55% of secondary schools fail grade

BANGKOK: -- Fifty-five per cent of secondary schools across the country, mostly small-scale government-run institutions, have failed national educational standard requirements, a seminar on education reforms was told yesterday.

According to a report by the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (ONESQA) released during the seminar, the remaining 45 per cent of the schools are either prestigious or located in Bangkok or other urban areas.

Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang said the last six years of reform had mostly involved the restructuring of the ministry’s structure and promulgation of more than 50 laws.

The revision of the school curriculum is vital to the scheme but has not been implemented, he said. The same goes for instructional development of teachers and personnel, and improved student learning methods.

Quoting the ONESQA report, he said most students lacked analytical skills and failed to meet requirements in basic academic proficiency: the average score of six graders in mathematics was 44 per cent, 42 per cent in science, and below 50 per cent in Thai.

Ninth graders need extra tutorials because they cannot achieve reading comprehension on their own, and vocational school students have to be given basic training by their employers.

College education cannot be fully developed because the University Under Government Supervision Bill has not yet been put into effect, he added.

Chaturon said he would push for reforms at this level without waiting for the bill, but would instruct all universities to take active roles by brainstorming to identify problems and working out their own solutions.

He said he would also push for a standardised national ranking of local schools and universities to encourage self-development among institutions before aborting the international ranking.

ONESQA chairman Olarn Chaiprawat told the seminar he would employ technology-based measures to make all schools pass the national standard requirements in the next three years.

--The Nation 2005-11-05

I find this part especially worrisome:

55% of secondary schools fail grade

Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang said the last six years of reform had mostly involved the restructuring of the ministry’s structure and promulgation of more than 50 laws.

The revision of the school curriculum is vital to the scheme but has not been implemented, he said. The same goes for instructional development of teachers and personnel, and improved student learning methods.

--The Nation 2005-11-05

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In other words, they've wasted six years, within the ministry's structure, planning to implement changes to implement changes to themselves. At that rate, there might be measurable improvement by year 2648, a hundred years from now.

I suspect the Legislature only gave the Ministry of Education enough money to spend on its bureaucratic self, and the real money never gets to the schools.

In a certain southern university, the gpa range for first year English majors ... a whopping 1.89 - 2.12..

Instead of all this attention to reports and studies that confirm money-taker and makers...., the MOE should stop stroking itself.. and pay the teachers what it will take to help the youngster out...more computers.. only lines pockets the AH. ADMs. it is face to face with a workable class size.. and it would be nice with students.. who have an attention span longer that it takes to void their bladders..

Only 55%? I'm surprised it's that good.

Nothing will change without a cultural shift away from nepotism, myopia and the "nice day, let's pick another mango" mindset.

The VietNamese are gearing up their education system, paying teachers decently vs. cost of living, the Chinese have always valued learning, Malaysia and Singapore long ago caught on.

Thailand will be left in the dust if if doesn't wise up.

"Growth without development" someone called it.

I agree - the education system in Thailand is the creating a fools paradise...the other SEA countries are going to overtake them in a few years. Vietnam has many western educated refugees returning and people seem to be a lot more aware of the value of a good education.

So much of the Thai school system is made up of slackers, wasters, forgers and utterers, and coat-tail riders.

And thats not just the students either!!!

I'm confused. I thought Students couldn't fail in Thailand??!!

That's because "ONESQA" does it's own, independent testing. Their scores mean nothing in real life.

YADA.... SOME of the teachers...find other methods of assessment and evaluation in the THAI Style..

Not too far sir... KA BOOM.