CONSTITUTION WATCH
New body to oversee education reform: charter drafters
Nitipol Kiravanich,
Khanittha Theppajorn
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A new body will become the main driving force for Thailand's educational reform when the new constitution comes into force.

A "Labour Bank" will also spring into service to provide workers with convenient access to loans, the charter drafters have determined.

The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) yesterday finished drafting clauses for several key areas such as education, labour and healthcare.

They resolved that a new body would be set up within one year of the new charter coming into force for the purpose of studying and scrutinising national education policies as well as of developing human resources for the educational sector.

"This new body will become the main mechanism for educational reform," Amornwich Nakornthap said in his capacity as a National Reform Council member who is part of the charter-drafting process.

The CDC invited Amornwich and another NRC member, Prapapat Niyom, to a joint meeting before it concluded the education clauses.

The new independent body will have the mandate to lay down strategies and policies on educational reform, develop human resources more efficiently, and provide funds for people who want to study.

"The body will work with the Education Ministry without interfering in the ministry's projects," Amornwich said.

Reformers believe this new body will serve to decentralise power in the education system, with educational reform seeing success within 10

years.

Prapapat said every educational unit should undergo reform because available records showed that while the country spent a lot of money on the education system, the results were not impressive.

This draft provision also called for the improvement of vocational education to ease the shortage of labour in some fields within two years after the new constitution came into force.

Meanwhile, charter drafters have agreed to establish a Labour Bank based on information that many workers have no choice but to borrow money from loan sharks.

The idea of a Labour Bank survived heated debate to be included in the charter. Opponents argued that existing state-owned banks such as the Government Savings Bank and Krungthai Bank could respond to workers' financial needs and there should be no need to set up yet another institution.

Supporters, however, said workers had clamoured for the establishment of such a specific bank and studies had supported the proposal.

On public-health reform, CDC vice chairman Dr Chuchai Supawong said charter drafters had resolved to prescribe equality, sufficiency, and similar standards for healthcare security programmes.

Such clauses arose after several CDC members complained that Thais had unequal access to good healthcare services.

"A study shows that government officials have six times better public healthcare than other citizens, therefore decentralising the Central region's budget from other regions and small communities could reduce this problem," a CDC member said.

Chuchai said that in addition to addressing inequality, this draft clause prescribed the participation by all relevant parties in health-security reform.

He added that this charter, moreover, would require a focus on primary care and an area-based, people-oriented approach to providing healthcare services.

On natural resources, the environment and city planning, charter drafters yesterday resolved to reform the environmental-justice process.

"This reform will include the estimation of the costs of environmental damage and legal mechanisms to enforce rulings related to environmental cases," a source said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/New-body-to-oversee-education-reform-charter-draft-30254326.html


-- The Nation 2015-02-18

The education ministry already receives one of the largest budgets or of all the ministries. Look at what they do with their money. I can personally attest the bosses take unnecessary trips abroad just to use the budget. They look for ways to spend the money instead of ways to improve education. This new body is just another budget added an most probably will not do anything to improve education..

The education reforms need to start with teachers not lecturing and actually teaching... Then they need to start making students responsible for not studying and get rid of the (everybody passes) rule and start preventing kids from being accepted into universities unless they pass their classes.

Then they need to be rid of the extra tutoring classes where the teachers withhold information a student needs so it can be taught in tutoring and they can make extra money.

They also need to stop putting activities and shows as more important than the curriculum. I have seen weeks of classes wasted just to learn and practice the school song.

All of this reform doesn't cost anything and would improve education immensely.

Education reform? Is it that time of the year again? Who or what will be blamed this year? Foreign teachers or the Thai teachers? Maybe the lack of iodine in diets? Reform would not be necessary if Thai schools would focus on efficient learning instead of their many other priorities. Stop the money making, no fail scam, stop the corruption at registration and give the kids their childhoods back. children as young as 3 wake up at 5 to go to school, need to take entrance exams to get into pre schools and kindergartens (have we lost the plot?) and come home from extra tutoring at 7,8 or even 9. This leads to the most important ingredients missing: play and parents. Dont bother asking the Finnish or Swedes, cause in Thailand we do things different. Rant over.

Most of the education money is spent on committees to watch over sub committees, who also watch over another committee. Weekly seminars in middle to top resorts to talk about REFORM.

When reading this article, it goes on and on about reform , without any clear objectives of what that reform will be. Just another committee formed to watch over 3 other committees. Very little is spent either on teachers or the children. I hope they will not introduce more unnecessary subjects for the kids. my child is drowning in unnecessary subjects and needs to learn most of his thai,math and science outside, because the teachers don't have time to teach it. He spends most of his time learning asean, the 12 concepts of Prayuth, thainess classes, and practicing cheering for sports day.

Another committee, another waste of time. The Min. of Ed. is full of so-called experts. What difference have they made over the years?

The previous three posters have covered all that needs to be said on this tired, no hope subject.

Edited February 18, 201511 yr by arthurboy

The new independent body will have the mandate to lay down strategies and policies on educational reform, develop human resources more efficiently, and provide funds for people who want to study.

So its going to be an education reform board a recruitment agency and a loan shark....nice...... and their expertise in these areas will no doubt be from totally unrelated and clueless wealthy business and army figure heads coming up with more stupid ideas,... as usual

I am sooo glad I got mine out of this pathetic and soon to be more brain washing and broken Thai education system.

And all this rubbish about carefully crafting the new constitution ? what a waste of time since it'll be dissolved within a decade just like all its predecessors.

One tiny little word can change a headline from fiction to fact:

New dead body to oversee education reform

Making it clear new body with higher pay to recycle same old ideas only thing different is costs, less money to educate. But they will speed up the process of getting the knuckleheads out on the street so they can scam tourist.

One of the five wealthiest Thais is a former Minister of Education...but nobody is scrutinizing his finances.....

Calling this a vicious circle is too kind. It's more like a black hole swallowing other black holes and burping out news stories on a monthly, quarterly, annual and bi-annual basis.

The education ministry already receives one of the largest budgets or of all the ministries. Look at what they do with their money. I can personally attest the bosses take unnecessary trips abroad just to use the budget. They look for ways to spend the money instead of ways to improve education. This new body is just another budget added an most probably will not do anything to improve education..

The education reforms need to start with teachers not lecturing and actually teaching... Then they need to start making students responsible for not studying and get rid of the (everybody passes) rule and start preventing kids from being accepted into universities unless they pass their classes.

Then they need to be rid of the extra tutoring classes where the teachers withhold information a student needs so it can be taught in tutoring and they can make extra money.

They also need to stop putting activities and shows as more important than the curriculum. I have seen weeks of classes wasted just to learn and practice the school song.

All of this reform doesn't cost anything and would improve education immensely.

You've took the words right out of my mouth.

End no fail tests, end lecture style teaching and actually get students engaged, and yes end all Of these pointless awards and shows. The amount of learning my students missed out on because They were rehearsing dances for yet another pointless awards show where The judges were Just looking For the biggest pay Off anyway was disgusting.

I'll be Very surprised If it does change.

Edit Oh and the system of parents paying more for therr kids to Get into The higher programs When their Kid does not have the ability For it needs to stop. Testing For the English program at My old school was a waste Of time and a joke as the kids parents who said The most would Get in anyway, even If their Kid can't even write their own name!

Edited February 18, 201511 yr by lildragon

Most of the education money is spent on committees to watch over sub committees, who also watch over another committee. Weekly seminars in middle to top resorts to talk about REFORM.

When reading this article, it goes on and on about reform , without any clear objectives of what that reform will be. Just another committee formed to watch over 3 other committees. Very little is spent either on teachers or the children. I hope they will not introduce more unnecessary subjects for the kids. my child is drowning in unnecessary subjects and needs to learn most of his thai,math and science outside, because the teachers don't have time to teach it. He spends most of his time learning asean, the 12 concepts of Prayuth, thainess classes, and practicing cheering for sports day.

Good points that I left out of my retort for this. These are all reasons why I plan to home school my kids.

delete

Edited February 18, 201511 yr by lildragon

delete

Edited February 18, 201511 yr by lildragon

Bravo!!

โชคดีครับ

Thailand needs good teachers like this

I,am not in any forum panel or sub form panel and i do not have a mandate ,but this all sounds totally unclear.

Can some one tell me what will change for Thai students in Their schools?

How about this :

5 days a week one hour of English mandatory.starting with the youngest age group.

More interactive teaching.between teachers and students.

Stimulating kids to allways ask questions.

Place young students in large group tables instead of single tables to stimulate their communications skills.

Stop put pressure on young kids for useless tests while they only 7 years old ..

More hands on projects for kids to make learning more fun.

Increase of sports to the curriculum

focus on understanding matters instead of memorizing matters

For maths totally follow Singapore curriculum.

Implement minimum of 50% of the Singapore curriculum into the Thai curriculum

Prepare students for an international society.

make sure each school has playground and soccer field with footballs..