Education: The Weak Spot In All Thaksin Regimes

[Lite Beer]

EDITORIAL

Education: The weak spot in all Thaksin regimes

The Nation

Pheu Thai needs to drop the gimmicks and move to boost teacher standards

Amid the fast changing world and the challenges that comes with it, many people in the country - from parents to business leaders - are wondering if their children are getting the right kind of education needed to face these difficulties. It is really sad to say we have not seen any real, meaningful effort by the government to address this very important task. And this recently concluded Cabinet reshuffle is a testimony to this sad reality.

The fact Woravat Auapinyakul stayed at the helm of the Education Ministry for just five months shows that government is more serious about rewarding its people - Pheu Thai Party lackies waiting in line to be paid back for their contribution to the party's victory - rather than lifting standards for our young.

Over this past decade, five administrations under the direct and indirect leadership of Thaksin Shinawatra have led the country. The post of the education ministry has always been given to Thaksin's camp. Unfortunately, nothing has changed in a meaningful way. What we have witnessed over the years are short-term and short-sighted policies aimed at enhancing the government's popularity.

Prior to coming to power in 2001, Thaksin's now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party came up with "One District, One Scholarship" project. The idea was to provide students from rural schools a greater chance to obtain scholarships to study overseas. Cultural orientation was not taken into consideration and one of the students sent abroad committed suicide.

The Lab School project, also introduced by Thaksin's proxy, sounded interesting at first. But when it came to implementation and handing over the needed resources and technical assistance, many people began to have doubt the sincerity of the government.

There were growing complaints from headmasters/headmistresses in rural areas who had to even find the budget to maintain computers and IT infrastructure. Demands and expectations on school directors were ridiculously high. One director in Narathiwat's Sungai Kolok district killed herself because she struggled to live up to the expectations, not the mention find money for the scheme.

If anything, education has not been Thaksin's favourite political turf. He made a wise choice by appointing Dr Kasem Wattanachai in 2001 as the first education minister shortly after coming into power. But it didn't take long for Kasem to see the insincerity on Thaksin's part and he decided to quit. Kasem was later appointed as a privy councillor. After he resigned, Thaksin decided to take over the post. That lasted for five months. Within the next 18 months or so, Thailand saw three different education ministers - Suwit Khunkitti, Pongpol Adireksarn and Adisai Bodharamik, respectively. But none of them are known as men of wisdom, rather people of cunning and experience in the tough, ugly world of politics.

Following the re-election victory in 2005, the post at the education ministry went to Adisai again but soon afterwards, it was passed on to Chaturon Chaisang, a man with a relatively better head on his shoulders than other Thaksin cronies previously appointed to the post.

Then there was the coup in September 2006 and dissolution of Thai Rak Thai and the birth of its proxy, the People Power Party (PPP), which won the election in December 2007. In line with past practice, People Power came up with populist policies that included high-speed Internet for schools and restructuring teachers' debts.

After the court dissolved People Power, the Pheu Thai Party, the latest proxy for Thaksin, won a new mandate in July last year. The Pheu Thai-led government announced a plan to hand out computer tablets to all students and revive the One District One Scholarship scheme.

No one doubts the popularity of these initiatives, but it does not in any meaningful way address the shortcomings of our education system, or improve the quality of our teachers.

Until Thaksin governments can stop thinking about the ballot box and focus on real educational needs, one can be sure Thailand's young people will only receive a very limited preparation for the challenges of tomorrow. The scary part is that the longer are stuck with a weak education system, the harder it will be to catch up to the rest of the world.

-- The Nation 2012-01-22

[noitom]

The quality of Thai education and the learning skills of students is way bigger than Thaksin. It goes back decades and the root cause is parenting. How many Thai parents teach their children to read? That's where learning starts, with parents who invest energy, effort, and true love in the development of their children. How many parents know how to think and teach children by example?

Thai parents over generations and academics should be ashamed to perpetuate this system of tea money and learning by rote and disdain for any other way. Thai parents haven't a clue as to what true education and thinking skills are all about. Thai parents, academics, and leaders couldn't care less if the students are armed with thinking skills and logic and the ability to assess life and its situations from a context outside the self absorbed view of the world inherent in Thainess.

[Bakseedaa]

The quality of Thai education and the learning skills of students is way bigger than Thaksin. It goes back decades and the root cause is parenting. How many Thai parents teach their children to read? That's where learning starts, with parents who invest energy, effort, and true love in the development of their children. How many parents know how to think and teach children by example?

Thai parents over generations and academics should be ashamed to perpetuate this system of tea money and learning by rote and disdain for any other way. Thai parents haven't a clue as to what true education and thinking skills are all about. Thai parents, academics, and leaders couldn't care less if the students are armed with thinking skills and logic and the ability to assess life and its situations from a context outside the self absorbed view of the world inherent in Thainess.

Quite agree, thats another of the reasons us Farangs live here... Drives more young women into Soi Cowboy etc.... well done Mr T...

[hellodolly]

A well written article. Unusual for the Nation.

Yes the Thailand education system is not very good. How ever we have a government today that has a proven track record of not caring enough to start a program to increase the quality of education.

Their latest populist gimmick is to teach students to reach for a computer rather than how to think. Even at that it is a poorly thought out plan and doomed to go to the back burner with all their other ideas.

The fact that Thailand has always been this way should not justify the current Government's lack of interest in improving it. As the article pointed out under one guise or another the Government has been a Thaksin Government for most of the last ten years.

As for Parents cooperation yes that would be good. I myself learned to read in school not at home. But once I was in school my father made sure I could do the learning that was required of me.

That being said lack of parental help should in no way justify their inability to implement quality learning techniques in the schools. Part of witch would be to try to get parents involved.

[hanuman2543]

"The quality of Thai education and the learning skills of students is way bigger than Thaksin. It goes back decades and the root cause is parenting. How many Thai parents teach their children to read? That's where learning starts, with parents who invest energy, effort, and true love in the development of their children. How many parents know how to think and teach children by example?

Thai parents over generations and academics should be ashamed to perpetuate this system of tea money and learning by rote and disdain for any other way. Thai parents haven't a clue as to what true education and thinking skills are all about. Thai parents, academics, and leaders couldn't care less if the students are armed with thinking skills and logic and the ability to assess life and its situations from a context outside the self absorbed view of the world inherent in Thainess."

Very true, sums up the whole problem. One can only be sorry for all the children.

[daiwill60]

Education is the weak point in all Thai regimes thus far.

One of the main problems is that the people who should be demanding the changes to the system have very little knowlwdge of any other different systems. Ask a Thai teacher what they know about 2nd WW and Japanese involvement, and the war in somewhere as close as Vietnam, and they havent a clue. Apparently Thai history taught in schools goes back 100years and does not include conflicts ( except with Myanmar), apparently the big American bases in places like Udon and Korat were there because the USA was here as the friends of Thailand, not that they were bombing the shit out of Vietnam. Beyond 100 years doesn't exist in theory.

[jaltsc]

"Apparently Thai history taught in schools goes back 100years and does not include conflicts ( except with Myanmar), apparently the big American bases in places like Udon and Korat were there because the USA was here as the friends of Thailand, not that they were bombing the shit out of Vietnam."

You are so naive...The real reason for those bases was that the Americans in their sneaky ways wanted to spy on Thailand and steal their culture to make America a perfect society just like Thailand's. It might be working, considering how the education system in America has deteriorated at a rapid pace since the 1960s.

[nong38]

The education system has failed the people in our eyes although I suspect the "system" will point at the success rate of its methods and say why change? Same again tomorrow. For those who have ventured out the Kingdom and seen a different way it must be a bit of cultural shock and on reflection do we really want that here? Best to keep the people relatively uneducated, in their place, dont encourage questions and under control.

[trainman34014]

"Apparently Thai history taught in schools goes back 100years and does not include conflicts ( except with Myanmar), apparently the big American bases in places like Udon and Korat were there because the USA was here as the friends of Thailand, not that they were bombing the shit out of Vietnam."

You are so naive...The real reason for those bases was that the Americans in their sneaky ways wanted to spy on Thailand and steal their culture to make America a perfect society just like Thailand's. It might be working, considering how the education system in America has deteriorated at a rapid pace since the 1960s.

Strange; the British education system has gone the same way, and yet there has never been a British Military base in Thailand !

[jaltsc]

"Strange; the British education system has gone the same way, and yet there has never been a British Military base in Thailand ! "

The Brits stole that part of the culture from Pakistan.

[Ricardo]

"Apparently Thai history taught in schools goes back 100years and does not include conflicts ( except with Myanmar), apparently the big American bases in places like Udon and Korat were there because the USA was here as the friends of Thailand, not that they were bombing the shit out of Vietnam."

You are so naive...The real reason for those bases was that the Americans in their sneaky ways wanted to spy on Thailand and steal their culture to make America a perfect society just like Thailand's. It might be working, considering how the education system in America has deteriorated at a rapid pace since the 1960s.

Strange; the British education system has gone the same way, and yet there has never been a British Military base in Thailand !

Although there was a close-call, when the High-Command planned to push North from Malaya to capture Songkhla, in order to deny its airbase and port to the shortly-to-arrive Japanese invading-forces.

But that plan isn't widely-taught, in British schools, perhaps the common-thread between the education-systems is the lack of teaching historical-context ?

Later plans after the Burma Campaign, to invade Northwards to push the Japanese forces back into IndoChina, were luckily made moot by events at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

[noitom]

The education system has failed the people in our eyes although I suspect the "system" will point at the success rate of its methods and say why change? Same again tomorrow. For those who have ventured out the Kingdom and seen a different way it must be a bit of cultural shock and on reflection do we really want that here? Best to keep the people relatively uneducated, in their place, dont encourage questions and under control.

Wow!! Who would say something like this?

[Gone]

The quality of Thai education and the learning skills of students is way bigger than Thaksin. It goes back decades and the root cause is parenting. How many Thai parents teach their children to read? That's where learning starts, with parents who invest energy, effort, and true love in the development of their children. How many parents know how to think and teach children by example?

Thai parents over generations and academics should be ashamed to perpetuate this system of tea money and learning by rote and disdain for any other way. Thai parents haven't a clue as to what true education and thinking skills are all about. Thai parents, academics, and leaders couldn't care less if the students are armed with thinking skills and logic and the ability to assess life and its situations from a context outside the self absorbed view of the world inherent in Thainess.

This is so far of the truth I cannot believe you think this way. It is NOT up to parents to teach their children Education. It is however up to them to take care of their children and then at the age of 5 send them off to school to develop social skills, play with other children and most of all begin their education. Of course it is the parents responsibility to make sure they do well in school (homework etc.)

I think what this article is referring to is the lack of English speaking abilities and to be educated in order to find good jobs in their future. Yes they need to learn History, Math, Physical Ed etc. however that will only lead them to cope in a Thai society and NOT an International society.

The Thai Governments theory is somewhat like the book and the history of "The Secret" where the dominants (Elites) of society keep the working class as just that and do NOT want them to have education. After all how can they control and educated society? It is plain and obvious that the Government does NOT want education here.

I for one taught English here for many years from Kindergarten level up to University and Business/Corporate in Factories etc. as well. I can assure you that the system is broken. They MOE push’s Grammar down the students throats which is just plain WRONG. Thai students for one do NOT want to come to English class, as everyone in the world hates grammar. What they need is to SPEAK English, not know the foundations of it.

I taught 4th year Uni students in Udon Thani who could barely speak English and yet these students are preparing themselves to go out into the "real" world? It is fact that most Thai's have degrees hanging on their walls but many just choose the subjects that are easy to pass and have no intension on following up with a career in that field. Ex: Political Science, Law etc. They end up working as bar girls or Motocy Mechanics or revert to becoming Drug dealers or thieves.

If Thaksin really wanted educated Thai's he could have afforded it. If the past government really wanted it they could have used the seized money from Mr. T and used that or simply given the MOE a fair budget to implement GOOD education.

This is the perfect set up for a government where as 90% of their country folk are un-educated and the 10% that are not ARE the government. The rich get richer ............

In my opinion the Thai teachers need better wages and more budget to work with and the English teachers need more salary, less focus on grammar and less government intervention in who can be a good teacher. I have been, seen and hired teachers that were incredible at teaching English to Thai's but lacked the credentials to do so (Degree in Education etc.,) and there fore could not get work permits etc. They end up working for these money hungry private schools that will hire anyone with a degree from Khao Sarn Rd. and get treated like crap while the teachers with letters behind their names (PHD, DR. etc.) get the jobs that can supply WP's etc. but could not teach their way out of a wet paper bag. (Not all of you sorry.)

Until this changes, Thailand will be the lowest educated country in SEA. Look at Cambodia for example, most can speak Kmere, English and even French.