Thailand's Education Has Been Deemed By Many As A Failure; Think-Tank Proposes Overhaul

[BrianCR]

This is called news? I have read the same useless crap for years but nothing happens, nothing changes.

So, maybe by your understanding, no one should say what they think or believe because you've heard it all before?

[BrianCR]

Who needs a "think tank" ? Just buy the children bigger and better electronic gadgets.

That worked last time.

Didn't it ?????????

Who needs a "think tank" ? Just buy the children bigger and better electronic gadgets.

That worked last time.

Didn't it ?????????

Seems to be working in the West by the reports that I am reading from TV posters!

[BrianCR]

The education system in Thailand is such a failure that in my opinion the powers to be plan it to be so. This way the elite 'Chinese Thai' can exploit the Thai masses with ease.

Exactly correct....What a tragedy on a large scale, that so many children are denied a real education, and to learn the process of critical thinking. :-(

It's got many faults (as with all countries) but, it has improved about 1000% in the 33 years I have lived here

[lookingeast]

I have no idea how much of the Thai education system is corrupt, with cheating, plagiarism, copying others' work, and being given an easy ride by the teachers and/or examiners going on. BUT, i have had personal experience of being asked to 'help' with the MA dissertation of one of my Thai lady's old university friends. The dissertation was ridiculous - virtually a mess. Why ? Because although it was meant to be examining English ability, the idiots who'd designed the course had given the student a wildly challenging topic which would have been difficult enough in a person's first language. The topic was along the lines of : 'Compare and contrast the treatment of current affairs stories in the two English-language newspapers, The Bangkok Post and The Nation'. The student had been encouraged to draw upon contemporary theories in language and literary studies, semiotics (the science of sign or symbols), structuralism etc etc...It was such a jumble of ideas - though the English was not bad - that i had huge trouble following the arguments across the whole piece. The setting of this very difficult topic in what was primarily a test of English was practically sadistic ! I was offered money to 'Help', but i refused payment. How much did i help ?...i would rather not be precise...did i want to help ? - no - but i felt cornered and obligated...that's one small incident in Thai education that i know is 100% true cos i was there.

[seminomadic]

Thailand should aim to be the regional EDUCATION OVERHAUL HUB. Who talks about it more often than Thailand?

[BrianCR]

Long time lurker here, but I just had to comment on this story. Here we go.

Full disclosure, I am a teacher in Bangkok. I work at a bilingual private school. Education in Thailand is a failure for many reasons. I will try to address a few of them through my experiences here.

1. The students.

I have had the pleasure to teach many wonderful and intelligent students. Sometimes it amazes me how much some of my students have learned while in this moribund system. My best students have always been very motivated to learn. I credit this to parents who actually care and are interested in the education of their children. However, the majority of my students, possibly 80%, just do not care about learning. They are kids. They figure out very early that they really don't have to do anything and they will move up to the next grade. There is no accountability for students who fail or do not try. Of course, they do not fail. That would be a loss of face for the kid and parents.

2. The teachers.

Where to begin? Some teachers are very dedicated and try really hard to teach their students. Others are bone lazy and come to school to hang out, collect a paycheck and say they have a job. I think a big problem is that they come from the broken system. They are just teaching the way they were taught and there has been no innovation or desire to innovate. Due to this, their teaching methods don't improve and the system stays broken. Many teachers will do nothing all day in class and then teach students after school is over. Why? Because they can charge the parents more money for this "tutoring." Teachers can double or triple their salary this way. It's a sham and the parents should be pissed.

3. The administration.

Here is where the biggest faults lie. As I said I work in a private school. The focus is on maximizing profit, not education. It is amazing how much class time is lost due to dance shows, sport days, praying, activities for kids and the list goes on and on. Twice this year we had class times cut from 50 to 40 minutes so the kids could practice for sport day and the end of term show, the former, a tradition all over Thailand and the latter a money maker for the school. This went on for months. We lost so much time. We have had the Ministry of Education come in and do inspections. The routine is that the school fails the first inspection and passes the second inspection. How do we pass? An envelope passes hands. Corruption is present in every facet of Thailand.

4. The Ministry of Education.

The governing body that looks over and decides the curriculum is a political appointment. Most of the time the appointee has no experience in the field of education. Every time there is a change at the ministry, there are new ideas on how to improve education. Schools try to implement these new ideas, find they are ineffective after only giving them a few months and then try something new. The ministry needs to be gutted and new people with a clue installed.

There are so many problems it is really hard to know where to begin fixing all of them. Student accountability would be a good start. If little Somchai were held back and made to learn something that would help. But I know I don't understand Thailand. Sometimes that thought makes me very happy.

!) My best students have always been very motivated to learn - the parents pay for cram schools

2) Others are bone lazy and come to school to hang out - as with most "western teachers" who are only doing it for the money

3) The focus is on maximizing profit, not education. It is amazing how much class time is lost due to dance shows, sport days, praying, activities for kids and the list goes on and on - the best way of learning something is by a "hands on approach" and learning additionally from experience

4)Most of the time the appointee has no experience in the field of education - the same in most counties local "people" are appointed as school governers

5) where did you graduate as a teacher and how come you're missing the "education part"

[khaowong1]

This is called news? I have read the same useless crap for years but nothing happens, nothing changes.

I don't know how much those people on the think tank get paid, but it's wayyyyyyyy to much.

[BrianCR]

The education system in Thailand is such a failure that in my opinion the powers to be plan it to be so. This way the elite 'Chinese Thai' can exploit the Thai masses with ease.

Exactly correct....What a tragedy on a large scale, that so many children are denied a real education, and to learn the process of critical thinking. :-(

But, these "same children" seem to be succeeding in Thailand whereas, the posters are not!!

[seminomadic]

I have no idea how much of the Thai education system is corrupt, with cheating, plagiarism, copying others' work, and being given an easy ride by the teachers and/or examiners going on. BUT, i have had personal experience of being asked to 'help' with the MA dissertation of one of my Thai lady's old university friends. The dissertation was ridiculous - virtually a mess. Why ? Because although it was meant to be examining English ability, the idiots who'd designed the course had given the student a wildly challenging topic which would have been difficult enough in a person's first language. The topic was along the lines of : 'Compare and contrast the treatment of current affairs stories in the two English-language newspapers, The Bangkok Post and The Nation'. The student had been encouraged to draw upon contemporary theories in language and literary studies, semiotics (the science of sign or symbols), structuralism etc etc...It was such a jumble of ideas - though the English was not bad - that i had huge trouble following the arguments across the whole piece. The setting of this very difficult topic in what was primarily a test of English was practically sadistic ! I was offered money to 'Help', but i refused payment. How much did i help ?...i would rather not be precise...did i want to help ? - no - but i felt cornered and obligated...that's one small incident in Thai education that i know is 100% true cos i was there.

Very likely the person assigning said topic either stood to gain from whatever your lady's friend gleaned for the sake of slapping their own name on it when publishing something (Thai academics regularly exploit students to do the research they should be doing themselves - very feudal) OR stood to gain from showing off how hard they drive their students.... even though, supposing you could sit down with the assigning teacher and say "Ok toots, let's see what you can do. Explain how the Post or Nation treated the story on Chalerm not meeting Dr. Mohamed differently".... . the teacher's answer would very likely be confidently asserted and utterly nonsensical. TIT.

[ableguy]

Thai People are the Salt of the Earth .....But not too bright when it comes to EDGE U KATION

I would rather say, the Thai people are TERRIBLY MISLEAD AND MIS-BRAINWASHED by the elite that came in from a majority of Chinese wealthy families that brought in their arrogant FACE-smashing oriented status culture to ancient Thailand, and to what that lead to... need I say more?

Many people of Thailand, aren't, what you may call... "uneducated or in barbaric terms stupid", but they are terribly-unfortunately brainwashed by the people on top of Thai Chinese Ministries aka Mafias which wouldn't hesitate in zero seconds, to cold blooded go over dead bodies, if someone KNOWS TOO MUCH.

So in other words, what has been corruption-bred as "Education" is in reality called:

"rote-brainwashing-draining-of-common-sense-until-the-point-of-no-return-beyond-brain-damage-repair-brain-shutdown-the-poor-and-common-people"

My point is, no Human being, is naturally born as "stupid"...,

My X wife was

[ableguy]

The education system in Thailand is such a failure that in my opinion the powers to be plan it to be so. This way the elite 'Chinese Thai' can exploit the Thai masses with ease.

Exactly correct....What a tragedy on a large scale, that so many children are denied a real education, and to learn the process of critical thinking. :-(

But, these "same children" seem to be succeeding in Thailand whereas, the posters are not!!

Many of the posters led a productive life and are now here enjoying their golden years, agree there are many idiots here but hey mellow out man.

[bkkgriz]

Long time lurker here, but I just had to comment on this story. Here we go.

Full disclosure, I am a teacher in Bangkok. I work at a bilingual private school. Education in Thailand is a failure for many reasons. I will try to address a few of them through my experiences here.

1. The students.

I have had the pleasure to teach many wonderful and intelligent students. Sometimes it amazes me how much some of my students have learned while in this moribund system. My best students have always been very motivated to learn. I credit this to parents who actually care and are interested in the education of their children. However, the majority of my students, possibly 80%, just do not care about learning. They are kids. They figure out very early that they really don't have to do anything and they will move up to the next grade. There is no accountability for students who fail or do not try. Of course, they do not fail. That would be a loss of face for the kid and parents.

2. The teachers.

Where to begin? Some teachers are very dedicated and try really hard to teach their students. Others are bone lazy and come to school to hang out, collect a paycheck and say they have a job. I think a big problem is that they come from the broken system. They are just teaching the way they were taught and there has been no innovation or desire to innovate. Due to this, their teaching methods don't improve and the system stays broken. Many teachers will do nothing all day in class and then teach students after school is over. Why? Because they can charge the parents more money for this "tutoring." Teachers can double or triple their salary this way. It's a sham and the parents should be pissed.

3. The administration.

Here is where the biggest faults lie. As I said I work in a private school. The focus is on maximizing profit, not education. It is amazing how much class time is lost due to dance shows, sport days, praying, activities for kids and the list goes on and on. Twice this year we had class times cut from 50 to 40 minutes so the kids could practice for sport day and the end of term show, the former, a tradition all over Thailand and the latter a money maker for the school. This went on for months. We lost so much time. We have had the Ministry of Education come in and do inspections. The routine is that the school fails the first inspection and passes the second inspection. How do we pass? An envelope passes hands. Corruption is present in every facet of Thailand.

4. The Ministry of Education.

The governing body that looks over and decides the curriculum is a political appointment. Most of the time the appointee has no experience in the field of education. Every time there is a change at the ministry, there are new ideas on how to improve education. Schools try to implement these new ideas, find they are ineffective after only giving them a few months and then try something new. The ministry needs to be gutted and new people with a clue installed.

There are so many problems it is really hard to know where to begin fixing all of them. Student accountability would be a good start. If little Somchai were held back and made to learn something that would help. But I know I don't understand Thailand. Sometimes that thought makes me very happy.

!) My best students have always been very motivated to learn - the parents pay for cram schools

2) Others are bone lazy and come to school to hang out - as with most "western teachers" who are only doing it for the money

3) The focus is on maximizing profit, not education. It is amazing how much class time is lost due to dance shows, sport days, praying, activities for kids and the list goes on and on - the best way of learning something is by a "hands on approach" and learning additionally from experience

4)Most of the time the appointee has no experience in the field of education - the same in most counties local "people" are appointed as school governers

5) where did you graduate as a teacher and how come you're missing the "education part"

1. No. My best students are out the door and home by the end of school. Their parents take an interest and help at home.

2. Yes, the money is so fantastic in teaching. You must be teacher too. Let's meet up and compare our BMW's. In it for the money! You must be joking.

3. A hands on approach to shaking your ass on stage dressed and made up like a tart. I guess good training for some kind of future occupation.

4. Really? I doubt that.

5. You must just have an axe to grind with teachers.

[DeepInTheForest]

The only one that stands out in this soap opera is Pearson, they got it right, yeah ,think I've seen this rehash from way back,, the think tank needs a good anaemia also.

You want to drain them of blood? ...... actually, you could have a point there.

"Who needs enemas with friends like you"?

We may not know an enema from an anaemia, but we roundly condemn the Thai educational system as inferior.

Go TV posters!!!

Edited March 21, 2013 by DeepInTheForest

[britinthai]

I managed to get my son out of Thailand, and into an international school in another country; from assessment he is about two years behind that of his peers. This was because the Thai justice system could not get the mum to agree for me to place my son into an international school. Basically he has been subjected to a very poor standard of education, where his school day started at 05:30 to catch the school bus, getting home at 18:30; he had to wait tell gone 20:00 for his mum to come home (yes left alone from the age of 8). Most times I returned to Thailand I would visit my son’s school to ask about his education, and the Thai teachers that I saw with my Thai partner had very little understanding why I was concerned, and simply thought a smile would pass as being accountable. Because of my son's poor education level it was very hard to find an international school that would take him – thus I had to accept a lower class school, I also had to agree to pay for a lot of extra private lesson to give my son the chance to catch-up - I just hope we don't over load him to the extent that he gives up. I understand that a child's education is not just the schools responsibility; it is the parents as well, but when a child’s education is at the hands of the courts, where they typically display the same attitude as those who are responsible for setting out the education program for Thailand; no wonder the whole education and decision making system is a complete failure.

Edited March 22, 2013 by metisdead
: Font

[Emdog]

Some random thoughts from a former special ed teacher from USA. I taught gangsters, no joke. The emphasis seems to be learning obedience and deference to one's superiors. Make good drones. If a student dares to ask a question, the implication is that the teacher didn't properly instruct and is insulted. The "empty vessel" into which knowledge is poured seems to be the rule here. Critical thinking.... very dangerous. If people learn those sorts of skills, next thing you know they will start asking "Why are we constantly being screwed over by the elite?". Can't have that. Schools are training for sheep. A thinking educated public is a threat to the status quo, and we can't have that.

Those misbehaviors, texting etc, are just a form of self medication to keep the students from going crazy, exploding "Why am I wasting my life with this shit!!!" (because there is no alternative?).

It is true that many do not teach during the day, that the "real" teaching is after hours for extra money. Teach teachers how to teach. Radical idea.

" External inspectors should be used only on badly performing schools, it said." I disagree. Internal inspection/evaluation equals cronyism, boot licking, etc.

Do the teachers have any idea what to do with the big tablet give away? How to use it to educate? I doubt it. Sorry if I sound cynical, but it sounds like another means to get kickbacks for the ministers et al who no clue or interest in education.

[Sebastianred]

I thought Thailand was going to adopt the AESAN curriculum for their education standards to include more English in their studies.

Did they or did they not, is the question?

[jamhar]

Come on guys, its bad to be sure, but not hopeless (unlike my quest to find some good REAL scotch )

A starting point that I see, is a lack of objective data.

We don't know how bad the situation is because both the teachers and students cheat.

Need Data.

I'd start the process by implementing yearly exams for the teachers

and twice yearly exams for the students (once at the start and end of school)

the exams would be 1/3 oral, 1/3 essay and 1/3 multiple choice.

the rationale is that its really hard to cheat in an oral exam.

adding the essay, gives you the chance to have a separate person grade the essays

and the multiple choice is just for some volume data.

The idea on multiple tests (once at start and once at the beginning), is that while teacher may be motivated to "enhance" their class test scores, they will just as likely be motivated to supress the start of year test scores,since its the difference in beginning to end scores that will be a key evaluation parameter for each teacher. The difference in the exit/entry tests will be a good indication of the level of "enhancement" that's occurring between the two teacher.

The teacher exams are similar, and self explanatory. set some minimum standard and give the slackers 5 years to catch up or they get demoted to teaching assistant until they can test their way back.

Oh, and this is just to get a handle on what the problem is. The thought is that just getting to a place where you can get real test data will be a start on the road to better education.

The process needs a lot of work, but i think the general idea has some legs. Any thoughts?

[attento]

Who needs a "think tank" ? Just buy the children bigger and better electronic gadgets.

That worked last time.

Didn't it ?????????

>Who needs a "think tank" ? Just buy the children bigger and better electronic gadgets.

That worked last time.

Didn't it ?????????

Seems to be working in the West by the reports that I am reading from TV posters!

It's a bad day when you start believing all that TV posters say

[Thaddeus]

I thought Thailand was going to adopt the AESAN curriculum for their education standards to include more English in their studies.

Did they or did they not, is the question?

The main thrust is to teach the Thai kids how to draw the flags of the other nations, not much else.

Because, to be quite honest, that would put them just below par with the ministers.

[theajarn]

The Thai Education System™ is not at all a failure. It does precisely what it was intended for: to created masses of easily-bought idiots.

It creates malleable voters. Does the country need anything more?

[theajarn]

Long time lurker here, but I just had to comment on this story. Here we go.

Full disclosure, I am a teacher in Bangkok. I work at a bilingual private school. Education in Thailand is a failure for many reasons. I will try to address a few of them through my experiences here.

1. The students.

I have had the pleasure to teach many wonderful and intelligent students. Sometimes it amazes me how much some of my students have learned while in this moribund system. My best students have always been very motivated to learn. I credit this to parents who actually care and are interested in the education of their children. However, the majority of my students, possibly 80%, just do not care about learning. They are kids. They figure out very early that they really don't have to do anything and they will move up to the next grade. There is no accountability for students who fail or do not try. Of course, they do not fail. That would be a loss of face for the kid and parents.

2. The teachers.

Where to begin? Some teachers are very dedicated and try really hard to teach their students. Others are bone lazy and come to school to hang out, collect a paycheck and say they have a job. I think a big problem is that they come from the broken system. They are just teaching the way they were taught and there has been no innovation or desire to innovate. Due to this, their teaching methods don't improve and the system stays broken. Many teachers will do nothing all day in class and then teach students after school is over. Why? Because they can charge the parents more money for this "tutoring." Teachers can double or triple their salary this way. It's a sham and the parents should be pissed.

3. The administration.

Here is where the biggest faults lie. As I said I work in a private school. The focus is on maximizing profit, not education. It is amazing how much class time is lost due to dance shows, sport days, praying, activities for kids and the list goes on and on. Twice this year we had class times cut from 50 to 40 minutes so the kids could practice for sport day and the end of term show, the former, a tradition all over Thailand and the latter a money maker for the school. This went on for months. We lost so much time. We have had the Ministry of Education come in and do inspections. The routine is that the school fails the first inspection and passes the second inspection. How do we pass? An envelope passes hands. Corruption is present in every facet of Thailand.

4. The Ministry of Education.

The governing body that looks over and decides the curriculum is a political appointment. Most of the time the appointee has no experience in the field of education. Every time there is a change at the ministry, there are new ideas on how to improve education. Schools try to implement these new ideas, find they are ineffective after only giving them a few months and then try something new. The ministry needs to be gutted and new people with a clue installed.

There are so many problems it is really hard to know where to begin fixing all of them. Student accountability would be a good start. If little Somchai were held back and made to learn something that would help. But I know I don't understand Thailand. Sometimes that thought makes me very happy.

Don't worry son. You'll learn. Like I did, after eight years. You're on the right track, but you still come across as a bit naive. To even hint that the MoE should be replaced... that's like saying the politicians need to stop being selfish roaches. They're the ones that have perfected this system.

[drdoom6996]

The tablets are in. To be given out as soon an the PM returns to get her photo shoot with all the kids. Now nobody has to do anything about education. The kids can all be brain dead without the teachers. As if the teachers do anything anyway. But you guys have a think on it for a while.

[theajarn]

Some random thoughts from a former special ed teacher from USA. I taught gangsters, no joke. The emphasis seems to be learning obedience and deference to one's superiors. Make good drones. If a student dares to ask a question, the implication is that the teacher didn't properly instruct and is insulted. The "empty vessel" into which knowledge is poured seems to be the rule here. Critical thinking.... very dangerous. If people learn those sorts of skills, next thing you know they will start asking "Why are we constantly being screwed over by the elite?". Can't have that. Schools are training for sheep. A thinking educated public is a threat to the status quo, and we can't have that. Those misbehaviors, texting etc, are just a form of self medication to keep the students from going crazy, exploding "Why am I wasting my life with this shit!!!" (because there is no alternative?). It is true that many do not teach during the day, that the "real" teaching is after hours for extra money. Teach teachers how to teach. Radical idea. " External inspectors should be used only on badly performing schools, it said." I disagree. Internal inspection/evaluation equals cronyism, boot licking, etc. Do the teachers have any idea what to do with the big tablet give away? How to use it to educate? I doubt it. Sorry if I sound cynical, but it sounds like another means to get kickbacks for the ministers et al who no clue or interest in education.

Cynical? You're right on the spot. That's precisely what it is, and I'm disgusted at myself for being a tool of this institutionalised brain-rot for so long. It was only recently, when I decided to do a PGCE that I realised what I was up against, and who I was really working for. For foreign teachers who have yet to figure it out... I wish you the best when you do. Hopefully you won't be mad at yourself for being a "part of it".

For my penance, I'm going to finish my PGCE and see if I might be able to spread some influence and awareness of the issue in the future.

[theajarn]

Come on guys, its bad to be sure, but not hopeless (unlike my quest to find some good REAL scotch )

A starting point that I see, is a lack of objective data.

We don't know how bad the situation is because both the teachers and students cheat.

Need Data.

I'd start the process by implementing yearly exams for the teachers

and twice yearly exams for the students (once at the start and end of school)

the exams would be 1/3 oral, 1/3 essay and 1/3 multiple choice.

the rationale is that its really hard to cheat in an oral exam.

adding the essay, gives you the chance to have a separate person grade the essays

and the multiple choice is just for some volume data.

The idea on multiple tests (once at start and once at the beginning), is that while teacher may be motivated to "enhance" their class test scores, they will just as likely be motivated to supress the start of year test scores,since its the difference in beginning to end scores that will be a key evaluation parameter for each teacher. The difference in the exit/entry tests will be a good indication of the level of "enhancement" that's occurring between the two teacher.

The teacher exams are similar, and self explanatory. set some minimum standard and give the slackers 5 years to catch up or they get demoted to teaching assistant until they can test their way back.

Oh, and this is just to get a handle on what the problem is. The thought is that just getting to a place where you can get real test data will be a start on the road to better education.

The process needs a lot of work, but i think the general idea has some legs. Any thoughts?

You haven't a clue.

[connda]

Ohhh. Results based teacher compensation. Hummm. Simple. Teach the tests. If that doesn't work, hand out the answer key with the test. If that doesn't work, blame it on the farang teachers.

You know, some kids are really smart, most kids are average, and a few kid are as dense as rock. So if a teacher is teaching the material to the best of their abilities, some kids will get excellent grades, most kids will get average grades, and a few kids are going to flat fail. But Thailand, like America teaches to the lowest common denominator, and in doing so, the entire student population is drug down. You have to allow failure, or work with the 'not too bright kids' in a different way (we used to call that Special School). Then you motivate the average and intelligent kids to excel, the best you can. But as long as there is a "No child left behind" or "All children must pass" policy -- well, nothing is going to change.

That's the way I teach, and I do let kids fail if they can't keep up. I try to get 100% from 95% of my class -- and the other 5%? They need 'special help' and that is what the Think-Tank academics can't seem to wrap their heads around. Instead -- blame the teachers. And considering that the teachers came out of this system, some teachers are excellent, most are average (but have big hearts), and a few shouldn't be allowed in a class room (and they probably have even bigger hearts).

My the way, I'm not a politically correct kinda guy, I'm a realist. There is a huge segment of the liberal population that would disagree with me (without having an alternate, effective solution). Oh well.

By the way, most of my students like me as a teacher, and a few can't stand me. But the majority of my kids do learn, and that's what I care about. C'est la vie!

Edited March 21, 2013 by connda

[connda]

Long time lurker here, but I just had to comment on this story. Here we go.

Full disclosure, I am a teacher in Bangkok. I work at a bilingual private school. Education in Thailand is a failure for many reasons. I will try to address a few of them through my experiences here.

1. The students.

I have had the pleasure to teach many wonderful and intelligent students. Sometimes it amazes me how much some of my students have learned while in this moribund system. My best students have always been very motivated to learn. I credit this to parents who actually care and are interested in the education of their children. However, the majority of my students, possibly 80%, just do not care about learning. They are kids. They figure out very early that they really don't have to do anything and they will move up to the next grade. There is no accountability for students who fail or do not try. Of course, they do not fail. That would be a loss of face for the kid and parents.

2. The teachers.

Where to begin? Some teachers are very dedicated and try really hard to teach their students. Others are bone lazy and come to school to hang out, collect a paycheck and say they have a job. I think a big problem is that they come from the broken system. They are just teaching the way they were taught and there has been no innovation or desire to innovate. Due to this, their teaching methods don't improve and the system stays broken. Many teachers will do nothing all day in class and then teach students after school is over. Why? Because they can charge the parents more money for this "tutoring." Teachers can double or triple their salary this way. It's a sham and the parents should be pissed.

3. The administration.

Here is where the biggest faults lie. As I said I work in a private school. The focus is on maximizing profit, not education. It is amazing how much class time is lost due to dance shows, sport days, praying, activities for kids and the list goes on and on. Twice this year we had class times cut from 50 to 40 minutes so the kids could practice for sport day and the end of term show, the former, a tradition all over Thailand and the latter a money maker for the school. This went on for months. We lost so much time. We have had the Ministry of Education come in and do inspections. The routine is that the school fails the first inspection and passes the second inspection. How do we pass? An envelope passes hands. Corruption is present in every facet of Thailand.

4. The Ministry of Education.

The governing body that looks over and decides the curriculum is a political appointment. Most of the time the appointee has no experience in the field of education. Every time there is a change at the ministry, there are new ideas on how to improve education. Schools try to implement these new ideas, find they are ineffective after only giving them a few months and then try something new. The ministry needs to be gutted and new people with a clue installed.

There are so many problems it is really hard to know where to begin fixing all of them. Student accountability would be a good start. If little Somchai were held back and made to learn something that would help. But I know I don't understand Thailand. Sometimes that thought makes me very happy.

+1 Well said

[connda]

One more comment. Actually, 100% of these kids are successfully being taught -- They are successfully being taught how to assimilate into Thai society;

and

Without the Chinese cultural influence on the upper end of Thai society, Thailand would simply be Cambodia's twin sister. But once the Chinese 'Borg Collective' comes down and assimilates SE Asia in the future, it really won't matter.

As long as the elites can send their kids to Oxford or Harvard, it business as usual, and everyone else is cheap labor (or cannon-fodder). How much of an education do you need to operate within 'The Borg'. Critical thinking skills??? <sound of air being sucked thru my teeth> Dangerous to the status-quo.

(My apologies to any of those who have not seen Star Trek. Just Google 'Borg'.)

Edited March 21, 2013 by connda

[Marlow999]

Thai People are the Salt of the Earth .....But not too bright when it comes to EDGE U KATION

That's really, really, funny.

[Marlow999]

Thai People are the Salt of the Earth .....But not too bright when it comes to EDGE U KATION

I would rather say, the Thai people are TERRIBLY MISLEAD AND MIS-BRAINWASHED by the elite that came in from a majority of Chinese wealthy families that brought in their arrogant FACE-smashing oriented status culture to ancient Thailand, and to what that lead to... need I say more?

Many people of Thailand, aren't, what you may call... "uneducated or in barbaric terms stupid", but they are terribly-unfortunately brainwashed by the people on top of Thai Chinese Ministries aka Mafias which wouldn't hesitate in zero seconds, to cold blooded go over dead bodies, if someone KNOWS TOO MUCH.

So in other words, what has been corruption-bred as "Education" is in reality called:

"rote-brainwashing-draining-of-common-sense-until-the-point-of-no-return-beyond-brain-damage-repair-brain-shutdown-the-poor-and-common-people"

My point is, no Human being, is naturally born as "stupid"...,

What the hell does all this mean?

[Marlow999]

This might be a bid to reduce the amounts some parents pay teachers for good grades. It always seems funny to me that when you drive by a school in a good part of town it looks like a parking lot for a BMW dealership. Thought the teachers were not paid much, less than 20 k which is the payment for a BMW 318. Where are they getting the money or do we need to ask?

I'd like to make it clear that I have no connection with this poster. Nothing personal Sgt.