Thailand's educational spending highest in the world

[sumrit]

"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.

My daughter's average school week is six days, not five.

Monday to Friday: start 8:00am finish 4:30 pm........8 and a half hours per day.

Saturday: start 8:00am finish 3:30pm.........7 and a half hours

Total...............................50 hours per week

x40 weeks per year

2000 hours per year in total

Admittedly that's at the bottom end but a lot of students also have private tuition, not 1500 hours worth I should think but some do have a lot.

Edited January 9, 2014 by sumrit

[bkkgooner]

I see kids where I work every day learning from 8 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon it is an absolute joke.

Primary kids back home start school at 9ish and are out the door by about half two, kindergarten kids are an hour less than that so why are grade 1 kids going through 8 1/2 hours days and learning for the exact same amount of time as G12 students?

And I detest this thing the Thai teachers have about forcing so many students to learn after school every day. Let them go home and have a life outside of school and breathe some fresh air.

Edited January 9, 2014 by bkkgooner

[peecee]

This includes the cost of the tablets, yes?

Yes; diazipam for the teachers!

[senoremac]

Spend, spend, spend!

But until Thailand abandons their NO FAIL policy, grades will remain meaningless and students will be pushed through the system without ever gaining a firm knowledge foundation to build upon.

I'm a high school English teacher here and by the time the students get to me they have already given up because the basic language skills they need to anchor their learning into were never acquired or the ability is there, but the motivation is not. Work hard, study and put forth your best effort and you pass or play with your phone, skip class and put forth zero effort and you pass.

Effort, knowledge and ability are not requirements for advancement to the next level. Simply showing up to campus for role call, not necessarily the actual classroom is all that any student has to achieve in order to succeed in Thailand's educational institutions.

Sad but true

[MESmith]

I see kids where I work every day learning from 8 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon it is an absolute joke.

Primary kids back home start school at 9ish and are out the door by about half two, kindergarten kids are an hour less than that so why are grade 1 kids going through 8 1/2 hours days and learning for the exact same amount of time as G12 students?

And I detest this thing the Thai teachers have about forcing so many students to learn after school every day. Let them go home and have a life outside of school and breathe some fresh air.

Fresh air? Where do yo live?

[bkkgooner]

I see kids where I work every day learning from 8 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon it is an absolute joke.

Primary kids back home start school at 9ish and are out the door by about half two, kindergarten kids are an hour less than that so why are grade 1 kids going through 8 1/2 hours days and learning for the exact same amount of time as G12 students?

And I detest this thing the Thai teachers have about forcing so many students to learn after school every day. Let them go home and have a life outside of school and breathe some fresh air.

Fresh air? Where do yo live?

Fair enough get outside and breathe some of that good Bangkok smog

[Benmart]

a big f....... up anyway

I often use a Thesaurus when trying to find alternate words that project my thoughts.

[atyclb]

"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.

and according to my friend who is a student in Ramkhamhaeng University, they can take a degree they want by enrolling/paying it even without attending their classes. They just need to take the exam.

So, what do they expect from the students to learn if they don't attend classes?

And those attending are not paying attention to their instructor/professor. They keep busy with their mirror and act as hairdresser for themselves.

Not attending each and every class is not necessarily a bad thing. If they can study on their own from the class specific syllabus or get online education. I had friends that sudied in bologna italy and attendance was not mandatory either but you had to pass the exams. i cant say that not attending many a thai class lecture would be detrimental or any great loss.

we already know the maj of thai education does not train the mind how to think or create intellectual curiosity. we know about image over substance.

university of seoul korea actively recruits recent nobel laureates and offers them attractive and rewarding positions. korea's idea is to stimulate their students to one day become nobel prize winners themselves. great education though is not what makes korea trendy for thai's, it is k pop and white skin. from my exposure to thai universities the sole university i could envision ever hiring nobel level professors might be abac. other ones like mah and chula would be too nationalistic and could feel sleighted as hiring a nobel laureate might make students question why there are no thai laureates, etc etc. the culture of image over substance, face saving, cheating, corruption and nepotism further compound educational failures.

[atyclb]

when money is sent to schools it sometimes goes into pockets of others and not on the school at all. in our village the head of school forged documents and took one million baht. after being caught six months later he was transferred and not made to pay it back. more control on the funds are needed

Being forced to repay the stolen money would set a bad precedent for all the others eager to get the opportunity to do the same thing.

[Angeledge777]

Oh no... And where is all this money going? Not in the corrupted pockets of thise teaching our kids?

[atlbravosfan]

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.

Honestly, as a teacher, I can all but guarantee that is not the issue.

[wilcopops]

I'd suggest that a key factor is in this paragraph....

"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."

This seems to indicate the ineffectiveness of most teaching in Thailand and also the extent of ignorance on teaching and study methods.

[wilcopops]

"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.

and according to my friend who is a student in Ramkhamhaeng University, they can take a degree they want by enrolling/paying it even without attending their classes. They just need to take the exam.

So, what do they expect from the students to learn if they don't attend classes?

And those attending are not paying attention to their instructor/professor. They keep busy with their mirror and act as hairdresser for themselves.

Not attending each and every class is not necessarily a bad thing. If they can study on their own from the class specific syllabus or get online education. I had friends that sudied in bologna italy and attendance was not mandatory either but you had to pass the exams. i cant say that not attending many a thai class lecture would be detrimental or any great loss.

we already know the maj of thai education does not train the mind how to think or create intellectual curiosity. we know about image over substance.

university of seoul korea actively recruits recent nobel laureates and offers them attractive and rewarding positions. korea's idea is to stimulate their students to one day become nobel prize winners themselves. great education though is not what makes korea trendy for thai's, it is k pop and white skin. from my exposure to thai universities the sole university i could envision ever hiring nobel level professors might be abac. other ones like mah and chula would be too nationalistic and could feel sleighted as hiring a nobel laureate might make students question why there are no thai laureates, etc etc. the culture of image over substance, face saving, cheating, corruption and nepotism further compound educational failures.

I'd think twice before citing Italy as a model of education....in any level. The rest of thou "examples" are really little more than fringe quirks and don't address or even relate to the day-to-day education of children, especially in Thailand.

[wilcopops]

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.

I'd like to know what comparisons you've made to come up with the idea of "extremely high" and how you consider them to be outside national education , especially with reference to what the government stipulates has to be taught in both govt or private schools.

[Hecate]

"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.

Not only that, but the article is way off the estimate on "countries such as the US and Canada where students spend 600-700 hours in classes". I went to school in Canada. Let's see, 600 hours divide by 40 weeks equals 15 hours per week or three hours per day. I don't recall being sent home at noon. We went to school for 32.5 hours per week or 1300 hours per year, not including studying--something we had to do if we wanted to pass.

The problem with education in Thailand is lack of critical thinking skills.

[wilcopops]

"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.

Thailand and in fact most of Asia is obsessed with long teaching hours..........there may be holidays and you might see Uni students walking around but their terms and hours of lectures are FAR longer and higher than in most Western educational establishments.....(think of your own Uni days??). Most school children are forced by their parents to attend all sorts of extra-curricular classes, in fact Thais model their behaviour on Korea and Japan where students can be ended in study for over 16 hours per day.

It has NEVER been shown to be an effective way of learning - some students who study long hours become exam and/or academically successful but usually at the expense of other aspects of their development.

It seems that Thailand unfortunately tries to emulate these long hours of study, but with incompetent and ineffective staff, methods and curricula....the result a lot of very tired and uneducated children, with long-term health problems arising from sleep deprivation and lack of stimuli.

Edited January 9, 2014 by wilcopops

[Jim walker]

Thailand might be the highest spending in the world but certainly the money is not spent on educating the children, obviously the bulk of the money spending is used up in corrupt criminal payments to the politicians and education boards and various committees that can access education financial accounts, I am sure once Sutheps cronies are running the Education system it will be the best in the Universe, with 0% corruption

Edited January 9, 2014 by metisdead
Font again!

[Thai at Heart]

Sure, this is possibly correct. but how much is really going to the students education and how much is going to other projects like the tours that are organized by schools for the teachers recreational period, traveling on 5 star buses, staying in the best hotels, eating the most expensive meals, etc. etc. and what about the students outings that cost thousands, but are only worth about 30% of the value? and the loaded maintenance bills? sometimes loaded up to 200%, and the false cash-slips presented for refund from the teachers? Not to mention the directors cut for his overseas trips expensive entertainment and other pet projects. and the luxury cars and houses owned by school accountants, and other staff members that far suppress their income? one could go on and on, but nothing will happen because nobody really cares about educating the younger generation, Why? because it is easier to control uneducated masses then educated one's. its all a big farce.

My sister-in-law is an MOE administrator responsible for buildings upkeep. She takes on average four overseas trips per year to places like Switzerland, Japan, South Korea etc. in tours up to five days with around 10-20 colleagues per trip.

Each trip staying in a swanky hotel, each trip combined with a lunch/dinner reception at the Thai embassy of the country. Each trip with a couple of days sightseeing included.

She also lives in a government-paid for apartment off Silom road.

The schools and colleges she is responsible for have terrible facilities, crumbling buildings, huge class sizes. She then takes to the streets to protest against Thaksin's corruption. The irony could make you cry.

Not much more to say after that is there.

She serves the country very selflessly....

[fxe1200]

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

Look at the cars some Deans are driving, look at their offices, equipped with very expensive sumptuous furniture, then you know, where the money is being spent. See how farang teachers are being treated, they are being kicked out with no reasons given, and replaced by Chinese teachers, who are being lured into the country with the promise to earn 25KTHB, but end up being paid only 15 to 18KTHB/month. Some teachers found out, that even their social security expenditures have not being paid. The whole system is ruled by the greed of those, who have access to the money given by the state and/or parents.

They also spend a lot of money on so called "educational tours" for the Thai teachers, which are in fact all expense paid holidays to all parts of the world, providing they spend a couple of hours at some university lecture.

As long there is no control, where and how the money, supplied by the Thai government is being spent, I figure, after viewing the situation in Thailand for some years, that a maximum of 20% of the supplied funds reach the students, or the upgrade of their equipment, or the employment of able teachers, who also know the meaning of didactic and methodical approaches. The whole system sucks. And with new elections Thailand will not change anything.

[MJP]

Sure, this is possibly correct. but how much is really going to the students education and how much is going to other projects like the tours that are organized by schools for the teachers recreational period, traveling on 5 star buses, staying in the best hotels, eating the most expensive meals, etc. etc. and what about the students outings that cost thousands, but are only worth about 30% of the value? and the loaded maintenance bills? sometimes loaded up to 200%, and the false cash-slips presented for refund from the teachers? Not to mention the directors cut for his overseas trips expensive entertainment and other pet projects. and the luxury cars and houses owned by school accountants, and other staff members that far suppress their income? one could go on and on, but nothing will happen because nobody really cares about educating the younger generation, Why? because it is easier to control uneducated masses then educated one's. its all a big farce.

My sister-in-law is an MOE administrator responsible for buildings upkeep. She takes on average four overseas trips per year to places like Switzerland, Japan, South Korea etc. in tours up to five days with around 10-20 colleagues per trip.

Each trip staying in a swanky hotel, each trip combined with a lunch/dinner reception at the Thai embassy of the country. Each trip with a couple of days sightseeing included.

She also lives in a government-paid for apartment off Silom road.

The schools and colleges she is responsible for have terrible facilities, crumbling buildings, huge class sizes. She then takes to the streets to protest against Thaksin's corruption. The irony could make you cry.

Not much more to say after that is there.

She serves the country very selflessly....

The whole place is just goosed. There's no other way of describing it. Some of the quite frank posts made on this thread obviously by people who do actually know and have experienced the education system here have led me to conclude that this country will not be changing for the better within our lifetimes (I'm shy of 40).

I'll say this. I'm glad I was born and brought up in a decent country, however irritating the place can be at times and I'm glad I can return there to live and earn as and when I need to.

[Thai at Heart]

Sure, this is possibly correct. but how much is really going to the students education and how much is going to other projects like the tours that are organized by schools for the teachers recreational period, traveling on 5 star buses, staying in the best hotels, eating the most expensive meals, etc. etc. and what about the students outings that cost thousands, but are only worth about 30% of the value? and the loaded maintenance bills? sometimes loaded up to 200%, and the false cash-slips presented for refund from the teachers? Not to mention the directors cut for his overseas trips expensive entertainment and other pet projects. and the luxury cars and houses owned by school accountants, and other staff members that far suppress their income? one could go on and on, but nothing will happen because nobody really cares about educating the younger generation, Why? because it is easier to control uneducated masses then educated one's. its all a big farce.

My sister-in-law is an MOE administrator responsible for buildings upkeep. She takes on average four overseas trips per year to places like Switzerland, Japan, South Korea etc. in tours up to five days with around 10-20 colleagues per trip.

Each trip staying in a swanky hotel, each trip combined with a lunch/dinner reception at the Thai embassy of the country. Each trip with a couple of days sightseeing included.

She also lives in a government-paid for apartment off Silom road.

The schools and colleges she is responsible for have terrible facilities, crumbling buildings, huge class sizes. She then takes to the streets to protest against Thaksin's corruption. The irony could make you cry.

Not much more to say after that is there.

She serves the country very selflessly....

The whole place is just goosed. There's no other way of describing it. Some of the quite frank posts made on this thread obviously by people who do actually know and have experienced the education system here have led me to conclude that this country will not be changing for the better within our lifetimes (I'm shy of 40).

I'll say this. I'm glad I was born and brought up in a decent country, however irritating the place can be at times and I'm glad I can return there to live and earn as and when I need to.

It's a shame. I could put up with a lot myself but when it came to kids education I just couldn't tolerate the useless attitude.

[nomad127]

Has anyone ever seen their curriculum to include some so called universities? What a joke....

[Tokay]

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 if you use Thai (or TAT) arithmetic, the Thais spend more.

[maddas]

i went to a function where there was about 1000 tables loaded with tucker, i asked who is paying for all this, ohhh the school, sweet, then the meetings away at patts, teachers day!!! kids day!!! it appeared to go on and on, good lurks if you can get em, i would say most of the cash is just blown away, kids studying? where?

[JumboTrudgeon]

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

Not the only thing in Thailand that bears resemblance with North Korea.

[selftaopath]

Thailand #1. again.

[fifthcolumn]

Thailand's educational spending highest in the world

That would mean their productivity is the lowest in the world

It doesn't mean that at all. Productivity is measured by cost and hours worked. If no one eent to school, could productivity still be measured? Of course.

[Ruin]

Just think how much improvement could be made if that money actually got to its intended destination!

[thesetat2013]

Important meeting held in finance minisry yesterday.

The topic: Thai education

The content discussed: How to spend more money.

What waa not discussed was how to use the funding to improve education.

The source is from a government worker who had to attend.

As a foreigner here with a new baby and a teacher for many years I have concluded that homeschooling is the only way my kid will be taught. Thai education is not about learning. It is about money.

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

[Ticketmaster]

A big part of the problem is the basic Thai culture. Curiosity is suppressed inchildren from a young age. All quest for knowledge begins with the question: "Why?" and that question is crushed in Thailand. People are not allowed to question authority, to discuss the merits of a monarchy, to ask about the honesty of Thai history (as taught), to make suggestions to higher ups, etc..

Is it any wonder that the kids can't perform when their thirst for knowledge has been snuffed out before they even get to school?

Edited January 10, 2014 by Ticketmaster