PM Abhisit To Speed Up Bill On Teacher's Salary

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PM to Speed up Bill on Teacher's Salary

On the occasion of Teacher's Day this past Sunday, the prime minister has promised to speed up the passage of the bill on teacher’s salary, as a way to improve the quality of teaching nationwide.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said during his weekly television show that this year is the year to campaign for high quality teachers, as part of the second phase of educational reform.

He said in every country where educational reform was conducted, a key component to its success was the quality of teachers.

He noted that the problems that must be addressed include decreasing the ratio of students to teachers and eliminating teachers’ administrative responsibilities.

The improvements in quality of teachers and boosting teachers' morale are the main tasks for the year.

Abhisit noted that when Parliament reconvenes at the end of the month they'll likely deliberate the teachers’ salary bill, which he expects to be passed during this Parliamentary session.

The PM said new teachers must be trained so that there are enough teachers for students nationwide while technology will be introduced to help improve teaching.

Yesterday saw nationwide activities to celebrate National Teachers’ Day, which falls on January 16 every year.

Abhisit presided over the ceremony at the Teachers’ Council in Bangkok, the highlight of which was his awarding the ‘Teacher of the Land’ award to His Majesty the King on the occasion of His 84th birthday this year.

The PM also gave out tokens of thanks to former teachers and awards in recognition of model teachers.

There were also exhibitions about His Majesty the King and teachers’ achievements, sale of products made by students from different schools, games and contests to win prizes, postcard writing to former teachers, and performances by students from different schools.

-- Tan Network 2011-01-17