Seminar Told Education System's Failing Millions Of Deprived Thai Kids

webfact · April 1, 2012

Seminar told education system's failing millions of deprived kids

Wannapa Khaopa

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Thailand has more than 5 million underprivileged children facing problems in bettering their quality of life and who lack opportunities to develop themselves, researchers said at a seminar last week.

Of the close to 6 million, around 3 million live in poverty, 1.7 million are handicapped, 300,000 are stateless, 100,000 are pregnant, 90,000 are orphans, 50,000 are in the restive southernmost provinces, and 40,000 are cared for by the Juvenile Observation and Protection Department, according to Quality Learning Foundation.

Although the Cabinet approved policies providing education for underprivileged children in 2004, targeted to provide education to all underprivileged children by 2011, many still lag behind, according to the researchers.

"It's a pity there is no action plan pointing out what each relevant organisation should do after the Cabinet resolution was issued," said Rungroung Sukapirom, former chief inspectorgeneral of the Education Ministry.

'No effective implementation'

As a result, policies have not been implemented effectively to suit children with different problems and needs in order to provide them with educational opportunities, according to Rungroung.

Rungroung leads a team of researchers from different agencies that conducted research to evaluate the policies. Last week this team revealed the evaluation results and made recommendations to agencies to encourage them to adjust their working programmes. The seminar was held at Office of the Education Council.

HIV/Aids infection, physical disability, learning disability, poverty, undocumented status, unwanted pregnancy, delinquent behaviour, human trafficking, violence in the southernmost provinces, drug and family problems have led millions of children to a poorer quality of life as they are unable to enter education.

Problems affecting different underprivileged children are varied and they need special care. But the main curriculum for basic education students created by the Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec) was not flexible enough to provide education that suited these different needs, said Rungroung.

She added that practitioners had not adjusted their perspectives and methods of working to suit current situations. For example, when Nongchumsaengwittaya School in Phetchaburi offered a chance for pregnant students and those with delinquent behaviour to enrol and study with it, the school was seen as strange.

"So, the practitioners should adjust their perspectives and the way they work," she urged.

Her team also pointed out that teachers with responsibility to teach underprivileged students were lacking in terms of quantity and quality.

'Big problem'

"This is a big problem. Thailand has produced very few teachers for unprivileged children, while many current teachers don't have enough knowledge and understanding to help children with problems with life skills. These skills are really crucial to help them live a better life so they will not cause more problems to society when they grow up. The nation should produce more qualified teachers, psychologists, social workers and those in other related careers who understand how these children are different and how to deal with them," she added.

Some participants at the seminar lamented that with different curricula, credit transfers could not be offered between Obec and the Office of NonFormal and Informal Education (ONIE) for students who had dropped out from schools. This had pushed them away from education.

Rungroung added there was no system transferring youngsters' working experience to educational credits.

A representative from ONIE responded she would propose the credit transfer problems to its executives so as to find resolutions.

This group of researchers also urged agencies to discuss and adjust their data collection so they could provide the same and credible statistics and information on underprivileged children.

"The recommendations are useful," said Payom Chinnawong, director at the Bureau of Special Education Administration under Obec who listened to the evaluation report and recommendations, adding he would try to put them into practice.

-- The Nation 2012-04-02

AZBill · April 2, 2012

So the same government that deprives them in the first place now decrys their deprivation?

ralphlsasser · April 2, 2012

How can the education system be failing the under privledged kids when Thailand has a no fail policy? No kid fails.

Paul1Kanya · April 2, 2012

Azbill, you are so correct ... see the post re' students cleaning government owned air conditioners. Shear stupidity.

Paul 1

OzMick · April 2, 2012

Give them a tablet, that will fix it.

chrisinth · April 2, 2012

Give them a tablet and let them draw pictures on it!

Seems to be the way ahead for the education system. The education authorities really need to sort their act out and fix what is broken before spending billions of baht on toys. If the tablets aren't toys from the outset, mark my words that that is what they will become, if they last that long.

David48 · April 2, 2012

Give them a tablet, that will fix it.

That tablet is a bit big to swallow ... how can it make them better ...

Edited April 2, 2012 by David48

dominique355 · April 2, 2012

Many schools in rural areas lack all essential elements to function such as:

- tables and chairs

- books and shelves

- electricity

- clean drinking water

Yet the Shinawathra government forces them to use tablets which crash when 4GB of storage is exceeded, which need electricity to recharge, which the schools don't have, and which need Internet to communicate, which the whole village doesn't have, not to mention the total lack of adequate software.

Many schools are still suffering from the destruction brought by the flood, nothing is done there.

But of course, providing essential means for schools doesn't make headlines.

Edited April 2, 2012 by dominique355

sparebox2 · April 2, 2012

How can the education system be failing the under privledged kids when Thailand has a no fail policy? No kid fails.

You do not fail if you attend the mandated no. of days a year (not sure, but something like 70%)

Else you not not meet the requirement to move to the next year.

chrisinth · April 2, 2012

Give them a tablet, that will fix it.

Sorry Mick, I was writing my #6 when you posted this.

Dam_n, I'm going to have to learn to type faster!

ralphlsasser · April 2, 2012

How can the education system be failing the under privledged kids when Thailand has a no fail policy? No kid fails.

You do not fail if you attend the mandated no. of days a year (not sure, but something like 70%)

Else you not not meet the requirement to move to the next year.

Everyone knows that's bull...t. In 9 years I've never heard of a student failing. Every record can and does get "doctored" to make the director look good. Of course a little tea money helps. I was told one time to "dumb down" a test so 3 students will pass that had only been in class, maybe 20%.

Bagwan · April 2, 2012

These figures do not take into account the number of children who are pulled out of school to works in the fields. My wife's formal education ended when she was 9 years old. Most of what she earned paid for papa's whiskey.

If anybody of substance in the Education Ministry came to this place 10 years ago he would have learned what he is now spouting.

Unkomoncents · April 2, 2012

"She added that practitioners had not adjusted their perspectives and methods of working to suit current situations. For example, when Nongchumsaengwittaya School in Phetchaburi offered a chance for pregnant students and those with delinquent behaviour to enrol and study with it, the school was seen as strange."

That's sad. This is the unfortunate consequence of the exaggerated significance of face/reputation (based primarily on birth and wealth) in the social fabric of Thai society. Redux, redux, redux...

Edited April 2, 2012 by Unkomoncents

bigbamboo · April 2, 2012

Well when you look at the governments vast spending plans there seems to be no end of money available just now which could help alleviate the problem. It's just a question of whether there is the will to do so.

FWIW · April 2, 2012

From the OP:

"BANGKOK: -- Thailand has more than 5 million underprivileged children facing problems in bettering their quality of life and who lack opportunities to develop themselves, researchers said at a seminar last week.

Of the close to 6 million, around 3 million live in poverty, 1.7 million are handicapped, 300,000 are stateless, 100,000 are pregnant, 90,000 are orphans, 50,000 are in the restive southernmost provinces, and 40,000 are cared for by the Juvenile Observation and Protection Department, according to Quality Learning Foundation."

Are these figures realistic? Population 66 million-ish. About 1 million live births per year. So, school age - what? 5 to 14 ? (reasonable?) - so 10 million school kids - 60% of all kids underprivileged? More worying, 1.7 million handicapped - so say 1/5 of ALL school age children are handicapped? Really?

...am I missing something here?

Edited April 2, 2012 by FWIW

sirchai · April 2, 2012

"Her team also pointed out that teachers with responsibility to teach underprivileged students were lacking in terms of quantity and quality.

Even the "regular" teachers don't know much about their subject they are teaching.

I've asked a few if they know where Sri Lanka is.

Of course all of them said they do. When I was asking them if there'd be a beach, they all denied.

I'd say that many underprivileged teachers are lacking in terms of quantity and quality. Here we go again.....

Edited April 2, 2012 by sirchai

bigbamboo · April 2, 2012

From the OP:

"BANGKOK: -- Thailand has more than 5 million underprivileged children facing problems in bettering their quality of life and who lack opportunities to develop themselves, researchers said at a seminar last week.

Of the close to 6 million, around 3 million live in poverty, 1.7 million are handicapped, 300,000 are stateless, 100,000 are pregnant, 90,000 are orphans, 50,000 are in the restive southernmost provinces, and 40,000 are cared for by the Juvenile Observation and Protection Department, according to Quality Learning Foundation."

Are these figures realistic? Population 66 million-ish. About 1 million live births per year. So, school age - what? 5 to 14 ? (reasonable?) - so 10 million school kids - 60% of all kids underprivileged? More worying, 1.7 million handicapped - so say 1/5 of ALL school age children are handicapped? Really?

...am I missing something here?

That's statistics for you!

TommoPhysicist · April 2, 2012

I don't see anything wrong with the Thai educational system.

It is entirely suitable for a population in a feudal society.

As if the western education system is so special, turning out students that have an overinflated image of their self-worth, that are dissatisfied for their entire lives.

swillowbee · April 2, 2012

... if a foreign nation did to Thailand's education system what the Thais have themselves done, Thais would consider it an act of war ... (apologies to H. Ross Perot).

... or ... maybe ... maybe ... it is all by design ... one of several keys to passifying and subjugating a population.

birdpooguava · April 2, 2012

Many schools in rural areas lack all essential elements to function such as:

- tables and chairs

- books and shelves

- electricity

- clean drinking water

Yet the Shinawathra government forces them to use tablets which crash when 4GB of storage is exceeded, which need electricity to recharge, which the schools don't have, and which need Internet to communicate, which the whole village doesn't have, not to mention the total lack of adequate software.

Many schools are still suffering from the destruction brought by the flood, nothing is done there.

But of course, providing essential means for schools doesn't make headlines.

Really?

"Opportunity, The Challenges of Educational Reform in Thailand"

Prepared for the Office of the National Education Commission and

the Asian Development Bank

by Gerald W. Fry

College of Education and Human Development,

University of Minnesota

August 8, 2002

states "Also the physical infrastructure of Thai educational institutions is generally quite good and far superior to that of neighboring mainland Southeast Asian nations. 98 percent of Thai schools now have electricity"

The report goes on to conclude; "At any school a direct broadcast dish antenna and satellite receiver can connect a local server to the ThaiCom 3 Satellite. Such a server could provide state-of-the-art access to the Internet, videos for on-demand playing, software applications, electronic libraries, computer assisted instruction, and a wide range of multimedia materials for use by administrators, teachers, students, and potentially community members. Given concerns about English language training needs in Thailand, two concrete examples in that arena might be helpful. In Osaka, Japan, they have developed CD software for the fun learning of English through colorful animation and action. Students think only in English and are exposed to perfect pronunciation. Such software could be easily downloaded under the proposed system to schools throughout Thailand. Another concrete example is the computer game, "crossword," being used by students at St.

Gabriels College, which enhances English, math, and thinking abilities"

Skywalker69 · April 2, 2012

How can the education system be failing the under privledged kids when Thailand has a no fail policy? No kid fails.

Silly me, I thought Thailand was a HUB of education.

Skywalker69 · April 2, 2012

Give them a tablet, that will fix it.

That tablet is a bit big to swallow ... how can it make them better ...

Yes even as a suppository, it is.

luciferbkk · April 2, 2012

Many schools in rural areas lack all essential elements to function such as:

- tables and chairs

- books and shelves

- electricity

- clean drinking water

Yet the Shinawathra government forces them to use tablets which crash when 4GB of storage is exceeded, which need electricity to recharge, which the schools don't have, and which need Internet to communicate, which the whole village doesn't have, not to mention the total lack of adequate software.

Many schools are still suffering from the destruction brought by the flood, nothing is done there.

But of course, providing essential means for schools doesn't make headlines.

Really?

"Opportunity, The Challenges of Educational Reform in Thailand"

Prepared for the Office of the National Education Commission and

the Asian Development Bank

by Gerald W. Fry

College of Education and Human Development,

University of Minnesota

August 8, 2002

states "Also the physical infrastructure of Thai educational institutions is generally quite good and far superior to that of neighboring mainland Southeast Asian nations. 98 percent of Thai schools now have electricity"

The report goes on to conclude; "At any school a direct broadcast dish antenna and satellite receiver can connect a local server to the ThaiCom 3 Satellite. Such a server could provide state-of-the-art access to the Internet, videos for on-demand playing, software applications, electronic libraries, computer assisted instruction, and a wide range of multimedia materials for use by administrators, teachers, students, and potentially community members. Given concerns about English language training needs in Thailand, two concrete examples in that arena might be helpful. In Osaka, Japan, they have developed CD software for the fun learning of English through colorful animation and action. Students think only in English and are exposed to perfect pronunciation. Such software could be easily downloaded under the proposed system to schools throughout Thailand. Another concrete example is the computer game, "crossword," being used by students at St.

Gabriels College, which enhances English, math, and thinking abilities"

That was 2002! And a lot of bull....... !

BigJohnnyBKK · April 2, 2012

Everyone knows that's bull...t. In 9 years I've never heard of a student failing. Every record can and does get "doctored" to make the director look good. Of course a little tea money helps. I was told one time to "dumb down" a test so 3 students will pass that had only been in class, maybe 20%.

My maid's younger daughter was just refused, will have to repeat the whole year.

She failed her tests, and I assume if tea money would have helped I would have been asked for a loan.

So maybe most or even nearly all the time, but certainly not all.

BigJohnnyBKK · April 2, 2012

I don't see anything wrong with the Thai educational system.

It is entirely suitable for a population in a feudal society.

As if the western education system is so special, turning out students that have an overinflated image of their self-worth, that are dissatisfied for their entire lives.

When the revolution comes, hope you're first up against the wall to be shot.

Even if most of the population does not currently need a high level of education, the future of the country as a whole would be greatly improved if every child had an **equal opportunity** to a good education, based on their performance - intelligence, ambition and hard work. Irrespective of their location, rural vs urban, the class/wealth of their family etc.

The absolute best model I've come across so far is Finland, where it's illegal for even the private schools (religious or Steiner-method) to charge any tuition or practice selective admission. No standardized testing, no measuring the quality of schools relative to each other, and unlike many European systems, there is no "academic vs vocational" tracking at all until age sixteen. Finns don't even start school until they're 7, and spend the fewest number of hours in school, but are quickly at the top of the world in objective comparative test results.

It's just a question of political will and resources. In the US at least, the inequality of opportunity is IMO nearly as bad as here, and actually much worse relatively speaking, given the fact that America could easily afford a quality educational system if its leaders didn't want to keep it a "feudal" system as you put it.

Edited April 2, 2012 by BigJohnnyBKK

bigbamboo · April 2, 2012

Many schools in rural areas lack all essential elements to function such as:

- tables and chairs

- books and shelves

- electricity

- clean drinking water

Yet the Shinawathra government forces them to use tablets which crash when 4GB of storage is exceeded, which need electricity to recharge, which the schools don't have, and which need Internet to communicate, which the whole village doesn't have, not to mention the total lack of adequate software.

Many schools are still suffering from the destruction brought by the flood, nothing is done there.

But of course, providing essential means for schools doesn't make headlines.

Really?

"Opportunity, The Challenges of Educational Reform in Thailand"

Prepared for the Office of the National Education Commission and

the Asian Development Bank

by Gerald W. Fry

College of Education and Human Development,

University of Minnesota

August 8, 2002

states "Also the physical infrastructure of Thai educational institutions is generally quite good and far superior to that of neighboring mainland Southeast Asian nations. 98 percent of Thai schools now have electricity"

The report goes on to conclude; "At any school a direct broadcast dish antenna and satellite receiver can connect a local server to the ThaiCom 3 Satellite. Such a server could provide state-of-the-art access to the Internet, videos for on-demand playing, software applications, electronic libraries, computer assisted instruction, and a wide range of multimedia materials for use by administrators, teachers, students, and potentially community members. Given concerns about English language training needs in Thailand, two concrete examples in that arena might be helpful. In Osaka, Japan, they have developed CD software for the fun learning of English through colorful animation and action. Students think only in English and are exposed to perfect pronunciation. Such software could be easily downloaded under the proposed system to schools throughout Thailand. Another concrete example is the computer game, "crossword," being used by students at St.

Gabriels College, which enhances English, math, and thinking abilities"

So if we accept that then Thailand's education is in worse shape than it was ten years ago.

allan michaud · April 2, 2012

Give them a tablet, that will fix it.

That tablet is a bit big to swallow ... how can it make them better ...

Well that would reduce the number of deprived kids

Ijustwannateach · April 2, 2012

I'd have to agree that on the whole, the system is terrible and needs fixing literally from top to bottom. But you'd have to pay off the deadwood you were getting rid of at the same time that you were replacing them with- what?... It's not just an educational problem, it's a sociological problem. What would Thailand- as it currently is- DO with a highly educated populace- have them plant rice while singing foreign language songs? (this may already be happening)-- at the highest education levels, the problem is not so much the lack of people as it is the lack of jobs which would fit their qualifications- that's why many of them go abroad. It is the MIDDLE ground where there is a hiring crisis, because they want to employ people in middle class positions with theoretically middle class educations- and there's where the void is. There's plenty of 'hi-so' education (relatively speaking, as a percentage of the population), and plenty of VERY low-so education, but not much middle class education to provide the moderately-well-educated managers, bureaucrats, and technicians which are needed both to supervise the uneducated workers and report to the more educated higher-level project leaders.

Since the people who would normally populate this class ARE the middle class- and they have no one to support them educationally- if they DO manage to get into the 'hi-so' schools, they're outta there- why would they stick around in middle class jobs and be paid peanuts? And if they don't make it there, they aren't really qualified for the jobs. The so-called bilingual and semi-international schools that seem to be getting opened by every Tom, Dick, and Harry with a few million baht just don't cut it.

Markaew · April 3, 2012

Many schools in rural areas lack all essential elements to function such as:

- tables and chairs

- books and shelves

- electricity

- clean drinking water

Yet the Shinawathra government forces them to use tablets which crash when 4GB of storage is exceeded, which need electricity to recharge, which the schools don't have, and which need Internet to communicate, which the whole village doesn't have, not to mention the total lack of adequate software.

Many schools are still suffering from the destruction brought by the flood, nothing is done there.

But of course, providing essential means for schools doesn't make headlines.

I agree completely and if I may add...changing Thai teacher's attitudes where their ego takes a back seat and the students education moves to the front. Presently, status within the school is far more important than education.

anterian · April 3, 2012

So the same government that deprives them in the first place now decrys their deprivation?

Take your blinkers off, you mean governments, all governments!

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