Thai editorial: No cheating on education reform

[webfact]

EDITORIAL
No cheating on education reform
The Nation

Failure is not an option: Thailand's future peace and prosperity depend on a thorough, broad-ranging and sustainable overhaul

BANGKOK: -- Witnessing governments come and go, we have lost count of how many failed to lay the proper foundations for the education of our youth. But we can wait no longer for education reform if we want to stay competitive as a country. Moreover, all parties agree that education can play a vital role in the reconciliation process to end years of political conflict.

The question now is how we progress under the new government.

There are encouraging signs. Education has received the biggest slice of the annual national budget - 20 per cent of the Bt502 billion total. However, funding is seen as the least of its problems. The Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) points out that the Education Ministry's budget has doubled during the last decade. The problems with the education system don't stem from a lack of resources, but rather from their inefficient use. The TDRI study suggests that, rather than focusing on one or two areas, such as the curriculum or reduction of study time, reforms should be comprehensive, addressing all aspects of the system.

General Narong Pipathanasai, the newly appointed minister, can kick-start the process by following the ministry's education-reform proposal for 2015-2016. But he and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha must heed the TDRI's recommendations if they want to avoid failure. The ministry has proposed a phase-by-phase process, while the TDRI has underscored the need for simultaneous implementation of reform for all aspects of the education system.

The resources are in place and so is the information. The biggest challenge now is the execution. The ministry must realise that whatever action it takes will have a longstanding impact. What Thailand needs now is long-term and sustainable reform. The country can no longer afford periods of trial and error. General Prayuth's proposals for improving the curriculum and reducing study hours may be good, but his ideas must not be permitted to overshadow the wider reform picture.

Problems that need to be addressed are deep-seated and have accumulated through years of neglect and mismanagement. The quality of teaching, to name just one, must be addressed through raising standards for those hired to teach, tackling their debt problems and solving teaching shortages. And all this at the same time.

Only through such a holistic approach can we create strong foundations to guarantee that future generations get a "world-class" education.

Past governments have left a trail of failure. But the mistakes provide lessons: the universal free-education scheme that failed to deliver, the free tablet computers that didn't improve learning, the central assessment tests and admission policies that kept changing and left students and parents confused.

The latest reform process must address all the problems with a sustainable plan that remains in place long enough to bring real, positive change. Students can no longer be used as guinea pigs in trial-and-error experiments. Thailand can't afford to lag behind as our neighbours overhaul their education systems to compete in an evermore-interconnected world of trade and commerce. Our military government has the advantage in being able to implement its plan with little or no opposition. But such authority could be a double-edged sword: launching reform without checks or proper review could be a misstep that lands education back in the last decade.

We have arrived at a new beginning amid a becalmed political environment. There can be no excuse for our new government: it must present us with education reform that improves the lives of Thailand's 400,000 teachers and millions of students once and for all.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/No-cheating-on-education-reform-30242386.html


-- The Nation 2014-09-03

[thesetat2013]

Heheee! What a funny headline. No cheating!

Their reform should focus on that first by making students responsible and not passing a student to the next grade for poor work. Then suspend any student caugt cheating or copying work. With no accountability each student knows that no matter how good or bad their work is that they will pass and graduate and go on to a college. So their is no incentive for a student to learn. Even if they have better teachers and better curriculum it wont help if the student doesnt care because he knows he will pass anyway

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

[NongKhaiKid]

Using cheating and education in the same sentence is spot on and nothing to do with the headline.

Yes attitudes are ingrained and changes will be resisted so it will take time to re-vamp a badly broken system.

Why then, with only a year to the start of the AEC, have the powers that be only started to talk about change and change that will take years to implement ?

The deficiencies in education are well known but the usual ' head in the sand ' attitude has existed and now with the writing on the wall it's decided to talk about what needs to be done.

Too little and far, Far Too Late.

Welcome to the AEC Thailand, now take your place at the back of the class.

[chainarong]

There will be no cheating on education reform , going on past performance there will be little or no reform just the same , same, Thailand's education system seem to wallow in a maze of educational crap , nothing could be said kindly about it , like some other prehistoric functions that operate in Thailand , to do away with them you will need a revolution, not reform.

[NongKhaiKid]

With apologies to John Lennon - IMAGINE !

Imagine a Thai educational system,

that actually has a system

where students are encouraged to think for themselves, to challenge and ask questions

where students actually have to pass exams and their actually is a failure rate

where passes, degrees and entry to schools cannot be bought by cash, gifts etc or on the strength a student's family name and connections

where teachers and school presidents don't make big money ' arranging ' passes etc. and on and on

THEN

Imagine this can all be in place by 2015 to compete with the rest of the AEC and\

Imagine teachers etc happily turning their backs on all their extra money to implement a proper, fair system for the good of the nation and its future.

[hotsoup]

One does wonder where all the money goes to!? Thailand has proportionately to GDP one of the highest education budgets in the world already. Very few countries actually have a functional education system, regardless of wealth. If you point to a few there will inevitably people who say no, no! The UK, the US have pretty much useless education systems. Some will say Germany, Finland Australia, Singapore are relatively better...maybe. You can always go the South Korea, China route. That may produce better levels of learning in Maths and Science, but they are hardly countries which you would cite as models of achieving either wisdom or well-being. To generalise it would seem that in Thailand there are twin problems. There is pretty much a disregard for learning to think and teachers are so selfish, protected and blinkered they never think either. Maybe some Education Ministry officials could go on a tour of the world before rushing to re-invent Thailand in the same mould?

Edited September 3, 2014 by hotsoup

[smutcakes]

We have already heard what the education reform will be:

1) more nationalistic singing

2) more 'history;

3) more about how good the army is

4) How good the country was 20 years ago when everyone was subservient

Less

4) critical thinking

5) questioning of authority

To give a quick example, a close friend of mine went to Srivikorn School, owned by the family of the same name. As you could imagine, all the normal scams were in place, fee for entrance, fee for this, fee for that etc etc. For one whole term there was no English teacher and no English books as they could not find a teacher and could not organize the ordering of books. In all this time the owner of the school was out their protesting about corruption and the inability of the PTP Govt when she was knowingly herself running a corrupt and damn right incompetent school business. If she and her family are the 'educated' persons who think they know best for Thailand, i would quite happily take an uneducated rice farmer.

If these types of person could see above their own self entitlement they would see that they are the problem, not the people demanding a tiny slice of the pie.

[FireMedic]

How about we get the students to stop fighting and killing each other? Change their mindset first.

[hanuman2543]

Promoting "Thainess and Patriotism" in schools and wanting to educate students to become self thinking citizens is an oxymoron

[anon467367354]

why don't they take all that money and instead of issuing worthless grades, pay them cash for a job well done.

Being a student is like a job that doesn't pay and whatever you do it's never good enough. If students actually

got rewarded for a job well done, they might just try a bit harder. But then again, the corruption has to go first.

[j15mth]

Wow the correct thinking is there as Education is everything.

The seismic change and implementation of what is needed will take a generation NOT a year.

Thailand is near the Bottom of the class and The Teachers Parents and students will be needed to change that.

[selftaopath]

I'd like to see an inquiry into every government official and "educators" credentials. How many are really qualified? Do they really have certifiable degrees? lol Or are they bought like so many other things sold here in Lack of Sanctions/ Land of Scams?

Oh and I don't think it's the govt.'s "business" or concern if teachers are in debt. If they spend more than they make ..... oh well... And pls don't tell me the "old line" salaries are so so so low. I'd like to see some facts re: salaries. Why is it every teacher - or damn near it - has a new car/truck???????

Hell I know teachers who "work" only 14 hrs a WEEK. Yea.... a WEEK.

[thesetat2013]

With apologies to John Lennon - IMAGINE !

Imagine a Thai educational system,

that actually has a system

where students are encouraged to think for themselves, to challenge and ask questions

where students actually have to pass exams and their actually is a failure rate

where passes, degrees and entry to schools cannot be bought by cash, gifts etc or on the strength a student's family name and connections

where teachers and school presidents don't make big money ' arranging ' passes etc. and on and on

THEN

Imagine this can all be in place by 2015 to compete with the rest of the AEC and\

Imagine teachers etc happily turning their backs on all their extra money to implement a proper, fair system for the good of the nation and its future.

Your imagination reminds me of the Twilight Zone. Oops! My age is showing

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

[chotthee]

The educator may cheat.

But thanks god, Thai military never ever cheat.

[NongKhaiKid]

With apologies to John Lennon - IMAGINE !

Imagine a Thai educational system,

that actually has a system

where students are encouraged to think for themselves, to challenge and ask questions

where students actually have to pass exams and their actually is a failure rate

where passes, degrees and entry to schools cannot be bought by cash, gifts etc or on the strength a student's family name and connections

where teachers and school presidents don't make big money ' arranging ' passes etc. and on and on

THEN

Imagine this can all be in place by 2015 to compete with the rest of the AEC and\

Imagine teachers etc happily turning their backs on all their extra money to implement a proper, fair system for the good of the nation and its future.

Your imagination reminds me of the Twilight Zone. Oops! My age is showing

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

The Twilight what ? We youngsters have a lot to learn it seems