Education officials want Thai politicians to stop interfering in their work

[webfact]

Education officials want politicians to stop interfering in their work
Supinda na Mahachai
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- THE EDUCATION Ministry is trying to prevent political interference in its work by pushing for new legislation.

The ministry's permanent secretary Sutthasri Wongsamarn has vowed to raise the issue with the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) early next month.

It is one of the many suggestions made during a recent Educational Reform for Thailand's Reform seminar.

"We will present the seminar's summary for the NCPO to consider," she said.

Sompong Jitradub, who teaches at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Education, told the seminar that the new legislation should be drafted and enforced to prevent political meddling.

Former education minister Varakorn Samakoses shares the same view. Speaking at the seminar, he pointed out that when new politicians or new parties come to power, they change education policies and disrupt ongoing work.

"So, we have to prevent political-office holders from intervening in work that must be done," he said.

"Politicians shouldn't try to please teachers. We need accountability in the educational system."

Yongyuth Yuthavong, a social-psychology adviser to the NCPO, said the junta had given serious attention to education reform because education was a key facet in creating a peaceful and harmonious society.

"We need to inculcate the right judgement in people and we need to develop an accountable education system," he said.

Yongyuth also supported the idea of issuing gold cards for students to use in seeking free education at a school they want to attend.

Many speakers at the seminar emphasised the need for capable and ethical teachers and trying to produce morally sound students.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Education-officials-want-politicians-to-stop-inter-30239110.html

-- The Nation 2014-07-22

[maxme]

Well the military shouldn't interfere but the education ministry certainly need an overhaul.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[noitom]

I thought Thai "politicians" were out?

[NongKhaiKid]

Stop politicians interfering in anything ?

Oh please !

[Mango Bob]

The Education Ministry needs someone to interfere there doing a terrible job as it is.

[rijb]

It's easy to blame the teachers because they're the most visible.

I believe the (invisible) administrators, at all levels, are what's rotten in Thailand's education system.

Edited July 22, 2014 by rijb

[Slip]

Meanwhile teachers want the Education Officials to stop interfering in their work.

[jaltsc]

"THE EDUCATION Ministry is trying to prevent political interference in its work..."

I would love to hear what the ministry's definition of "work" is.

[thesetat2013]

Since the MOE has the highest fiscal budget than any other ministry it will be a hard sell to get politicians out of that planning.

Its bad enough that all the MOE considers when they have their meetings is how to spend all that money and usually it is to make more schemes like that tablet scheme.

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

[phosphorescent]

Hopefully they'll get what they want. Ministers of education change more often than the weather which doesn't allow for any long term planning or beneficial overhauls to the education system. It's high time successive governments stop treating the position as a short term stepping stone.

[Seastallion]

The Education Ministry needs someone to interfere there doing a terrible job as it is.

Yes.

The culture within the Ministry, the philosophies pushed, do not create a learning environment, do not produce the leaders and thinkers of tomorrow.

It's all well and good to say "no political interference", but only if the "interference" is political in nature.

I think it quite proper for a good government to dictate to educators a regimen of education that serves the nation.

[BSJ]

555 They should wish for something more easily achievable.....world peace!

[cooked]

The Education Ministry NEEDS **** interfering with. Education needs interfering with as well as a lot of the teachers. Prayuth has set guidelines for which way he wants education to go and although I don't really agree, let's hope that a lot of chaff gets blown away, and that 'professional teachers' also means English native language teachers.

[Pib]

The endless blame game. That is, if you didn't interfere I could do a better job, if you would only fully fund our budget request, if you would just stop questioning everything we do, etc. The endless blame game.

[englishoak]

No responsibly accepted by the MOE for its appalling record and system then ? how unsurprising... Hub of blame games

[klauskunkel]

The Permanent Secretary of the Education Ministry is concerned about his permanence...

[IsaanAndy]

It's easy to blame the teachers because they're the most visible.

I believe the (invisible) administrators, at all levels, are what's rotten in Thailand's education system.

The teachers are as much of the problem as the MofEd, e.g encouraging parents to let children attend their paid w/e sessions of the curriculum that they don't teach Mon - Fri so they can pass onto the next level.

[cooked]

It's easy to blame the teachers because they're the most visible.

I believe the (invisible) administrators, at all levels, are what's rotten in Thailand's education system.

The teachers are as much of the problem as the MofEd, e.g encouraging parents to let children attend their paid w/e sessions of the curriculum that they don't teach Mon - Fri so they can pass onto the next level.

It can be worse than that - this almost amounts to a bribe as teachers won't pass kids that don't pay for these 'lessons' (learning by rote in smaller groups than usual).

[trainman34014]

Hmmm; seems they are asking to be left alone to keep on making the awful mess of it they have been for too long already. The whole lot needs tearing down.

[rickirs]

Why the worry? Isn't the NCPO eliminating political-office holders from any governmental office? And should magically covert political office holders get into government, the NCPO and its reform committee hold absolute power over any legislation passed by the national assembly. Maybe it's time the NCPO appoint some of its own officers to run the Education ministry; then you can be sure no one will interfer in their work.

[chotthee]

These people must be Red-shirts.

Time for a re-shuffle.

[belg]

and the military is the answer to everything? also education ? what will the poor lads learn... how to obey rules blindly or put in jail ?

[Cake Monster]

People at the top are accountable.

This means the Min of Ed is accountable for the good, as well as the bad performances of the Thai education system.

If the present panel of quangos at the Min of Ed are not performing well, then they should be forced to step down, and people with the nounce, and willingness to see in reforms should be appointed.

If " interference " is required to make this happen, then that must be a good thing for the children, and the country

[rijb]

It's easy to blame the teachers because they're the most visible.

I believe the (invisible) administrators, at all levels, are what's rotten in Thailand's education system.

The teachers are as much of the problem as the MofEd, e.g encouraging parents to let children attend their paid w/e sessions of the curriculum that they don't teach Mon - Fri so they can pass onto the next level.

The teachers could not do that without blessings from the principal (s/he gets a cut) and other administrators.

[ginjag]

It's easy to blame the teachers because they're the most visible.

I believe the (invisible) administrators, at all levels, are what's rotten in Thailand's education system.

Thailands population, -this countries education system has one of the highest budgets in the world. Fact. to show for what they receive----diabolical results for the money spent. I say follow the money again, as with all ex government budgets for departments, it is showing that account books need to be opened for all departments, and shown to the Thai people.

[yanyk]

The Education Ministry NEEDS **** interfering with. Education needs interfering with as well as a lot of the teachers. Prayuth has set guidelines for which way he wants education to go and although I don't really agree, let's hope that a lot of chaff gets blown away, and that 'professional teachers' also means English native language teachers.

Like seriously? are you kidding me? "professional teachers" should mean "Native English Language Teachers"? does speaking English Language means you are Educated ? i think you need INTERFERENCE in the way you think.

[cooked]

The Education Ministry NEEDS **** interfering with. Education needs interfering with as well as a lot of the teachers. Prayuth has set guidelines for which way he wants education to go and although I don't really agree, let's hope that a lot of chaff gets blown away, and that 'professional teachers' also means English native language teachers.

Like seriously? are you kidding me? "professional teachers" should mean "Native English Language Teachers"? does speaking English Language means you are Educated ? i think you need INTERFERENCE in the way you think.

I didn't say that did I? Let's spell it out. Professional English teachers should be native English speakers. Try to stay polite dumbo.

[myluckythai]

Any interference is bound to be good, Or are they so proud of what they created so far? maybe a little education for the educators?

[mrpositive]

The nexus between bureaucracy and politics, rather than a dichotomy of interests, is a necessary link between state and legislature in a democratic sovereign nation. Although I'm not entirely sure of the implications, the idea of technocratic institutions appeal to me, provided they are linked to the will of the people by legislature in a democratic state.

In my honest and cross-culturally inclined opinion, The NCPO (The Government we 'had' to have..) has proven that without the shackles of government as we have seen recently, meaningful and serious development can be implemented rapidly and effectively, despite the lack of appeal associated with an imposed military rule, as seen by the international community, and some Thai nationals justly concerned with their democratic rights.

Government 'meddling' is unavoidable in a democratic constitutional government. Getting the appropriate balance is where the real work kicks in.

Areas of note involving the R.T Ministry of Education include:

1. Politicising of education with regards to the 'Tablets for All' election mandate, where the former government offered PC Tablets to all school students as a political promise to help win government.

Thai academics immediately responded to the issue, asking us to consider the obvious:

a. What studies have been done to demonstrate the benefits and efficacy to all Thai students?

b. What curricula support will accompany this ICT revolution?

The White Elephant in the room was clearly the fact that no work had been done to support the academic requirements of a 'Tablets for All' Policy... zero.. making this a simple 'gifting' program to win votes, and leaving the Ministry of Ed 'holding the bag' as it were, in terms of making instant curricula judgements to ensure students appropriately benefit from being issued with such expensive learning material. It soon become obvious to all that such a hi-profile education policy would prove farcical, as normal questions began to arise, such as... 'Will teachers require retraining?... What will the students be learning?... Will all schools suddenly get hi-speed Wifi-Internet?... What about poor families that might choose between having an expensive PC Tablet, and trading it in for rice on the table?' etc etc.

The result being an embarrassingly expensive waste of taxpayer money, under the banner of improved education, and without appropriate consultation from the Education Ministry.

2. ASEAN. I may be the first person to publish this observation, and frankly (as anyone reading my infrequent contributions will know) given my efforts to 'keep it real', I am somewhat uneasy in doing so, as I am also always mindful of demonstrating cross-cultural understanding in a positive and balanced way... particularly, on big issues where 'angels fear to tread' and 'all knowing expert foreigners' hasten to flame and blame.

Many people have no doubt noticed the ubiquitous 'flag-waving' of ASEAN banners about schools and universities in Thailand, as the buzz and excitement of 2015 approaches. But does anyone know of the actual status of Thailand's connection to education within the framework of ASEAN?

The simple fact here, is that there is massive work to be done to ensure that undergraduate credit hours be 'on the map' in order to achieve the goal of interoperability between member ASEAN education institutions.

Delicacy is required in addressing this fact. Culturally, it is my observation that exposing work to scrutiny, correction or assessment may at times meet complex, critical and uncomfortable barriers in the workplace. Criticising the work of a senior or superiour colleague may lead to loss of face or worse. This 'grey area' among workers may lead to erroneous output or even exploitation by those wishing to take advantage of their position.. a trait not at all specific to Thai people, but an area which probably all countries have come to terms with in the modern world, in some way or another. Thailand will be no different, in terms of dealing with accountability and ethical standards in the workplace, however the cultural aspects of this delicate subject are very real, and run deep in the hearts of good Thai's wishing to do the right thing culturally and professionally. To date, Thailand governments and authorities have made numerous leaps forward in addressing practical professional and ethical issues, many of which share less publicity than topics lending themselves to easy, critical judgement.

The point to be made here, is that professional and academic values are not immune from being kept 'out of view' from criticism and professional development. As a foreigner particularly, it can be challenging bringing professional issues to the attention of respected colleagues and superiours, even when peers understand and agree with the issues at hand.

As 2015 approaches, tertiary education institutions in Thailand must identify and consolidate the content and assessment of their programs into clear, transparent curricular models, in order to attain credit hour interoperability with their ASEAN counterparts. At the level of my own humble experience, I can say that one's efforts to place course content on the 'academic map' has met with serious and strong resistance, despite simply aspiring to academic norms in professional validation, as well as making for easy referencing when accounting for credit hours in the ASEAN setting.

In the ASEAN flag-waving academic landscape, where government colleges and universities work hard to utilise their modest budgets, yet find funds to promote their ASEAN unity, a little known fact publicly exists - being that of the more than 150 tertiary institutions in Thailand, only 5 universities - yes 5 - are signatories to the ASEAN University Network, which incidentally in based at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. So that said, a reasonable question one may ask of a university waving the ASEAN flag is, 'How exactly is this university connected with ASEAN?'

That said, and I apologise here for being unable find or cite the original article at this time, I did recently read of official work being achieved in Thailand, that addresses this critically important issue of uniform credit hours in member ASEAN educational institutions.

The wheels of Educational bureaucracy in Thailand have a major task at hand meeting ASEAN 2015. Political issues are unavoidable, as is the need for good governance and independent due diligence.

3. English Education. As many may know, and again I apologise for the lack of citation here, His Majesty the King of Thailand is a strong and gracious supporter of education in Thailand, and has been said to have discussed the relative importance of English language learning in Thailand (..if I am not most respectfully mistaken). The Royal Thai Government, in support of English language in schools, spends millions of baht on English language programs. The effectiveness of school English language programs in Thailand is an area of interest. With such a large amount of government funding, and years of compulsory student participation, it is reasonable to consider the overall benefit to Thai students and society. How are the current levels of funding being translated into meaningfully beneficial outcomes? While it is easy for hard working foreign school teachers to identify professional issues, in support of improving education delivery, the scope and complexity associated is enormous, and deserved of due respect, support and appreciation at ministerial level. Thankfully, the Ministry of Ed. is adding more and more 'wins' to their collection, and are increasingly do so. However, in the context of the question relating to government 'meddling' in education, the point again is that with such a sizeable budget affecting a very large population, the nexus between political and bureaucratic governance, as with any modern government, requires transparency, best practice and appropriately complimentary support to meet the aims and standards expected of high office and professional duty.

The winds of change are upon this great nation, from on high, once again. While there are reasonable concerns domestically and internationally with the self-insertion of a non-elected 'caretaker' authority, if one can consider putting aside negative filters, judgement of circumstance, and look for indicators of benevolence and authoritative achievement, significant ground has been made in the short reign of the NCPO. Achievements, like it or not, practically impossible within the framework of hitherto seen governmental process. It is reasonably foreseen that such unenviable responsibilities will effectively produce more - otherwise unattainable - large scale improvements, in the presumably short reign of this authority. It is hoped that this opportunity for positive change produces lasting and meaningful benefit to Thailand's sovereign interests, not least in education, and in ways that preclude the proclaimed necessity for authoritative intervention.

As with many people, I find unelected transfers of governmental power in the democratic setting, challenging to my move of the world. I can and do respectfully recognise the trust and support offered to the authorities, indicated by millions of Thai citizens, as well as the healthy contrast of fair and reasonable concerns held by Thais looking for a return to democratic normalcy. Thankfully, I do trust the professionalism, integrity and duty of the NCPO. Such trust of militarily assumed power in the world, is understandably difficult - if not impossible to substantiate, at best. In doing so, as a humble guest in Thailand and fervent supporter of Thailand's interests, I choose to undertake the personal maturity required to distance ones-self from certain forms of judgement, and offer respect and support to the higher work at hand. Opportunities for long awaited and deserved national advancements are being created and addressed. I believe fair and balanced praise of such achievements offer a more helpful voice in this time of change. His Majesty has been quoted as saying, "Young plants are easily planted, not the old ones." In my view, this highlights the importance placed on the Ministry of Education in its duty to the nation. It also offers me a positive challenge, in that I seek not to be less open to positive change as I mature in years. It is admirably noteworthy to mention, that decades prior to the notion of 'lifelong learning' as we know it today, since the 1950's His Majesty has time and again - in royal speeches to graduating Thai students, stressed the importance of further updating ones knowledge and education where possible. Truly insightful and pioneering wisdom indeed. Today, his words are effected in numerous programs that bring cutting edge education opportunities to all areas of Thai society. For those interested, the Director of Vocational Education in Thailand (apologies for one's inadequate Thai language skills, in finding correct formal title here) recently gave a television interview outlining pioneering steps in creating a framework for a 'knowledge society'. This kind of work is a hallmark of innovation and best practice, deserved of support and appreciation.

Whilst nobody likes 'meddling', modern society has moved inextricably towards accountability and best practice. Professional partnerships are built on such things. Growing pains may be expected, however so too are the benefits associated with meaningful development, brave new standards, and a united, inclusive approach to good governance.

Thailand is poised to bounce from the current climate of sociopolitical reform, to continued and renewed demonstration of its great propensity for achievement, innovation and excellence. Education policy and delivery are key drivers of national prosperity. Deep thanks and respect rightly go to all those who contribute to positive change great and small, whether in Thailand or the world at large... whether you are a new TEFL'er with a passion to make a worldly difference as a guest in a wonderful country, a government worker who finds the courage to consider the best and most respectful way to offer her boss a suggestion, the hard working humble shop owner who says 'no' to corruption, the nice elder lady down the street who doesn't speak a word of English, yet offers you a genuine smile that really helps your day, or a public official with a bright idea, an unwavering sense of duty, modest support, and ample patience and wisdom.

To those who humbly strive to contribute to solutions in society - I salute you.

Peace and love.

[yanyk]

The Education Ministry NEEDS **** interfering with. Education needs interfering with as well as a lot of the teachers. Prayuth has set guidelines for which way he wants education to go and although I don't really agree, let's hope that a lot of chaff gets blown away, and that 'professional teachers' also means English native language teachers.

Like seriously? are you kidding me? "professional teachers" should mean "Native English Language Teachers"? does speaking English Language means you are Educated ? i think you need INTERFERENCE in the way you think.

I didn't say that did I? Let's spell it out. Professional English teachers should be native English speakers. Try to stay polite dumbo.

I don't agree with you wise one . i know of a Cameroonian English professor at university of Michigan and also Prof. Wole Soyinka a Nigerian, who is a professor at university of Nevada Las Vegas. this is what i call "professional" not some former truck driver from north America armed with TEFL cert