employ native English speaking teachers who know how to communicate in Thai, vocal and written, to teach English. 

I have yet to meet a Thai who is proficient enough to teach English.

There aren't many but I have met a quite a few over the years.  They are out there but yes, not easy to find.  

I know other Thais that are very proficient in the English language, have no L1 interference, but the work in other non-education fields.  

On 9/8/2025 at 6:58 PM, Dionigi said:

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. 

I don't doubt that they are lagging. I do doubt that the literacy rate is as high as they claim.

On 9/8/2025 at 7:13 PM, NorthernRyland said:

 

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.

I'm guessing you intended to type "near" ability. You make a good point. The definition for literacy here would be helpful. From what I've read, "Basic literacy" is what is often used as a guide for "Developing nations". It defines literacy as the ability to read and write simple sentences and understand basic texts, such as signs, forms, or instructions. It is often assessed by reading short passages and writing basic sentences, for example, reading and writing a short simple statement on one's everyday life.
"Functional literacy" is often used as the definition for literacy in "Developed nations". It is defined as  the ability to use reading, writing, and numeracy skills to perform everyday tasks, such as filling out job applications, understanding news articles, or managing finances. It may be assessed by the ability to interpret a bus schedule, completing a form, solving basic math problems embedded in text, testing reading comprehension, problem-solving, and applying information in real-world contexts.

Then of course.... how do they define "developing" and "developed" nation!? lol 
Thailand is something of a hybrid, Bangkok being quite different than the rest of the country in many ways. But, the World Bank, the IMF, the UN all classify Thailand as "emerging" or "developing" and the "Human Developing Index" classifies Thailand as "High", but not "Very High", so also keeping it within the "developing" category, but edging toward "developed". 

That said... going by the definition for "Basic literacy" for developing nations, 94% may be accurate, but even at that, it seems like it might be a little on the optimistic side, to me. But if using "Functional literacy" as the standard... wow! I would almost be surprised if you could get up to 70% of the country! I've seen students at the top 3 universities in Thailand unable to be competent in some of the tasks outlined above for "Functional literacy"! So how are the average rice farmers, who might have a 6th grade education, supposed to fare!? 

I may be skeptical, but I think it is with reason.

On 9/8/2025 at 9:29 PM, Hanuman2547 said:

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

Yes. I believe that nearly completely! I do believe the level of corruption in terms of students bribing for grades and graduation has decreased significantly. I know it still happens, but not anywhere near to how it used to be. 

On 9/8/2025 at 10:31 PM, HuaHinNew said:

No Thai student is left behind, no one fails......a solution is provided for every student to pass exams

 

From make-up tests to .......multiple-choice tests (with teacher's assisting)

 

There in lies one of the major problems.........

I've even seen top level university profs ask their students what questions they'd like to have in their exams!!  lol It is so absurdly ridiculous it makes one laugh!

On 9/8/2025 at 7:35 PM, 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.

 

The general rule is that nobody fails class in Thailand, especially in universities, which, btw, have far too many unqualified and inept foreign faculty.

2 hours ago, Sig said:

I don't doubt that they are lagging. I do doubt that the literacy rate is as high as they claim.

Based on?

I've been reading the news here on this site for about 20 years now and, if I recall correctly, every year i read the same article about Thai education system. Nothing new. 

On 9/13/2025 at 1:22 AM, Dionigi said:

Based on?

Based some of what I wrote in the very next comment after the one you chose to comment on. And on over 25 years of experience in and out of various parts of their education system, from experimental kindergarten through work with postgrad students at a few of Thailand's top 5 universities, along with travels and interaction with people from farmers and people in various levels of commerce to upper level management in some top companies in the country. And VERY telling has been interaction with a wide variety of people in the provinces. 

On 9/9/2025 at 9:14 AM, spidermike007 said:

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? 

 

Indeed, I emphasise to my student that they are to ask questions of me, and I am happy if they find I have made a mistake (Not too common but sometimes it happens).  The reason being it means they are paying attention, and learning.  

Although one student (who is very bright) got a shock when he had to do the UCAT exam.

Any teacher who is not able to deal with questions probably does not have enough information in their head, and should not be teaching children that are thinking about what they are being taught.  Any reasonable teacher should be able to answer the student;s question, or be able to direct them to sources where they can fnd out quality information that will answer their questions.

 

There are problems linked into lack of ambition of Thai students to be a good thinker & successful as a result of being able to think well. None want to study abroad when they are perfectly capable of learning in an outside of Thailand university (money is not the problem).

They just pick the easy option, it is easy to get into Thai universities compared to good universities abroad. 

1 minute ago, MarkBR said:

Indeed, I emphasise to my student that they are to ask questions of me, and I am happy if they find I have made a mistake (Not too common but sometimes it happens).  The reason being it means they are paying attention, and learning.  

Although one student (who is very bright) got a shock when he had to do the UCAT exam.

Any teacher who is not able to deal with questions probably does not have enough information in their head, and should not be teaching children that are thinking about what they are being taught.  Any reasonable teacher should be able to answer the student;s question, or be able to direct them to sources where they can fnd out quality information that will answer their questions.

 

There are problems linked into lack of ambition of Thai students to be a good thinker & successful as a result of being able to think well. None want to study abroad when they are perfectly capable of learning in an outside of Thailand university (money is not the problem).

They just pick the easy option, it is easy to get into Thai universities compared to good universities abroad. 

Thank you, very well said and information that people need to know. Curiosity is tantamount to emotional development and without it society is doomed.