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

[webfact]

Policy think-tank proposes overhaul of education system

BANGKOK, 21 March 2013 (NNT) - The policy think-tank, Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), has proposed an overhaul of the Thai education system, focusing on inducing incentives for teachers to care for their pupils.

The think-tank revealed that its study into the Thai education system has shown that teachers have not been made accountable for their students' education. The institute's president, Somkiat Tangkitvanich, said that students' performance accounts for only 3 per cent in the consideration of teachers' pay-rises and promotion. It should be made to account for over 50 per cent of those, he said.

The think-tank also suggested that inspections on schools by external inspectors should be scrapped. External inspectors should be used only on badly performing schools, it said.

Among other suggestions, the think-tank also calls for school syllabuss to be modernized to suit the 21st century. It also proposes that the current national tests, which seek to test students on knowledge of contents, be replaced by a new test called the "literacy-based test", which will seek to test students on understanding of how to acquire knowledge.

Thailand's education has been deemed by many as a failure. Thai students are among those spending the longest time in class in the world. Yet, Thailand ranks among the worst for educational output, according to Pearson, an education firm .

-- NNT 2013-03-21

[Tanaka]

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

[allalong]

be replaced by a new test called the "literacy-based test", which will seek to test students on understanding of how to acquire knowledge

-- NNT 2013-03-21

:blink:Uhh? Maybe students know how to succeed in the country,and it aint by what they are taught in schools ,be it in Thailand or any other school in the world Edited March 21, 2013 by allalong

[MaxLee]

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

They just want to recycle the new old news, because they are running out of topics...

[fred007]

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

[arthurboy]

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

Exactly.

Hub of we have a huge budget but provide crap education and don't give a toss anyway.

[chainarong]

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.

[ratcatcher]

One only has to take a look at the kind of things some Thai politicians say and do to see how accurate this study is. Abhisit & Korn and foreign educated Thais excepted.

A vast majority of Thai students leaving university with their degrees can barely carry on a simple conversation or answer a simple "How are you"? in English.

And I'm not Thai bashing, it is the system that is at fault not generally the students, although many are lazy and would rather play with their tablets, pads & mobile toys. .

Too much emphasis on grammatical correctness and outdated phrases rather than basic conversation skills.

[Jim walker]

Thai schools are faultless in every way they certainly don’t
need external inspectors to give them any advice on how well the inspired students
are being brilliantly educated in the Thai system, Just ask any teacher.

[Thaddeus]

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.

[MaxLee]

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"...,

[ratcatcher]

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"?

[jamhar]

An objective self inspection is a key step in a program of self improvement.

Basically its difficult to continuously improve if you don't know whats wrong.

First realize you have a problem

identify the problems

then get corrective plan on each problem

execute the plan

hold every team member accountable.

This problem is systemic in TL.

problems are diverse.

Start with the low lying fruit

get some confidence in the team and the plan

and move forward.

Thats what i would do

but what do i know,

i'm just an engineer

Sounds like they are at step 1.

lets see if they can get to step 2 and 3.

I'm wishing for luck,

Knock on wood and

Got my fingers crossed!

Edited March 21, 2013 by jamhar

[SgtMarlow]

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?

[Lingba]

Thai students are among those spending the longest time in class in the world...

...and this means absolutely nothing!..I'm not Thai bashing but this is in fact just an extension of their priorities here...Quantity rather than quality...They believe that keeping kids in school for 7-8 hours a day and cramming their heads with endless information and then giving them homework on top of all of this is what an education is...A childs brain doesn't work this way...At this rate a kid gets burned out, bored and has no desire to want to learn...Learning becomes a chore rather than a fun experience....

[anon467848]

Another trillion baht budget on the way perhaps.... with all these mega budgets being approved by the current administration there are going to some serious wealthy MP's.... and to think that this party got elected on the anti corruption manifesto, come to think on it, has the govt followed though on a single manifesto promise, TIT...

[Locationthailand]

Yes, no such things as results oriented assessments here...

... said that students' performance accounts for only 3 per cent in the consideration of teachers' pay-rises and promotion. It should be made to account for over 50 per cent of those, he said.

The only 50% assessment here is on a student attendance. If the student obtain 50% of their pass as assessed by attendance, they get their grades and move on, a ridiculously flawed system. Not all schools do this but I have been told some still do.

Edited March 21, 2013 by Locationthailand

[BeforeTigers]

That's jive, dude.
I am speaking as proxy here -my girlfriend is a teacher- but my understanding is that the teachers have their hands tied as far as failing students, reprimanding them when they cause a disturbance, and holding them back when they fail to achieve the goals of a given grade level. Nevermind the electronic devices that the teachers are not really allowed to confiscate during class.

Imagine the chaos in a classroom full of kids that can't follow along because they should have been held back, and who have little incentive to sit calmly while the other kids take lessons.

My girl is a very intelligent and dedicated teacher and she is endlessly frustrated with the system- not because she doesn't care or isn't accountable.

Edited March 21, 2013 by BeforeTigers

[culicine]

What's that? Teachers are not accountable for their students performances? I beg to differ. Teacher are ALWAYS blamed when students perform poorly on exams - despite such students never handing i homework or coming to school. I would suggest abolishing the ho-fail policy - give the grades the students earn. If they earn a zero then there is a zero on their report. There's nothing more infuriating than having to give a 50 to the lazy sod sleeping in the corner and a 50 to the kid who earned it byworking his/her nads off. Thailand better wake itself up or they face being left in the wake of other AEC nations over the next few years.

And what exactly is a literacy based test? Surely they aren't proposing to abolish testing of content knowledge - which goes against just about every other country on earth; IB, AP, A levels...etc.

[culicine]

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?

Those are parents illegally parking in the teachers spots - most Thai teachers I know are up to their necks paying off a vios or city. Certainly I've never seen one driving a bmw, unless they had a rich husband.

[JetsetBkk]

They have a "think-tank" ??

[thomash]

Wait folks here is the solution just read the previous article titled:

Thai Students Set For Mass Tablet Computer Handout

and by the way it will be the world's largest handout of the devices for education

[Kananga]

They have a "think-tank" ??

More of a "pick your nose and live in denial -tank"

Edited March 21, 2013 by Kananga

[Kilgore Trout]

be replaced by a new test called the "literacy-based test", which will seek to test students on understanding of how to acquire knowledge

-- NNT 2013-03-21 :blink:Uhh? Maybe students know how to succeed in the country,and it aint by what they are taught in schools ,be it in Thailand or any other school in the world

?? So are you saying they shouldn't go to school at all?

[lovetotravel]

I know one of these external investigators. They do quite well due to tea money for looking the other way.

[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.

[justathought]

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.

[EyesWideOpen]

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. :-(

[attento]

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?

Good grades don't come cheap

[attento]

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

That worked last time.

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