Thai education: Narong aiming at reform priorities

[webfact]

EDUCATION
Narong aiming at reform priorities
HULARAT SAENGPASSA
THE NATION



WANTS MORE THAN A STRUCTURAL CHANGE OF EDUCATION AGENCIES

BANGKOK: -- FRESH EFFORTS have started to reform the country's education. Although Education Minister Admiral Narong Pipatanasai has not ruled out the possibility of an overhaul of organisational structure, there is still hope that structural re-engineering will not be a focus this time around.

"No, we have not discussed the organisational structure much. We are going to address things that are more important than the structure," Narong said after emerging from a meeting with the steering committee on educational reform last week.

The committee resolved to set up seven subcommittees for the mission of improving educational services. And the good news is that none of them is tasked with overhauling the organisational structure.

The subcommittees have been tasked with improving relevant laws, budgets, IT systems and the educational database as well as teachers' productivity and development. They will also tackle decentralisation and curriculum reform.

If the structural overhaul takes place in response to the wishes of those who have made proposals, the country may waste 15 years of efforts to reform the sector.

Based on the National Educational Act of BE 2542 (1999), the previous educational reform process heralded a streamlined approach, decentralisation, and the engagement of all stakeholders in the delivery of educational services, among other positives.

As a result, the University Affairs Ministry was abolished in the early 2000s and so were many department-level agencies under the Education Ministry. The move aimed to facilitate faster work processes and engage stakeholders for united efforts to ensure Thai children enjoyed a quality education.

Now in 2014, key figures in the Education Ministry, however, have sought to make their organisations bigger.

Office of Basic Education Commis-sion (Obec) secretary general Kamol Rodklai has already made it clear he will propose that his office be upgraded into a bigger organisation known as 'Tabuang' in Thai. That is almost the size of a ministry.

Before the previous reform took place, Thailand used to have the Tabuang Maha Wittayalai or the Ministry of University Affairs.

"When we become a ministry, we will oversee agencies like the Primary Education Department, the Secondary Education Department, the Department of Curriculum and Instruction Development and Educational Standard, and the Department of Education for People with Disabilities, the Underprivileged and Smart Children," Kamol said.

Word has spread that the Office of Vocational Educational Commission (Ovec) wishes to upgrade itself into a Tabuang too.

Narong said that the Obec, the Ovec, and the Office of the Education Council had presented proposals on organisational structures to the steering committee.

But he said: "We have not reached any conclusions on their proposals."

The minister said he was confident that ongoing efforts to reform the sector would be different from previous attempts.

"We will focus on practical, tangible implementation," he said. "For example, all 20 educational service zones will name 15 schools each for the pilot concrete phase of decentralisation next month."

He said the chosen schools would enjoy a free hand in running their services and if their educational quality improved, many more schools would join the decentralisation effort.

Narong said the steering committee on educational reform had already toyed with the idea of setting up a 'super-board' to oversee the sector.

"This 'super-board' would serve like a national committee to oversee education from the national perspective, not just from the viewpoint of the Education Ministry," he said.

These comments have brought hope that efforts to better organise education may finally be on the right track.

A National Reform Council committee is also trying to ensure that the new constitution prescribes the need for educational policies that boast continuity, transparency, accountability and independence for any interest group.

"While it is urgent to push ahead |with education reform, it is also necessary that the government lay down national mechanisms and assign people to implement education reform con-|tinuously for at least 10 consecutive years," Amornwich Nakornthap, the spokesman of the NRC committee on education and human resource development, said.

Education Council secretary general Piniti Ratananukul believes that the success or failure of reform efforts hinge on the direction set by the NRC and the National Legislative Assembly.

"But of course, all are determined to pursue sustainable educational development and management of educational services that are free from political influence," he said.

Observers, meanwhile, hope that these efforts will deliver real results. They want something more than an overhaul of the structure and setting up working panels.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Narong-aiming-at-reform-priorities-30250362.html


-- The Nation 2014-12-22

[Suriya4]

2 reforms urgently needed. 1 ban all thai student from profit hungry international school. 2 all students needs is to study the twelve values of prayuth.

[borisloosebrain]

As Talking Heads sang..We're on the road to nowhere.

[siampolee]

Suriya4 post # 2

2 reforms urgently needed. 1 ban all thai student from profit hungry international school. 2 all students needs is to study the twelve values of prayuth.

Strange to say my good man but those parents of those Thai students choose international schools because of the quality of the education system offered as opposed to the Thai system of indoctrination.

Perhaps you should also include those profit mad Thai private schools who charge extortionate fee's yet produce recycled zombies as students.

Your rampant xenophobia is what is relegating Thailand and its people even further into a third world backwater, no doubt the school below would be ideal for you so as to keep the lower orders in place..

[Baerboxer]

Suriya4 post # 2

2 reforms urgently needed. 1 ban all thai student from profit hungry international school. 2 all students needs is to study the twelve values of prayuth.

Strange to say my good man but those parents of those Thai students choose international schools because of the quality of the education system offered as opposed to the Thai system of indoctrination.

Perhaps you should also include those profit mad Thai private schools who charge extortionate fee's yet produce recycled zombies as students.

Your rampant xenophobia is what is relegating Thailand and its people even further into a third world backwater, no doubt the school below would be ideal for you so as to keep the lower orders in place..

Strange to say that the educational and teaching standards at some of those very expensive international franchise schools leaves a lot to be desired old boy. Not all are cracked up to what they should be. Same with Thai private schools offering bi-lingual programs, some excellent some not. One has to be careful and selective, brand names do not always ensure consistent quality despite the price premium they command.

There needs to be far more control of standards - in all related areas, and a realization that education for cash doesn't actually work. It can't be bought without doing the learning.

[timewilltell]

You can mess around with the curriculum, the structure, the size of the ministries, decentralisation or recentralisation, the hours students have to work and all the other nonsense as much as you like but all of that just skirts the real issue which is never tackled, It seems the Thai way to avoid resolution of any core issue from corruption to justice, schooling to productivity. The core issue is that Thai teachers are on the whole completely incompetent and not fit for their job. The school Administrators are no better. Kids need good teachers and good books and discipline (meaning they have to turn up to class and do the work set). Since no hardly any investment goes into proper teacher training you will get the same outdated ideas of 30 years ago because most of the teachers come from the old school of rote learning.

[Scott]

Please stay on topic. This thread is not about international schools. It's about reforms in the Thai education system.

[greenchair]

If they stopped spending all their money on oversee committees, who watch committee, who supports the committee that is run by the subcommittee, who is run by the overseer of the subcommittee. They might have enough money over to improve schools in the province. Provide native speakers, and send thai teachers overseas for better training. They have money to improve the salaries of thai teachers and offer more jobs. Since we all know 50 kids in a class with one teacher is laughable.

[rickirs]

Reform priorities and efforts:

1) "Education Council secretary general Piniti Ratananukul believes that the success or failure of reform efforts hinge on the direction set by the NRC and the National Legislative Assembly."

In other words, reform depends on what the NCPO wants - obediant citizens who do not question or take conflict those who rule them.

2) "But of course, all are determined to pursue sustainable educational development and management of educational services that are free from political influence," he said.

How about also being free from military influence such as General Prayuth's 12 Values? But then that would be an oxymoran - see #1.

[bangon04]

As Talking Heads sang..We're on the road to nowhere.

How long does this latest Education Minister have left in post before he is shuffled out to another more rewarding post elsewhere?

[Kf6vci]

Well, how about trying a customer-centric approach?

All these organizations with thousands of people churning out abysmal stuff like those "tests" written by Thai professors with ambiguities and often more than one correct answer?

Everyone wants to look good. Like the USSR under Breschnev, who ever confessed being unable to meet the 5 years plan?!?

There are more than 900 schools without students, isn't that the case?

The aura of perfection is wrong. There is an acute emergency. And they just leave all those responsible in place?!

[Thai at Heart]

What the hell does an Admiral (presumably navy) know about educational reform and planning.

In fact, on a global scale I doubt he knows much about running a navy either.