Officials, academics, students brainstorm for education reform

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Officials, academics, students brainstorm for education reform
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, July 28 -- As concerns are growing over the poor quality of education in Thailand, while implementation of the ASEAN Community (AC) is approaching fast, representatives of related state agencies, academics and students on Sunday attended a brainstorming session on how to reform the education system.

This is the third brainstorming session being held, according to Adm Chumnum Ajwong, chief of the reform working committee, Permanent Secretary for Defence Gen Surasak Kanchanarat want to see education reform in Thailand and to have students play a significant role in it.

“The government allocates a large budget to the Education Ministry ever year but the result is still not satisfactory. This can be seen as Thailand’s education is now ranked eighth among ASEAN members,” said Adm Chumnum.

He said the AEC would be implemented soon while the working committee was preparing information for the national reform committee, to be established later.

Under the planned education reform, youths must have courage to speak out, be honest, eager to learn and brave enough to show responsibility, said Adm. Chumnum.

The Asean Community is scheduled to be implemented at the end of 2015. (MCOT online news)

[tna]2014-07-28[/tna]

[trainman34014]

''Under the planned education reform, youth's must have courage to speak out, be honest, eager to learn and brave enough to show responsibility ''.   Well; that's the complete opposite to what's been going on up to now so good luck with that !!

[chooka]

If that is the size of some of the classrooms then no wonder their education is poor.  They are packed in like sardines, then again they are not allowed to question the instructors just sit and listen so I guess it doesn't matter in government schools. 

[Just1Voice]

Too little, too late.  True education reform in Thailand should have started 10-15 YEARS ago, at minimum.  It won't be long after the AEC and ASEAN kicks in before all employees of every 7-11, Tesco/Lotus and Big C have a worthless "Bachelor" Degree from a Thai University, and who have the English ability of a 1 yr old NES. They will all sit around and wonder why all the "good jobs" have been taken by other members of the ASEAN community and cry "foul" at how they are being discriminated against.

[Nampetch]

Staged... has to be... there's not a phone in sight!

[Fiddlesticks]

Brainstorming about education among Thai is likely nothing more than slight whimpering breeze.

[jaltsc]

“ 'The government allocates a large budget to the Education Ministry ever year but the result is still not satisfactory. This can be seen as Thailand’s education is now ranked eighth among ASEAN members,' said Adm Chumnum"

 

The solution is easy. Establish higher standards for teachers, administrators, passing grades, and criteria for promoting students. Plus, institute an effective and challenging curriculum. 

 

The difficult part is to change the age-old mindset of the education system. First, fire all the administrators and teachers and have them reapply for their old positions  under newly established higher standards. If they fail to meet those standards,then have them go back to school in order for them to improve their educational skills.  Most likely the system is going to have to hire educators from outside of Thailand to fill the enormous void left by the presently unqualified personnel taking up space in front of the classrooms and in the administrative offices.

 

Most likely, the the first concern of this new brainstorming session is: "How do we make changes without anyone losing face".

 

Just a side note: The photo is of a very large class. How come most of the students appear to be focusing on something other than what is going on in front of the classroom?

Edited July 28, 2014 by jaltsc

[iReason]

"...brave enough to show responsibility,"

 

I have never encountered that in 12 years here...

[ChrisY1]

Get a whole lot of misfits together, as suggested,  to formulate a new/reformed education system IMO is a complete waste of time and expense.

Why not simply use a succesfull model from another country.......?

I know..I know.........Thailand is different...

 

[patongphil]

Brainstorming about education among Thai is likely nothing more than slight whimpering breeze.

Ha Ha a BrainZephyr!!!

[Dah fahrang]

''Under the planned education reform, youth's must have courage to speak out, be honest, eager to learn and brave enough to show responsibility ''.   Well; that's the complete opposite to what's been going on up to now so good luck with that !!

 

....added to which, didn't I read last week, another "brainstorm" of introducing a "good student" book for all students?

In order to pass through the pearly gates of a prestige university, students must have accumulated stamps in this book.

So, let me get this straight. Students should have the courage to speak out and be honest, but at the same time must strive to be a model student in order to collect stamps in their "good student" book? Speak out? Answer back? Be honest? In which Thai school do those traits feature, then?

Now there's a typical Thai conundrum for these brainstormers to start with, eh?

[dru2]

 

''Under the planned education reform, youth's must have courage to speak out, be honest, eager to learn and brave enough to show responsibility ''.   Well; that's the complete opposite to what's been going on up to now so good luck with that !!

 

....added to which, didn't I read last week, another "brainstorm" of introducing a "good student" book for all students?

In order to pass through the pearly gates of a prestige university, students must have accumulated stamps in this book.

So, let me get this straight. Students should have the courage to speak out and be honest, but at the same time must strive to be a model student in order to collect stamps in their "good student" book? Speak out? Answer back? Be honest? In which Thai school do those traits feature, then?

Now there's a typical Thai conundrum for these brainstormers to start with, eh?

 

7-11 stamps?

[seajae]

simple, mark them on work completed and only give them pass marks for the work/tests they do right, no more automatic passes and class advancement no matter what they score. Actually having the teachers teach them would also help, maybe if they did what they are paid for the students would actually learn something, a decent curriculum wouldnt go astray either.

[gabruce]

If that is the size of some of the classrooms then no wonder their education is poor.  They are packed in like sardines, then again they are not allowed to question the instructors just sit and listen so I guess it doesn't matter in government schools. 

 

Growing up in an era when classroom sizes were large, I'm not overly sympathetic to the notion that instructor/student ratio is the major factor in effective education. I also don't believe that innate intelligence is any different now than before. I will acknowledge that current children seem much more comfortable playing games on computers than I am.

[gemini81]

Brainstorm....right. How about reporting on some results and the impact they make...than merely contemplating passing idea that will never materialize.

[lostmebike]

Brainstorm....right. How about reporting on some results and the impact they make...than merely contemplating passing idea that will never materialize.

 

Unfortunately it seems to be that way doesn't it? 

[Payboy]

Brainstorm, ranks right up there with war room, think tank, hub and crackdown. 

[JoeThePoster]

Brainstorm, ranks right up there with war room, think tank, hub and crackdown. 

 

 

You forgot "roadshow".

[belg]

they had many years to prepare, but the money flows to the wrong people's pockets by corruption ... the rest you can blame on incompetence

 

and how many of these farmer boys & girls, think they will ever need english skills, or math skills ? even basic

 

waiste of time, less time to watch those crazy thai soap operas

[Nampetch]

Man.......so many years a teacher in Thailand.  Anyone who has taught there will tell you that firstly the Thai teachers don't give a shit.  Ask any student or parent and they will tell you that they have no chance to really learn because the teachers don't care about the students, only placating the director who has his own agenda.  Look at the "special events" that are thrown up at his/her convenience without any regard for student timetable.  It would be much more beneficial to them to read what the Chinese did under the same circumstances and now they have a system which has minor flaws but it superior in so many ways to their old system.  They closed the schools down for 6 months until they got a new curriculum together.  They kicked out the Russians and brought in others.  Bold strokes for bold folks.  Cannot see this happening  in slippery  Thailand.

So you'd disagree with empowering, or at least offering some empowerment, to students is wrong, or indeed right?

 

I'm happy to see a room full of students paying attention, even if it was staged. At least they shall have learnt something; that they can have a say?

[Nampetch]

they had many years to prepare, but the money flows to the wrong people's pockets by corruption ... the rest you can blame on incompetence

 

and how many of these farmer boys & girls, think they will ever need english skills, or math skills ? even basic

 

waiste of time, less time to watch those crazy thai soap operas

Skills should be more concentrated on communication abilities, and not writing sentences like Shakespeare, as you demonstrated in your latter sentence, which I also completely understood. ;)

[HUAHIN62]

There are many examples of countries education models that can be followed; China, South Korea and the Nordic countries. Until the power of the civil servants in this country has not been tamed, there will be no reform. Many governments have tried and failed as the network is too strong to break without causing a backlash from the civil servants. How can you evaluate the preformance of a teacher if the students performance is not measured properly? The other problem is the attitude of many parents to their childrens education. Studies in the US found that the motivation of the family for students to perform and achieve is more important than class sizes and quality of the schools students attended. Even if you have the best teachers and education system and the parents don't motivate their children to study and to achieve, the results will be limited.

[razer]

Education reform in Thailand officially began in 1997. Cronyism and nepotism  in the Ministry of Education, poorly trained, corrupted and unenthusiastic teachers have been at the heart of the problem. (It has all been documented) I would suggest The Thai government look at some of the successful education models and get some advice form Taiwan, south Korea and other countries who have risen to prominence in the past 30 years.

 

The cycle of not very good teachers teaching the future teachers has to be broken.

[chooka]

 

If that is the size of some of the classrooms then no wonder their education is poor.  They are packed in like sardines, then again they are not allowed to question the instructors just sit and listen so I guess it doesn't matter in government schools. 

 

Growing up in an era when classroom sizes were large, I'm not overly sympathetic to the notion that instructor/student ratio is the major factor in effective education. I also don't believe that innate intelligence is any different now than before. I will acknowledge that current children seem much more comfortable playing games on computers than I am.

 

My sons class consists of 16 students. a teacher (English guy) and a teachers aid to assist.  Fully interactive with students and tteachers

[Halion]

On track, a day late and a dollar short.

[Krataiboy]

Thai children are no less bright than any others in ASEAN.  Their potential is being squandered by a woeful education system which prevents them from competing on equal terms.

 

In a digital age of global competition, the Thai education system is a lumbering dinosaur.

 

Thai schools need to be better equipped and run by highly-trained teachers - even if this means paying the kind of salaries which will render the commonly-voiced peanuts-and-monkeys comparison redundant.

 

The Education Ministry's recently published list of proposed reforms will simply ensure the system churns out yet another generation of low-skilled, insular conformists.

 

How can the “brainstorming committee’s” desire to produce young learners with “the courage to speak out” and “brave enough to show responsibility" become a reality while rote learning is the norm, dissent discouraged and corporal punishment commonplace in classrooms across the Kingdom?

.

It is not Thai children who are letting their nation down. This responsibility rests squarely with adults – successive governments, the administrators and professionals who run the failing education system and the millions of parents who docilely accept its glaring inadequacies. Shame on the lot of you.

[gabruce]

 

 

If that is the size of some of the classrooms then no wonder their education is poor.  They are packed in like sardines, then again they are not allowed to question the instructors just sit and listen so I guess it doesn't matter in government schools. 

 

Growing up in an era when classroom sizes were large, I'm not overly sympathetic to the notion that instructor/student ratio is the major factor in effective education. I also don't believe that innate intelligence is any different now than before. I will acknowledge that current children seem much more comfortable playing games on computers than I am.

 

My sons class consists of 16 students. a teacher (English guy) and a teachers aid to assist.  Fully interactive with students and tteachers

 

 

Now that is a small class! Sounds like you have picked a quality (and possibly expensive) school for your son. Congrats on taking good care of him and investing in his future.

 

[JimHuaHin]

Having taught in Thailand many decades ago, I am surprised (or am I really?), how little Thai education has advanced over the past 3-4 decades; and certainly on average the knowledge and dedication to study of the Thai students I taught at universities in Australia in the 1990s-2010s was generally lower than for students from other Asian countries.

 

I agree with some of the previous posts that the problem lies in the Ministry of Education; not the institution per se, but the individuals in it.  They are the main reason Thai education is falling behind.

[casualbiker]

“ 'The government allocates a large budget to the Education Ministry ever year but the result is still not satisfactory. This can be seen as Thailand’s education is now ranked eighth among ASEAN members,' said Adm Chumnum"
 
The solution is easy. Establish higher standards for teachers, administrators, passing grades, and criteria for promoting students. Plus, institute an effective and challenging curriculum. 
 
The difficult part is to change the age-old mindset of the education system. First, fire all the administrators and teachers and have them reapply for their old positions  under newly established higher standards. If they fail to meet those standards,then have them go back to school in order for them to improve their educational skills.  Most likely the system is going to have to hire educators from outside of Thailand to fill the enormous void left by the presently unqualified personnel taking up space in front of the classrooms and in the administrative offices.
 
Most likely, the the first concern of this new brainstorming session is: "How do we make changes without anyone losing face".
 
Just a side note: The photo is of a very large class. How come most of the students appear to be focusing on something other than what is going on in front of the classroom?

What would you say is a 'standard ' when referring to higher standards. Teachers in Thailand already require a 5 year bachelors in education and pass numerous tests before attaining employment and a teaching license. Administrators and supervisors also need to meet these requirements.

I presume the photo is of either the brainstorming session or a test. The fact that they have bags would suggest the brainstorming!

The biggest problem is with the administration and MOE protecting the cushy jobs. An article in today's BKK post. Page 5 "Deans oppose plans to open up teaching " says a lot about the education mindset. Example : see picture


Sent from my XT1032 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Traveling Sailor]

Brainstorming about education among Thai is likely nothing more than slight whimpering breeze.

+1 Fiddlesticks! A bunch of Thai school children who have not been taught how to think for themselves and have been taught to not question are put in a room with teachers and administrators who have limited capacity to think for themselves.    Must have been an extremely productive day.