Most Thai Teachers Fail In Their Own Subjects

[FM505]

Not good enough..Who are teaching the teachers??

Bingo...!

Test the University level profs now... all of them.

[scotbeve]

In my last ten years in The USA I worked with hundreds of teachers (I am not a teacher), now in Thailand my first and lasting impression of the teachers I've met has been that they are in it for the pay and the social status.

Many of the teachers I knew in The USA had a little saying about some of the kids--"The less you know, the more you think you know because you don't know you don't know.

Those teachers considered that a deffinition of the problem they were working to solve. Thai teachers don't seem to understand--or care.

which brings up a point about education in Thailand, as I see and have heard from Thai University Professors. The Thai education system doesn't allow questions from the students. They are expected to go along and not rock the boat. This is a major about face with students in the U.S. In fact, teachers in the U.S. require students to ask questions, it's part of their grading system. It's all about face with the Thai's. If a student asks a question that the teacher doesn't know the answer, loss of face. I personally have helped Thai students in their English lessons, and had the Thai English teacher mark the lesson as incorrect. Even after sending back to the teacher the reference to the correct answer, was still marked as incorrect, mainly because the Thai teacher can never be wrong. go figure..

To true!!! Seen it before with my kids when they went to a private Thai school. Pulled them out of there as soon as possible....

My daughter is now attending a long-established uni in BKK. She's in the international side and there's quite a few foreign students in her classes. In one class, there's a young Thai lawyer (hold off on the lawyer jokes for a few minutes please...) teaching Jurisprudence. All (not some) ALL of the foreign students can not understand his English and his direction except for one word - READ.... The lad (teacher) will be getting a review shortly after a group of students put in a petition to the dean. BTW - the teacher is in his first year teaching and was a graduate of the uni.

[sonofagun]

On a recent holiday with my wife in Thailand, we met an Thai English teacher who refused to speak to me. My wife had to translate between us.

I was so upset that I nearly had an argument with my wife: "How could you possibly teach a language you cannot even speak?" The answer was that she was only teaching grammar and that is the way it is done in Thailand. That's a con job if I ever saw one. Poor kids...

[hhiser]

This report is frankly misleading.

The test that the teachers took (OBEC) was not the same kind of test that is taken by the students (O-NET).  It's perfectly possible that the test was particularly difficult, even for experienced teachers.  The results are meaningless and the journalism shoddy.

Wow a voice of reason! But having said that, we should still should be concerned with the quality of education in Thailand. The no-fail policy is horrible! No wonder Thailand has standardized tests for almost everything, similar to the US. Plus in Thailand, even job applicants have to take tests, further evidence that many employers do not trust the education achievements of its applicants. Especially since wealthy families can buy their children the best education available. 

[jombom]

Quote post 153

BODMAS

Brackets

Order

Division

Multiplication

Addition

Subtraction

end quote

This unfortunately, is a common error. The correct version is BOMDAS, or BEMDAS, or PEMDAS. (Exponent replaces Order and Parenthesis replaces Brackets)

Multipliication is a superior operation to division, because e.g. 4x3 is the same as 3x4. However, this is not true for division Therefore multiplication takes precedence over division.

[richieudon]

Moderators,

Please note the "American slagfest" in some of the above replies. I can not see what Americanisms (colloquialisms), teaching methods in America, and Americans general IQ has got to do anything with the topic.

Here's a letter for you to read, sorry it has to be said...

John Cleese Letter to America (Notice of Revocation of Independence) - Urban Legends

[ihunnieibee]

In my last ten years in The USA I worked with hundreds of teachers (I am not a teacher), now in Thailand my first and lasting impression of the teachers I've met has been that they are in it for the pay and the social status.

Many of the teachers I knew in The USA had a little saying about some of the kids--"The less you know, the more you think you know because you don't know you don't know.

Those teachers considered that a deffinition of the problem they were working to solve. Thai teachers don't seem to understand--or care.

which brings up a point about education in Thailand, as I see and have heard from Thai University Professors. The Thai education system doesn't allow questions from the students. They are expected to go along and not rock the boat. This is a major about face with students in the U.S. In fact, teachers in the U.S. require students to ask questions, it's part of their grading system. It's all about face with the Thai's. If a student asks a question that the teacher doesn't know the answer, loss of face. I personally have helped Thai students in their English lessons, and had the Thai English teacher mark the lesson as incorrect. Even after sending back to the teacher the reference to the correct answer, was still marked as incorrect, mainly because the Thai teacher can never be wrong. go figure..

To true!!! Seen it before with my kids when they went to a private Thai school. Pulled them out of there as soon as possible....

My daughter is now attending a long-established uni in BKK. She's in the international side and there's quite a few foreign students in her classes. In one class, there's a young Thai lawyer (hold off on the lawyer jokes for a few minutes please...) teaching Jurisprudence. All (not some) ALL of the foreign students can not understand his English and his direction except for one word - READ.... The lad (teacher) will be getting a review shortly after a group of students put in a petition to the dean. BTW - the teacher is in his first year teaching and was a graduate of the uni.

I believe I was in this class....

To add: It wasn't just the foreign students ONLY, it was also Thai students who couldn't understand.... I believe this teacher is a nice guy, good guy, and could possibly be a decent teacher, but for the Thai program, not the International program.....There would probably be about 10 students in class every time....(The first class was like 100 students...give or take a few...)

My boyfriend had been telling me .. "Oh everyone knows that Thai lawyers have really bad English..." Well I don't think that should be an excuse for him teaching to us and no one being able to understand.

[chmiroau]

I am sure that you are right. Education is changing so fast these days, and what is politically correct to teach is also changing. How are the teachers supposed to keep up.

It would be interesting to do the same exercise in other countries. I wonder how many would do any better?

[ryladie99]

Also see the article in Newsweek: The Destruction of Thailand's Global Brand - Newsweek

"Thailand's scores on the TOEFL exam, the test of English skills for students heading to university, now consistently rank amongthe lowest in Asia"

I agree with your post but, I urge everyone to educate Thai government changing the curriculum as such in order to complete with the 21th century. TOEFL is not an easy subject for the Thais. Remember, Thailand had never been colonized by anyone so, it is no way Thai students will do well with English plus if you go to elementary schools you will see how little the Thais teach English. ( less than 3 hours per week ) English is not an easy language to learn and it takes a person so much time and energy to master. Learning another language is problem for the Thais..so, The Thais need qualify teachers who can read, write and communicate effectively in English. These will apply to TOEFL centers as well. Now it is about time for the Thais to demand the outcome before paying handsome for schools or the TOEFL training placees....

By the way, how many Thais can afford paying 50,000 dollars for studying in America??? ( foreign students ) Now, that why Thais never pay attention to English...... Some Thais say to me that they have fish in the water and rice in the field so they are happy and doing fine. Why do they need others unless they want to own Louis Vutiton or Chanel coutours. My point and I am standing tall.

[ryladie99]

People in glass houses..................! I'm in the UK just now and I despair of the standard of English here in ALL spheres of life. It appears that all the rules of grammar are totally forgotten. Split infinitives, using between instead of amongst, or aggravate instead of annoy, the misuse of the appostrophe; the list is endless. Ask a school kid nowadays about general analysis or parsing and you are looked upon as either cursing or talking a foreign language. Also the amount of Americanisms creeping into everyday usage is worrying as everyone knows the Yanks can't spell and their speech philosophy seems to be 'Why say something in two words when ten will do?!' My favourite hate, which is meaningless to boot, being 'At this moment in time' - urgh! What's wrong with - now?

Yes I agree Americans are killing the english language and as I have said if these thai english teachers are being taught by Americans then they may very well fail and no fault of thier own. If an American was to sit an english exam in an english school they to may surely fail because they have been taught American. Just look on your microsoft word program you have a choice between the American language and the english language.

Love Both of your comments. You both are so Right 100%. ( honest and well done )

Thanks

[scotbeve]

Moderators,

Please note the "American slagfest" in some of the above replies. I can not see what Americanisms (colloquialisms), teaching methods in America, and Americans general IQ has got to do anything with the topic.

Here's a letter for you to read, sorry it has to be said...

John Cleese Letter to America (Notice of Revocation of Independence) - Urban Legends

Richie,

Yes, yes.... I came here for an argument - no you didn't.... and so on... LMAO first time I read that. (I'm one of the 1% of Americans that enjoy a good self-deprecating skit). Billy Connelly also has a good go at us Yanks - equally funny.

[chmiroau]

It is a crying shame that education here in Thailand has become more of a business than what the western world believes is a right.

For Thailand to move forward the education system needs to be overturned. The first thing that needs to go is the no fail culture. I am sure that the Thai children are not that different to any other children from all parts of the world, it is just the culture that they are exposed to that makes them different. Change the educational culture and you will change the children, therefor you will change the future of Thailand as a whole.

I am another one of those English teachers, and when I got a pass on my Tesol certificate, I also got the comment, and I quote "That is what you paid for". I for one, worked dam_n hard for that certificate, and I now work dam_n hard to make sure that my students get the best that I can give them. I encourage my students to ask questions of me, English is hard, and a very complicated language if you look hard enough at it. When I am asked a question, I see an opportunity for me to learn and become a better teacher. Having said that, I believe that if I was given an English test by a professor of linguistics I would defiantly fail. This does not mean that I am ineffective as a teacher, so I do believe that the above article is misleading, if somewhat sensational (as most news is).

Change the culture of definite 70% pass, and you will no doubt get better teachers.

[bobbyreg]

Oh my god. No wonder when I asked peeople in Thailand with 13 years of education

and did not recognise such names as Genghis Khan, Adolf Hitler, Dalai Lama and

Gandi. Could not point where Europe was or where the USA was. Could not tell me

a single planet in the Universe.

Wish your mental capacity has not been damaged by suffering under such incomprehensibly poor reasoning. You appear to be moron in your judgment above. P.S Expand your census, hence it will give you reasonable claim at least. Who such individual a monopoly of knowledge? Cheers J

[richieudon]

Moderators,

Please note the "American slagfest" in some of the above replies. I can not see what Americanisms (colloquialisms), teaching methods in America, and Americans general IQ has got to do anything with the topic.

Here's a letter for you to read, sorry it has to be said...

John Cleese Letter to America (Notice of Revocation of Independence) - Urban Legends

Richie,

Yes, yes.... I came here for an argument - no you didn't.... and so on... LMAO first time I read that. (I'm one of the 1% of Americans that enjoy a good self-deprecating skit). Billy Connelly also has a good go at us Yanks - equally funny.

Glad you enjoyed it. I know I did..

[stingray]

Oh my god. No wonder when I asked peeople in Thailand with 13 years of education

and did not recognise such names as Genghis Khan, Adolf Hitler, Dalai Lama and

Gandi. Could not point where Europe was or where the USA was. Could not tell me

a single planet in the Universe.

No they can't, but they know about 'Thai Dance"!

[asiawatcher]

For what it it worth - even (example) Regents school and other like it, scam huge fees for International 'education' and I would guess - have a higher pass mark, but not by much. Places Like Bangkok Bilingual School - charge a reasonable fee - teach the Australian New South Wales curriculum (far higher standard that a Thai 'system) and are reasonably priced (annual rate for BBS is the term rate of paces like Regent. But then we have the 'class issue'. Many Thai's send their kids to school based on snob value - not education however, having said that, the levels of education obtainable from these institutions is far superior to most Thai systems.

The forum is more about the teacher and yes this is where - whatever - system - fails. If those teaching the subjects are teaching for money, most will be taking up posts that are not easily filled. Then due to the inability to question 'Ajun' the falsity of the representation of a teacher continues.

Then you have the Royal Thai Government News Agency who purports literacy rates in Thailand is better than 92%! Maybe these guys are all ex politicians and do not want Royalty here to feel they have uneducated subjects. Who would know their reasoning? The way University degrees are handed out, like bus tickets, a photo and a robe, is priceless in abject rudimentary misrepresentation in most instances. Put a locally educated Thai against any offshore equally qualified student or graduate and they would probably rate about 30-50% below international standards of tertiary education, ditto MBA's and Doctorates.

Having employed MBA grads here I was sadly led up the garden path and paid a lot for the mistake in believing the Thai education system. Having my own MBA and PhD I can assure you - whilst the letters don't mean much to me - here it is all the rage to own a degree and in a lot of instances I would suggest that is what they have done - bought them. But then of course, this forum will drag up those 'for' the Thai system but I wonder if they would extend these exams to tertiary education - I would be really interested in THAT result. LOL.

Edited June 10, 2010 by asiawatcher

[scotbeve]

In my last ten years in The USA I worked with hundreds of teachers (I am not a teacher), now in Thailand my first and lasting impression of the teachers I've met has been that they are in it for the pay and the social status.

Many of the teachers I knew in The USA had a little saying about some of the kids--"The less you know, the more you think you know because you don't know you don't know.

Those teachers considered that a deffinition of the problem they were working to solve. Thai teachers don't seem to understand--or care.

which brings up a point about education in Thailand, as I see and have heard from Thai University Professors. The Thai education system doesn't allow questions from the students. They are expected to go along and not rock the boat. This is a major about face with students in the U.S. In fact, teachers in the U.S. require students to ask questions, it's part of their grading system. It's all about face with the Thai's. If a student asks a question that the teacher doesn't know the answer, loss of face. I personally have helped Thai students in their English lessons, and had the Thai English teacher mark the lesson as incorrect. Even after sending back to the teacher the reference to the correct answer, was still marked as incorrect, mainly because the Thai teacher can never be wrong. go figure..

To true!!! Seen it before with my kids when they went to a private Thai school. Pulled them out of there as soon as possible....

My daughter is now attending a long-established uni in BKK. She's in the international side and there's quite a few foreign students in her classes. In one class, there's a young Thai lawyer (hold off on the lawyer jokes for a few minutes please...) teaching Jurisprudence. All (not some) ALL of the foreign students can not understand his English and his direction except for one word - READ.... The lad (teacher) will be getting a review shortly after a group of students put in a petition to the dean. BTW - the teacher is in his first year teaching and was a graduate of the uni.

I believe I was in this class....

To add: It wasn't just the foreign students ONLY, it was also Thai students who couldn't understand.... I believe this teacher is a nice guy, good guy, and could possibly be a decent teacher, but for the Thai program, not the International program.....There would probably be about 10 students in class every time....(The first class was like 100 students...give or take a few...)

My boyfriend had been telling me .. "Oh everyone knows that Thai lawyers have really bad English..." Well I don't think that should be an excuse for him teaching to us and no one being able to understand.

ihunniebee,

I did not use the word ONLY at all. And I agree totally with your statement "Well I don't think that should be an excuse for him teaching to us and no one being able to understand." So please do something about it!!! You, as students, deserve better. Go as a group to the dean with your grievances on paper and sign it - please inform your folks of this and your intentions. I'm backing my daughter up 100%!!!

[ihunnieibee]

scotbeve:

lol I know you didn't use the word "only" I just wanted to emphasize that not only was it foreign, but also Thai...sorry, sometimes things come across the wrong way online haha..

I know your daughter and I'm willing to back her up as well. There are annonymous evaluations of the teachers on the school website thing, I did the evaluation of him based on how I felt, but I'm not sure if it is still an option as the class is already over and the grades are out and everything but maybe your daughter can check, but I suggested to her to talk to the dean, so if she needs me to be there for her I always am...

[scotbeve]

scotbeve:

lol I know you didn't use the word "only" I just wanted to emphasize that not only was it foreign, but also Thai...sorry, sometimes things come across the wrong way online haha..

I know your daughter and I'm willing to back her up as well. There are annonymous evaluations of the teachers on the school website thing, I did the evaluation of him based on how I felt, but I'm not sure if it is still an option as the class is already over and the grades are out and everything but maybe your daughter can check, but I suggested to her to talk to the dean, so if she needs me to be there for her I always am...

Great!! Good to hear some teamwork going on! Never be afraid to question authority... especially when they are apparently wrong.

[ryladie99]

Me and my Thai wife and her two boys from a previous marriage moved to my homecountry a year and half ago. And the boys

education level from Thailand is causing some problems for them in school here.

Maths - They are miles ahead of their peers in my country. So much so that they have become lazy in that subject has the school do not seem to able to give them a challenge. The teacher says they are at least 2 years ahead of their class mates. They have both gone to Isaan village schools.

In other subjects they are a virtual blank....so perhaps they just had a particularily good math teachers.

world History: They had no knowledge at all.

English: They could spell, and the older who was an 8th grader could read a few words.

Geography: Could find Thailand on a map...but not where Europe or America was. And did not understand how to read f.eks a road map at all.

They could sing every song in the Thai universe though.

Here in my country though they are starting to shine, and both are doing fine in school. The younger struggling a bit with his reading though, since he virtueally ahd to start from scratch.

And finally...I only came into their life 3 years ago....

You are a super Dad and I urge you find an English ELD tutor then you will be happy after 6 months. Kids learn well and it does not take long for them to master in school.. Good luck to you all...

[CosmicSurfer]

Also see the article in Newsweek: The Destruction of Thailand's Global Brand - Newsweek

"Thailand's scores on the TOEFL exam, the test of English skills for students heading to university, now consistently rank amongthe lowest in Asia"

I agree with your post but, I urge everyone to educate Thai government changing the curriculum as such in order to complete with the 21th century. TOEFL is not an easy subject for the Thais. Remember, Thailand had never been colonized by anyone so, it is no way Thai students will do well with English plus if you go to elementary schools you will see how little the Thais teach English. ( less than 3 hours per week ) English is not an easy language to learn and it takes a person so much time and energy to master. Learning another language is problem for the Thais..so, The Thais need qualify teachers who can read, write and communicate effectively in English. These will apply to TOEFL centers as well. Now it is about time for the Thais to demand the outcome before paying handsome for schools or the TOEFL training placees....

By the way, how many Thais can afford paying 50,000 dollars for studying in America??? ( foreign students ) Now, that why Thais never pay attention to English...... Some Thais say to me that they have fish in the water and rice in the field so they are happy and doing fine. Why do they need others unless they want to own Louis Vutiton or Chanel coutours. My point and I am standing tall.

There will always be some students that find an inner motivation to learn to speak a language through "Class study"... and they will even take the time and spend the energy to find ways to expand their English (or any language) exposure outside of class, and thereby become proficient in communicating.

BUT.. The average Thai student doesn't feel this motivation, nor even see any reason to expend this time and energy which requires so much more than they have to give for their other subjects... and distracts from watching Soap operas, Horror movies or game shows, reading cartoon, "playing" Computer and hanging out at the mall.

This is a societal problem.. until the government wakes up and forces a cultural change in the average Thai's exposure to English... an exposure that is lacking on almost every level... There will never be any real change in how motivated students are to learning. You can't learn to truly communicate in any language strictly from books, or a few hours a week in a classroom... It must be "lived" and made part of daily communicative tasks. Practice is mandatory, and exposure must be ubiquitous.

For a country the purports to be "Tourist Friendly", it is surprising how difficult it is for the average Tourist to find their way around, once they leave the conducted Tour experience.

Try and find a City Bus with the Route/Destination written in English.. or on a bus stop sign. I guess they feel the "Real" Tourists don't take city buses, as they are all too rich to want to mix with Real Thai people and would only take taxis. If they take a bus they must be part of the unwanted "poor" tourist category.. so why try and accommodate them.

The simple step of placing English on Buses would go a long way to show Thais that English is an important communication tool. Then they could have an actual English Broadcast (Free) TV Channel. And an English Newspaper that was available at all Newsstands in all parts of Thailand, not just in selected Tourist areas. And Subtitled Movies rather than dubbed on TV.. and more Western Sit-coms and Drama shows (legal/Medical, etc.) that demonstrated real life situations and exposure to various cultures.. Not a diet of strictly Hi-So Soap operas and slap-stick comedies with arcane laugh tracks.

This would be a small start.. but it would be necessary to sustain the effort over the long-term, no matter the cost or the market resistance. True change never comes easily or with little cost.

CS

[blazes]

People in glass houses..................! I'm in the UK just now and I despair of the standard of English here in ALL spheres of life. It appears that all the rules of grammar are totally forgotten. Split infinitives, using between instead of amongst, or aggravate instead of annoy, the misuse of the appostrophe; the list is endless. Ask a school kid nowadays about general analysis or parsing and you are looked upon as either cursing or talking a foreign language. Also the amount of Americanisms creeping into everyday usage is worrying as everyone knows the Yanks can't spell and their speech philosophy seems to be 'Why say something in two words when ten will do?!' My favourite hate, which is meaningless to boot, being 'At this moment in time' - urgh! What's wrong with - now?

Yes I agree Americans are killing the english language and as I have said if these thai english teachers are being taught by Americans then they may very well fail and no fault of thier own. If an American was to sit an english exam in an english school they to may surely fail because they have been taught American. Just look on your microsoft word program you have a choice between the American language and the english language.

I'm surprised the administrator let this mini sub-thread to stand. The guy (I am Welsh/Canadian) complaining about the Yanks cannot himself spell the word "apostrophe" (I guess he doesn't use Spell Check). As for the "Yes, I agree Americans are killing the english [sic] language.." guy, what an appalling demonstration of how to spika da eeengleesh without a clue.

[lingyaiyai]

I'm constantly amazed at how many people get their calculator to work out 2 x something or even 10 x something! Does nobody have basic arithmetic skills now? This report does not surprise me in the least

I have seen a 7 Eleven employee use a calculator to add 9 to 100 - amazingly she did come up with the right answer.

Most cashiers look very puzzled if the correct money is placed on the counter before the till presents the total, they never say anything though and I assume that they think the old Farang has some sort of mystical power. (He does - he was taught basic maths properly many decades ago!)

[fiercesnake]

1) Is this for international schools inclusive? or just local Thai schools?

2) Does anyone know the standard for international schools in Thailand? any such test conducted there?

No international schools are not included. ISAT can release more details for those interested. The article in question is largely why many Thai are attempting to get their children to International schools as much as possible as soon as they reach the base salary enough to support their children in these schools. Reality is though that you will need to pay a lot to receive a good education here. Some of the lesser known international schools are very questionable. However the good mid-sized international schools such as St. Andrews, Bangkok Prep, Regents and the larger Internationals such as ISB, Harrow, NIST and Rumarudee (to name only a few) are of exceptionally high standards. Of course the down side is cost. Unfortuantely the average Thai can not possibly afford these places.

Whether the tests are standardised, fair or whatever, clearly the Thai education system is poor in general. "One misstep was a failure of long-term thinking. During the good years, neither Abhisit’s Democrat Party nor Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai Party, which first took power in 2001, invested enough in overhauling an archaic education system, which emphasizes basic literacy and rote memorization." quote from Newsweek re: The Destruction of Thailand's Global Brand - Newsweek Until the government decides to improve the education system in general nothing will change. The whole Red Shirt problem is largely still to do with the rich trying to maintain the status quo not realising they can't keep doing things the same old way. Until they do Thailand will continue to lag behind whereas before it used to be a leader. Major reforms are needed across the board and certainly Education should be a MAJOR focus for long term developement.

[sundaram444]

this is no real surprise to me at all. i teach, i see, i cry

I am not surprised , either. As a retired person staying in this small and poor village,

I am trying to teach English to the school children .

I encourage them to learn by giving candies and cookies etc for

answering correctly some test questions.

The boys have absolutely no interest in learning a foreign language and they do not attend my class any more.

The girls seem to be interested and some of them said

that they would like to get married to a Farang.

The local elementary school headmaster asked me if I could teach at the school .

I have to think about it.

The children have no interest and the teachers , too , I guess.

[chainarong]

Oh my god. No wonder when I asked peeople in Thailand with 13 years of education

and did not recognise such names as Genghis Khan, Adolf Hitler, Dalai Lama and

Gandi. Could not point where Europe was or where the USA was. Could not tell me

a single planet in the Universe.

Most can't point to where Thailand is on a map of the world.

It seems to me that if it ain't Thailand it ain't taught, that's why everyone is so nationalistic and farangs are not important.

Most of the well educated attend schools abroad. Singapore, Uk etc.

It's hard to learn when you're not allowed to question.

I'm considering pulling my daughter out of school.

She's been there two years and still can't read numbers 1-10 if you jumble them around.

She can sing plenty of songs though.

It just seems a waste of money to me...

If someone does not think there is a problem with The Thai education system by western standards, they must be blind.

It was set up to keep people in their economic place and to create ample field workers who expect little and demand less. The rich and powerful want it that way, and they send their children to private schools and foreign schools to get a better education and assure them their "rightful place" in the Thai society. Why is it the westerners can not think for themselves, do they think because it is suppose to be the same for everyone in the west. that it is how the Chinese-Thai and rich Thai want it here?

Blame the tests for being too hard or the teachers to uneducated but past governments gutted the education by taking them from a very respected profession to a job with little future and less respect than it ever had before.

I must admit that I feet the same way, keep the barstards down as they say, not only in education either.

[screamingeagle]

Most Thai teachers fail in their own subjects

BANGKOK (AFP) -- High school test results in Thailand have revealed a failure rate of more than 80 percent in mathematics, biology and computer studies -- among the teachers.

The failure rates for teachers who took exams in their own subjects were about 88 percent for computer studies, 84 percent for mathematics, 86 percent in biology and 71 percent in physics, the education ministry said.

And almost 95 percent of about 37,500 secondary school directors did not score a pass mark in English and technology, according to the ministry.

The poor results have ignited controversy in Thailand about educational standards.

"Even teachers fail, so how can we raise the quality of students?" Education Minister Chinnaworn Boonyakiat was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post newspaper.

More than 84,000 teachers and school directors took the exams, the first of their kind.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2010-06-09

What a big surprise!!!!!

[scotbeve]

I'm constantly amazed at how many people get their calculator to work out 2 x something or even 10 x something! Does nobody have basic arithmetic skills now? This report does not surprise me in the least

I have seen a 7 Eleven employee use a calculator to add 9 to 100 - amazingly she did come up with the right answer.

Most cashiers look very puzzled if the correct money is placed on the counter before the till presents the total, they never say anything though and I assume that they think the old Farang has some sort of mystical power. (He does - he was taught basic maths properly many decades ago!)

Also amazing is the lack of knowledge of ratios and percentages... throughout all age groups and "classes".

[Toscano]

My wife is headteacher of an infant school , she has bachelor degrees in two subjects . I complement her and encourage her ; but she says she knows nothing . In fact she is nearly right , in general knowledge she knows very little . my wife is an excellent administrator , she teaches her little children well and her school is beautifully run .

My wife's younger sister is a senior staff member of a High School ; has a bachelor degree in English , so teaches English . Her knowledge of English is passable ; spoken is OK but limited vocabulary and not always correct use of grammar and verbs ; it is possible that her written English is better .

I am advised on good authority that High School graduation in Thailand is about the same as British Eleven Plus ; that Bachelor Degree level is about the same as British GSE , taken at 16 .

For a variety of reasons teachers and university lecturers are under an obligation to pass students even though they are not up to standard . Teachers and lecturers are open to bribery , Bt100,000 or Bt150,000 may secure a pass in exams or have someone sit the exam for you . Masters and PHDs can be bought ; as others have commented , it is the blind leading the blind .

I do not know the level of the exams taken , but it is possible that they are western exam papers of a much higher level than that to which the students are taught .

In Italy where I lived before ; I gave tuition in English to some university students . They showed me their text book , in which were questions , which is the correct sentence . I had to say to them ,none of them are correct .

There text book was of colloquial uneducated English ; not at all suitable for university students . However I am pleased to say that they all passed their English Exam . I wonder whether Thai students work from a text book of very poor colloquial English ? I maintain that students should be taught the most rigidly correct English ; that when they can speak , read and write , that is time enough to be colloquial .

Most Thai teachers fail in their own subjects

BANGKOK (AFP) -- High school test results in Thailand have revealed a failure rate of more than 80 percent in mathematics, biology and computer studies -- among the teachers.

The failure rates for teachers who took exams in their own subjects were about 88 percent for computer studies, 84 percent for mathematics, 86 percent in biology and 71 percent in physics, the education ministry said.

And almost 95 percent of about 37,500 secondary school directors did not score a pass mark in English and technology, according to the ministry.

The poor results have ignited controversy in Thailand about educational standards.

"Even teachers fail, so how can we raise the quality of students?" Education Minister Chinnaworn Boonyakiat was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post newspaper.

More than 84,000 teachers and school directors took the exams, the first of their kind.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2010-06-09

[blazes]

Unless you get outside HELP, pay bigger, much BIGGER wages, improved working conditions, modern equipment and spend lots of USD not BHT, then you are a lot of time wasters, waisting everyone's time , cut your armed services in half, offload the generals,and afew other hangers on, Thailand must come up to 2010 western world standards ,unless this is achived , then education in Thailand will stagnate and steadly become just as worse as a third world eduction system..

Ah, Western world standards....hmmm, let's see...that means: invading other countries at will; bailing out crooked bankers; spending beyond one's means; fixing elections; polluting the world's oceans; and, if you are a British MP, enjoy a fatcat lifestyle at the expense of the taxpayer.