Thailand's educational spending highest in the world

[Scamper]

It is easy to suppose - given all the imposing cash thrown at it - defective laptops and all - that there is no line that seems to connect quality with money spent. Indeed, the Thai educational system is behind most industrialized countries. It all comes down to teachers, the rigid and unbending curriculum, and last but not least - the cultural imposition of not wanting to encourage students' free opinions or expression on anything. So by all means raise the level of GDP spending on education up to 8 %. Unless these three things are addressed, it will not amount to anything.

[rakman]

The article states Thailand is spending Baht 35,000 per year, about $1,100 per student.

http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66

US is spending on average $11,184 (BT 367,953) per year per student and there are places where $18,000 to $22,000 are being wasted on non-performing schools.

[chooka]

How much of that was for the broken tablets?

[chooka]

The article states Thailand is spending Baht 35,000 per year, about $1,100 per student.

http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66

US is spending on average $11,184 (BT 367,953) per year per student and there are places where $18,000 to $22,000 are being wasted on non-performing schools.

Yea but 35,000 is greater than 11,184 ask a thai.

[Cricketnut]

Into the Deans and politicians pockets and thank you very much. Earlier last month the Education Minister informed us that Thailand spent the same amount of money as Singapore on Education. Could someone enlighten me on the population difference in students 5 Million living on a very small Island versus 68 million living in a small country. So in effect Thailand per student spends less then something percent per student. How can they compare the difference, oh sorry cant lost face now can we....

[yooper2001]

You would think that young students could speak better English as a second language. time in a classroom does not guarantee quality of learning.

[MJP]

So American and Canadian kids study 3-4 hours a day whereas Thai kids study up to 18 hours?

Absolute tosh, and I therefore treat the whole article as such.

It would appear the article is a product of the education system.

[focus27]

Thailand has an extremely high number of private schools, so this is not just a reflection on the gov't, although the Ministry of Education needs to take a very serious look at it's curriculum and how it is implemented. Especially how it is implemented.

More of the same is not needed.

A major clear-out of the bloated bureaucracy would be a start. Many of them seem to exist to enforce ( or not as the case may be) meaningless rules and policies). Teacher training reform needs to be a priority. Curriculum ...where to start?

I (briefly) taught in a private Thai school's English Program and recall being forced to waste a Saturday on 'professional development'. This consisted in inviting an eminent Thai professor, having the headmistress being extremely sycophantic to her, then having us foreigners review the official Thai curriculum for our subjects. The guest speaker often mentioned that she was shocked to have to do in one day what it would normally take her THREE days to do with Thai teachers. Indeed, the whole pointless exercise took less than scheduled. It was, however, interesting to see the huge gaps in knowledge - I can't recall exactly, but swathes of mathematics were missing from certain year groups. And we had bought lovely new Singapore maths books - except that they were far too difficult for the students, but they could tell parents that they were emulating the Singapore system. I left quickly.

Oh yes, nobody was allowed to fail. If a foreigner was so rude as to fail a student then that student would resit an easier exam under the supervision of a Thai member of staff. This would obviously give the otherwise shy student a miraculous surge in confidence and an uncanny ability to pass with flying colours.

[Loles]

So, this means, this is the highest spending for .... nothing in the world.

[DivinGuy]

"Study hours for Thai students are five times more than countries such as the US and Canada where students spend 600-700 hours in classes while Thai students 2,000-3,600 hours."

Lets look:

52 Weeks have a year.

12 weeks are vacation

40 weeks lectures * 5 days a week = 200 days

3600 / 200 = 18 hours per day spend in classes (from 8am morning to 2am after midnight)

2000 / 200 = 10 hours per day spend in classes (from 8am morning to 6pm)

average = 14 hours per day spend in classes (from 8am morning to 10pm)

average = 70 hours per week.

I do not know what they are doing in the classes, but I doubt the data base and the validity of data collection too.

In Ramkhamhaeng (the largest university in Bangkok) and generally in Bangkok,i see every day oodles of students on the streets,

- shopping, in cinemas, in restaurants and in the evening in discos and pubs.-

No way that they study day per day, spending 14 hours in classes.

20% of State Budget for education?

If this is true, than we have here maybe another rice school scam.

Yeah, the math for hours in class doesn't work at all. Thus, how much can we trust the numbers for expenditure?

There's certainly a story to be written about Thai education. Unfortunately, this one isn't it.

[Thaddeus]

The Education Ministry has paid for eggs, flour, water and icing sugar.

And made an omelette.

//edit/spolling

Edited January 9, 2014 by Thaddeus

[Katipo]

This is deeply disturbing on so many levels. Hey, politicians and officials! Could you f#ck over the nation's children any more?

[noitom]

It's a shameful claim. Shame on Thailand. What do the big company management folks in Thailand say about this?

[jackr]

Despite the state’s high spending on education and extra classes for children, Thai students' learning proficiency is rather low

Well look who's teaching them for crying out loud. You can throw all the money in the world at a dire teacher with half a brain and will get exactly the same result. This greng jai, laidback culture is just not conducive to churning out brain boxes I'm afraid. Here's a suggestion, sack all the Thai teachers and give the kids a real book to read.

[comeondoit]

as usual you can proof anything with statistics,,,,,that whole thing cannot be true, it was surely financed by the governement which needs badly some positive news!!!!!...looking at the matayom school in our town having more than 1500 students,,,but not enough classrooms(over 50 kids per class) not enough desks, many have to sit on the floors, very dirty toilets and not enough of them... they are building since one year a new school but not finished yet...where here in THAILAND Tesco can build a complete new shop in 2 months

do not talk about the ridiculous tablet story, money clearly wasted

[meand]

Thais wont listen to anyone, it is their country. Let them and their kids revel in it.

[Thai at Heart]

Thailand's educational spending highest in the world

I would therefore conclude that Thai's are the smartest people in the world.

A. Either the numbers are wrong

B. The money never gets spent

[NeverSure]

I have before mentioned that I have lady friends who are teachers in Isaan. One of them emails me every day and very often sends me pictures.

I am shocked at what the kids do that isn't school. Last week they took the kids to a Buddhist something for a whole day "to learn about their culture." Earlier the kids spent several days harvesting 10 rai of school ground owned rice and they did it all by hand. They had hand scythes and they threshed the grain by hand on some kind of mat. The teachers are forever having a day for a function that isn't school. They take a whole day to take the kids outside to teach them soccer, called a day for exercise. They have ceremonies in a larger building. I have not once gotten a picture of kids in a classroom actually doing school work, nor is it mentioned. There seems to forever be something special going on.

What is school for, anyway?

[Jasun]

I've heard of kids in English programs studying everything twice, then there's after school tutoring, evening homework, weekends classes and summer schools. So I can understand how they can study up to 5 times more than in other countries. What's hard to understand is how after all that, they can remain 5 times worse off academically.

[MJP]

Thais wont listen to anyone, it is their country. Let them and their kids revel in it.

I tend to agree to be honest, but if you have children here it's a worry. That said, the eldest goes to a great school, it's private but the fees are so low as to lead me to suspect it's also government funded.

Anyway, the educational quality isn't lacking and the atmosphere there is wonderful.

As to Thailand spending all this money on education, I think we all know that's a load of old pony and the funds are disappearing elsewhere. Simply wicked.

[thesetat2013]

With thai teachers withholding information in lieu of tutoring fees that thai students need to truly comprehend what they are taught this number is surprisingly low. That and the fact that thai students are not taught to think, evaluate, or surmise will keep the thais education level at a low level!

Ignorance is bliss

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Scott]

Off-topic posts removed.

[Lingba]

look at the difference in the number of hours Thai students spend compared to other places....It is a fact that more hours DOES NOT mean better learning..the brain can only handle so much per day...so the kids here are getting burned out fast from an early age..thus they get learn to get bored with learning and learn not to like it...you don't need to force students to sit in schools 8 HOURS a day...That is ridiculous...as the schools are no longer learning institutions, they have become baby sitting centers so the parents can work

[willyumiii]

2000 to 36000 hours??

Hours of what?

At my local public school 3 out 5 days per week there is no real teaching due to holidays, sporting events, field trips and scouting activities dances and shows.

Sanook, not education!

Children are left on their own, without a teacher even present for hours per day while teachers are in their "lounge" playing on Face Book.

Figures don't lie, but liars often figure!

Aren't statistics wonderful?

It is a crime that Thai children are being cheated out of an even average education.

The money is spent on anything but an actual education.

[MJP]

2000 to 36000 hours??

Hours of what?

At my local public school 3 out 5 days per week there is no real teaching due to holidays, sporting events, field trips and scouting activities dances and shows.

Sanook, not education!

Children are left on their own, without a teacher even present for hours per day while teachers are in their "lounge" playing on Face Book.

Figures don't lie, but liars often figure!

Aren't statistics wonderful?

It is a crime that Thai children are being cheated out of an even average education.

The money is spent on anything but an actual education.

At least 1200 hours a year are spent driving round villages in a 1986 Nissan Urvan with a questionable service record.

[rijb]

Is that counting the money under the table?

[Thait Spot]

That article is a complete work of fiction

[jonesthebaker]

Personally I find anachronistic (and expensive!) the need of 3 different uniforms (gym, scout/army and normal day) with cleaned spare and the relative expensive and low quality shoes..

How a poor family can afford this expense?

And, IMHO, but just mine, uniforms at school are so much North Korea style...

all british schools have uniforms from the earliest age. the brain washing is no different in nature to north korea. just adapted to fit the culture

Edited January 9, 2014 by jonesthebaker

[jonesthebaker]

That article is a complete work of fiction

that's a fact

[RubbaJohnny]

Due to poor grasp of investigative,journalism fact checking and blissful ignorance it seems likely that the real story is merely 4% of funds alloted goes into any thought provoking information transfer from awell qualified didact happy to be challenged using logic,philosophy,rhetoric and even prose.

When you think what might happen if the people really had the facts..............Poor waifs with only half alegume cared for at a temple ..THE WAT MITE HALF BEANS

Sic Rangsit Gorier Monday

Edited January 9, 2014 by RubbaJohnny