Education reform: First put teachers back in the classroom!

[webfact]

THAI TALK
Education reform: First put teachers back in the classroom!
Suthichai Yoon
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Education reform, one of the major topics in the ongoing reform process, can't begin to see the light of the day without some real efforts to shake things up. But that probably won't happen in the foreseeable future despite what the reformists may say on paper.

Education Minister Admiral Narong Pipatanasai hasn't come up with any revolutionary ideas to stir things up. He has gone back to the same old warnings that the practice of paying "tea money" by parents to get their children places in well-known schools won't be tolerated. He also said using "personal connections" to secure places for privileged students won't be accepted either. But nothing is expected to change.

Almost every new education minister, upon taking office, has made more or less the same threats, but the bureaucrats and school administrators have managed to act as though they are following the order while keeping the old practice intact - with impunity. That's the way it has always been. And that's the way it will continue to be, unless real political will is enforced.

And that political determination will have to be based on some real understanding of the issues at hand.

A comprehensive study led by Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) president Dr Somkiat Tangkitchvanij hits the nail on the head with this conclusion: Return teachers to the classroom.

The study shows that despite the fact that Thai students are spending more time in the classroom (1,000 to 1,200 hours annually) than the average in most countries (less than 800 hours), their standards remain deplorably low.

Researchers found that because teachers are required to carry out activities that are not related to teaching, they are forced to be absent from the classroom up to 84 days a year. In other words, most Thai teachers meet up with their students in class only 200 days per year - or 60 per cent of the 1,000 hours.

Teachers spend 40 per cent of their time working on the mandatory assessment forms required by the Education Ministry, most of which have no direct impact on the quality of their teaching or on the students. This activity takes up 43 days a year.

Teachers are also assigned to work with small groups of students who are dispatched to compete in various contests. This second segment of out-of-classroom work consumes 23 days. Others enter into academic competitions on their own, which takes about 10 days every year.

The TDRI research team proposes a new theme: Flip the Classroom, Change the Future.

First, the assessment system must be overhauled so that scores aren't recorded only on paper. The evaluation must be conducted on the basis of real work that benefits students. Teacher-training courses should be held during school breaks rather than pulling teachers out of their classrooms to attend training.

Second, close attention must be paid to improve the quality of teaching. The researchers found strong evidence of a clear distinction between experienced teachers their inexperienced counterparts when it came to impact on students' performance.

Over the next 10 years, about 200,000 teachers are due for retirement, opening up the way for vigorous recruitment of a new crop of teachers who could be trained to make learning both fun and educational for students.

As things stand now, there is a huge surplus of applicants for teaching jobs. It is forecast that in the next five years, teaching colleges will produce about 300,000 new graduates, who will be joined by another 300,000 who already possess teaching licences. But there are only about 40,000 to 50,000 vacancies. In theory, the demand-supply situation should produce higher-quality teachers in the near future.

But the screening process remains flawed. Applicants are tested only through written examinations - which is a very ineffective means to select qualified teachers whose quality is determined not by written knowledge alone but on how they can keep their students' attention through modern teaching techniques.

Another serious impediment is the old system whereby government-school administrators don't get the right to choose their teachers, who instead go where they are assigned by the central authorities. This rigid system means that teachers don't get to teach the subjects they know best. What's worse, when they are assigned subjects they aren't good at or interested in, imagine how the students react - and how both the teachers and students must struggle to survive the dread of a "dead classroom".

Will the education-reform "superboard" headed by Premier Prayut Chan-o-cha pay sufficient attention to this set of proposals and begin to consider making real changes to the classroom so that genuine reform can really start?

It seems deceptively simple. But it's a tall order indeed.

First, the authorities must "get" it.

Second, they must stop asking: "What's in it for me?"

Instead, they have to start asking the really relevant question: "What's in it for the students?"

Until the right questions are asked, the answers will still be blowing in the wind.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Education-reform-First-put-teachers-back-in-the-cl-30260013.html


-- The Nation 2015-05-14

[sirineou]

Education Minister Admiral Narong Pipatanasai

yes admirals in charge of education decisions, Perhaps the head of the heavy armament division for medical reform, or perhaps the head of the submarine division to formulate a plan for flood control.

What could possible go wrong there.

[thesetat2013]

So basically we have a study made by ex students who learned under the same system that is in place now. The same system that allows everyone to pass and allows parents to pay extra if the student is lazy and getting bad marks. The same system that allows everyone to get into universities and that doesn't promote individual thinking or critical thinking or originality.

After reading this thread it is clear that as long as they continue to use Thais to assess the problems with the education system the longer they will continue to get stupid ideas of how to fix the education problems.

This report only shows that this TDRI is making excuses by their claims in lost days of teaching from paperwork. As an experienced teacher in Thailand I have NEVER seen a teacher sitting in their office doing the required paperwork during a class. I have seen them do it during and inside a classroom at the same time the students were doing other work. So their claims are only excuses to save face.

The fact about missing so many classes for activities is true though and will never change because it is their culture and tradition that forces the school to make these activities.

What they need to do is discontinue their no fail system. Make extra curricular activities after normal classroom hours. Have teachers encourage students to be interactive in their lessons instead of giving lectures. Entice students to be individualized and creative instead of letting them copy and paste. Allow students to ask questions and to challenge the teacher daily about the topics.

It has to start somewhere and the ministry could use some of all those billions the get in budget to send one person to every school to ensure that schools and teachers are adhering to methods and rules and policies. Until the ministry has a means of enforcement then schools and teachers will do as they please.

[jerojero]

Quite clear why most all upper class send their offspring to university overseas. Had one opportunity to meet owners of Boon Rawd Company (Singha) and learned not surprisingly that both young sons of the family were attending business college/university in USA....as a prelude to taking over the family business.

Edited May 13, 2015 by jerojero

[sirineou]

So basically we have a study made by ex students who learned under the same system that is in place now. The same system that allows everyone to pass and allows parents to pay extra if the student is lazy and getting bad marks. The same system that allows everyone to get into universities and that doesn't promote individual thinking or critical thinking or originality.

After reading this thread it is clear that as long as they continue to use Thais to assess the problems with the education system the longer they will continue to get stupid ideas of how to fix the education problems.

This report only shows that this TDRI is making excuses by their claims in lost days of teaching from paperwork. As an experienced teacher in Thailand I have NEVER seen a teacher sitting in their office doing the required paperwork during a class. I have seen them do it during and inside a classroom at the same time the students were doing other work. So their claims are only excuses to save face.

The fact about missing so many classes for activities is true though and will never change because it is their culture and tradition that forces the school to make these activities.

What they need to do is discontinue their no fail system. Make extra curricular activities after normal classroom hours. Have teachers encourage students to be interactive in their lessons instead of giving lectures. Entice students to be individualized and creative instead of letting them copy and paste. Allow students to ask questions and to challenge the teacher daily about the topics.

It has to start somewhere and the ministry could use some of all those billions the get in budget to send one person to every school to ensure that schools and teachers are adhering to methods and rules and policies. Until the ministry has a means of enforcement then schools and teachers will do as they please.

Many good points,

but what I dont understand is why a person who went through the system , and is intimately familiar with it, could not have an opinion on how to reform it.

[aarontendo]

Plato's Allegory of the Cave.

People who have only experienced and understand this school system as their reality may have a harder time to see what is wrong with it. They look at international rankings, spending, and other such indicators and then use their previously held systems to reach it. It's not working.

For those who would argue "well it's their culture" yes that's true, but culture can change and is impacted tremendously by the work of an education system. These changes can happen, but only when they stop doing things the Thai way, as this is what has gotten them into this in the first place.

[gerryBScot]

I welcome the TDRI findings. It's really important to challenge the common confusion in Thai schools that quality and quantity are the same. It belies a wider misconception that education is a mechanical process like industrial production in a factory. So the more time you devote to something, then the more product you get. Except anyone who works in education appreciates after their first week in a school that learning is a much more complex, variable and unpredictable process in which 'time' is one consideration amidst many other such as content, methodology, affect etc. Another shibboleth that needs to be highlighted, and it is a variation on the time thing, is that there is some advantage to starting a child's formal education at the earliest opportunity. It is not uncommon in Thailand for two year olds to be dispatched in full uniform to pre-kindergarten where they will spend a day in a formal classroom setting where the emphasis is on sitting at a table and 'receiving' education, i.e. being filled up like a petrol tank. It is in fact a waste of time and money, highly disruptive of young kids' lives and can be very bad for their physical health due to the exposure to high levels of germs and of course it has no proven educational benefit.

So let's hope the debate continues to be productive and focused on the real issues.

[Lupatria]

Right! Instead of granting them endless holidays order attendance in mandatory education-adjustment courses- preferable held by hordes of experts from abroad.

Oh, I forgot the budget is already planed for maintenance of a useless aircraft carrier, more bicycle path' as death rows for cyclists, the staff of the highly effective submarine squad, blimps, and red elephants like the TAT.

Edited May 14, 2015 by Lupatria

[upena]

It is very simple. The Thai Government does not want educated Thais.

[angsta]

Upena beat me to it.

Follow the US system and make education a place to produce point-guards and running backs mot people who will question authority. The Chula model if you like.

[quandow]

I swear to GOD this same article was posted probably about a year ago. Word for word!

This goes to show that the same garbage is regurgitated by EVERYONE and, as it's been said again and again ad nauseum, doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result, well, you know the rest.

For education reform to work, this ridiculous cycle must be broken.

1. Get rid of the "All Pass System."

2. Pay for quality teachers - you've ALREADY been spending the money for YEARS, just make sure it gets to where it needs to go instead of administrators' pockets.

3. Drop the face-saving bullsh*t and face TRUTH. Marching for hours a day is NOT a marketable skill unless you're entering the military.

Silly me, there goes that pie-eyed optimist again.

[aarontendo]

Upena beat me to it.

Follow the US system and make education a place to produce point-guards and running backs mot people who will question authority. The Chula model if you like.

With a growing economy and a non-jittery currency. How's the EU looking?

[Godders]

My teenage stepdaughter, whose ambition is to be a diplomat, has just started a prestigious school in Bangkok which runs a special English/Chinese programme..

Naturally, when she came home at the weekend, I was bursting to hear about her new class.

Without turning a hair of her pretty head, she told me that 36 of the 40 students are girls - and all but one of the six male students are gay!

Since she was clearly unphased, I somehow managed not to fall out of my chair.

I have no idea what effect, if any, this strange set-up will have on my stepdaughter's further education. For some reason my thoughts keep turning to the parents of the lone straight boy students when they heard his news - presumably delivered while doing cartwheels of joy!

[aarontendo]

My teenage stepdaughter, whose ambition is to be a diplomat, has just started a prestigious school in Bangkok which runs a special English/Chinese programme..

Naturally, when she came home at the weekend, I was bursting to hear about her new class.

Without turning a hair of her pretty head, she told me that 36 of the 40 students are girls - and all but one of the six male students are gay!

Since she was clearly unphased, I somehow managed not to fall out of my chair.

I have no idea what effect, if any, this strange set-up will have on my stepdaughter's further education. For some reason my thoughts keep turning to the parents of the lone straight boy students when they heard his news - presumably delivered while doing cartwheels of joy!

Future's looking bright for that young man =)

[elgordo38]

Education Minister Admiral Narong Pipatanasai

yes admirals in charge of education decisions, Perhaps the head of the heavy armament division for medical reform, or perhaps the head of the submarine division to formulate a plan for flood control.

What could possible go wrong there.

I think your suggestions would be shot down.

[otherstuff1957]

The no-fail system is the real deal-killer when it comes to improving the Thai Ed system. As long as the students know that it doesn't matter what they learn or don't learn, they will continue to have no motivation the learn anything.

This: Teachers spend 40 per cent of their time working on the mandatory assessment forms required by the Education Ministry, most of which have no direct impact on the quality of their teaching or on the students. This activity takes up 43 days a year.

is another big problem. The system is set up to grind any motivation or enthusiasm out of both the students and the teachers.

I recently attended a seminar given by a Thai professor who was an adviser to the MOE for curriculum design. She was arrogant, narrow-minded, confrontational when questioned and a boring teacher. Here is one of her choice quotes "the problem with the Thai educational system is that foreign teachers are not educated", and when asked a question about redundant paperwork she said, "you should do this (spend hours copying a book) because it will make you a better teacher!". With people like her in charge of the MOE, Thailand will never improve.

Edited May 14, 2015 by otherstuff1957

[gerryBScot]

The no-fail system is the real deal-killer when it comes to improving the Thai Ed system. As long as the students know that it doesn't matter what they learn or don't learn, they will continue to have no motivation the learn anything.

This: Teachers spend 40 per cent of their time working on the mandatory assessment forms required by the Education Ministry, most of which have no direct impact on the quality of their teaching or on the students. This activity takes up 43 days a year.

is another big problem. The system is set up to grind any motivation or enthusiasm out of both the students and the teachers.

I recently attended a seminar given by a Thai professor who was an adviser to the MOE for curriculum design. She was arrogant, narrow-minded, confrontational when questioned and a boring teacher. Here is one of her choice quotes "the problem with the Thai educational system is that foreign teachers are not educated", and when asked a question about redundant paperwork she said, "you should do this (spend hours copying a book) because it will make you a better teacher!". With people like her in charge of the MOE, Thailand will never improve.

In theory you are completely right. The no fail approach basically removes the need for students to get out of bed in the morning. However the reality of being a school student is somewhat different. The quality of the teaching like the learning is so patchy - some good teachers, some not so good, whether Thai or 'foreign'. Some of the exams that are used to test students, which I have seen, are so awful, both in terms of incorrect academic content and in terms of incorrect English language content that it would be wrong to allow anyone to fail. I have seen things that have really surprised me in schools here.

The problem really is the management. These dodgy exams are invariably approved by a number of managers. Until schools get real educational leadership and direction everything else is just patching up a pretty awful system.

[quandow]

The no-fail system is the real deal-killer when it comes to improving the Thai Ed system. As long as the students know that it doesn't matter what they learn or don't learn, they will continue to have no motivation the learn anything.

This: Teachers spend 40 per cent of their time working on the mandatory assessment forms required by the Education Ministry, most of which have no direct impact on the quality of their teaching or on the students. This activity takes up 43 days a year.

is another big problem. The system is set up to grind any motivation or enthusiasm out of both the students and the teachers.

I recently attended a seminar given by a Thai professor who was an adviser to the MOE for curriculum design. She was arrogant, narrow-minded, confrontational when questioned and a boring teacher. Here is one of her choice quotes "the problem with the Thai educational system is that foreign teachers are not educated", and when asked a question about redundant paperwork she said, "you should do this (spend hours copying a book) because it will make you a better teacher!". With people like her in charge of the MOE, Thailand will never improve.

In theory you are completely right. The no fail approach basically removes the need for students to get out of bed in the morning. However the reality of being a school student is somewhat different. The quality of the teaching like the learning is so patchy - some good teachers, some not so good, whether Thai or 'foreign'. Some of the exams that are used to test students, which I have seen, are so awful, both in terms of incorrect academic content and in terms of incorrect English language content that it would be wrong to allow anyone to fail. I have seen things that have really surprised me in schools here.

The problem really is the management. These dodgy exams are invariably approved by a number of managers. Until schools get real educational leadership and direction everything else is just patching up a pretty awful system.

"Some of the exams that are used to test students, which I have seen, are so awful"

RIGHT! I used to pour my heart and soul into creating quality tests for my little angels, only to have these tests returned to me REWRITTEN BY THE THAI STAFF WHO HARDLY SPOKE ENGLISH!!! After that, why bother making a quality test?

The entire Thai educational system is a sham. I speak reasonable Thai and found out that both Thai AND Foreign teachers suffer the same plight. THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT IS THAT THE SCHOOLGROUNDS LOOK PRISTINE! If the grass is green and the palm trees healthy then it MUST be a good school.

For education reform to work, this ridiculous cycle must be broken.

1. Get rid of the "All Pass System."

2. Pay for quality teachers - you've ALREADY been spending the money for YEARS, just make sure it gets to where it needs to go instead of administrators' pockets.

3. Drop the face-saving bullsh*t and face TRUTH. Marching for hours a day is NOT a marketable skill unless you're entering the military.

Heavy sigh . . . sorry to write a novelette but this crap is building and needs it.

[lostinisaan]

Education Minister Admiral Narong Pipatanasai hasn't come up with any revolutionary ideas to stir things up

Shouldn't the guy be on a banana boat? Just wondering.

[lostinisaan]

The no-fail system is the real deal-killer when it comes to improving the Thai Ed system. As long as the students know that it doesn't matter what they learn or don't learn, they will continue to have no motivation the learn anything.

This: Teachers spend 40 per cent of their time working on the mandatory assessment forms required by the Education Ministry, most of which have no direct impact on the quality of their teaching or on the students. This activity takes up 43 days a year.

is another big problem. The system is set up to grind any motivation or enthusiasm out of both the students and the teachers.

I recently attended a seminar given by a Thai professor who was an adviser to the MOE for curriculum design. She was arrogant, narrow-minded, confrontational when questioned and a boring teacher. Here is one of her choice quotes "the problem with the Thai educational system is that foreign teachers are not educated", and when asked a question about redundant paperwork she said, "you should do this (spend hours copying a book) because it will make you a better teacher!". With people like her in charge of the MOE, Thailand will never improve.

In theory you are completely right. The no fail approach basically removes the need for students to get out of bed in the morning. However the reality of being a school student is somewhat different. The quality of the teaching like the learning is so patchy - some good teachers, some not so good, whether Thai or 'foreign'. Some of the exams that are used to test students, which I have seen, are so awful, both in terms of incorrect academic content and in terms of incorrect English language content that it would be wrong to allow anyone to fail. I have seen things that have really surprised me in schools here.

The problem really is the management. These dodgy exams are invariably approved by a number of managers. Until schools get real educational leadership and direction everything else is just patching up a pretty awful system.

"Some of the exams that are used to test students, which I have seen, are so awful"

RIGHT! I used to pour my heart and soul into creating quality tests for my little angels, only to have these tests returned to me REWRITTEN BY THE THAI STAFF WHO HARDLY SPOKE ENGLISH!!! After that, why bother making a quality test?

The entire Thai educational system is a sham. I speak reasonable Thai and found out that both Thai AND Foreign teachers suffer the same plight. THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT IS THAT THE SCHOOLGROUNDS LOOK PRISTINE! If the grass is green and the palm trees healthy then it MUST be a good school.

For education reform to work, this ridiculous cycle must be broken.

1. Get rid of the "All Pass System."

2. Pay for quality teachers - you've ALREADY been spending the money for YEARS, just make sure it gets to where it needs to go instead of administrators' pockets.

3. Drop the face-saving bullsh*t and face TRUTH. Marching for hours a day is NOT a marketable skill unless you're entering the military.

Heavy sigh . . . sorry to write a novelette but this crap is building and needs it.

The entire Thai educational system is a sham.

The government's promises were exposed as a hollow sham.

I've never seen students marching for hours every day in more than ten years of teaching.

Here's my solution.

Send all of them who want to become English teachers to an English speaking country, let them study until they have a real BA that wasn't conducted by cheating/copying through the years.

When they come back, they do speak and write proper English well enough to teach it and they don't lose face anymore. Problem solved.

Edited May 14, 2015 by lostinisaan

[thesetat2013]

So basically we have a study made by ex students who learned under the same system that is in place now. The same system that allows everyone to pass and allows parents to pay extra if the student is lazy and getting bad marks. The same system that allows everyone to get into universities and that doesn't promote individual thinking or critical thinking or originality.

After reading this thread it is clear that as long as they continue to use Thais to assess the problems with the education system the longer they will continue to get stupid ideas of how to fix the education problems.

This report only shows that this TDRI is making excuses by their claims in lost days of teaching from paperwork. As an experienced teacher in Thailand I have NEVER seen a teacher sitting in their office doing the required paperwork during a class. I have seen them do it during and inside a classroom at the same time the students were doing other work. So their claims are only excuses to save face.

The fact about missing so many classes for activities is true though and will never change because it is their culture and tradition that forces the school to make these activities.

What they need to do is discontinue their no fail system. Make extra curricular activities after normal classroom hours. Have teachers encourage students to be interactive in their lessons instead of giving lectures. Entice students to be individualized and creative instead of letting them copy and paste. Allow students to ask questions and to challenge the teacher daily about the topics.

It has to start somewhere and the ministry could use some of all those billions the get in budget to send one person to every school to ensure that schools and teachers are adhering to methods and rules and policies. Until the ministry has a means of enforcement then schools and teachers will do as they please.

Many good points,

but what I dont understand is why a person who went through the system , and is intimately familiar with it, could not have an opinion on how to reform it.

Isn't your question kind of like asking a doctor to take out your appendix and it just happened that he slept through that class or just copied the answers on his quiz for that topic?

[lostinisaan]

It is very simple. The Thai Government does not want educated Thais.

Nor do they want educated foreigners.

How else can you explain that more and more schools are "'using the service" of let's say "The ABC Agency" with fancy looking brochures, offering something what they don't have.

And it's in the end the directors who do not seem to care about the students' performance.

But when you see that Admirals and Generals of an Army are discussing educational issues, then you already know the "outcome."

Edited May 14, 2015 by lostinisaan

[fgmr]

Education Minister Admiral Narong Pipatanasai hasn't come up with any revolutionary ideas to stir things up

Shouldn't the guy be on a banana boat? Just wondering.

Presumably, he like the teachers and administrators are the products of the very same Educational System that everyone is criticizing! And he has achieved the rank of Admiral: need I say more.

[sirineou]

So basically we have a study made by ex students who learned under the same system that is in place now. The same system that allows everyone to pass and allows parents to pay extra if the student is lazy and getting bad marks. The same system that allows everyone to get into universities and that doesn't promote individual thinking or critical thinking or originality.

After reading this thread it is clear that as long as they continue to use Thais to assess the problems with the education system the longer they will continue to get stupid ideas of how to fix the education problems.

This report only shows that this TDRI is making excuses by their claims in lost days of teaching from paperwork. As an experienced teacher in Thailand I have NEVER seen a teacher sitting in their office doing the required paperwork during a class. I have seen them do it during and inside a classroom at the same time the students were doing other work. So their claims are only excuses to save face.

The fact about missing so many classes for activities is true though and will never change because it is their culture and tradition that forces the school to make these activities.

What they need to do is discontinue their no fail system. Make extra curricular activities after normal classroom hours. Have teachers encourage students to be interactive in their lessons instead of giving lectures. Entice students to be individualized and creative instead of letting them copy and paste. Allow students to ask questions and to challenge the teacher daily about the topics.

It has to start somewhere and the ministry could use some of all those billions the get in budget to send one person to every school to ensure that schools and teachers are adhering to methods and rules and policies. Until the ministry has a means of enforcement then schools and teachers will do as they please.

Many good points,

but what I dont understand is why a person who went through the system , and is intimately familiar with it, could not have an opinion on how to reform it.

Isn't your question kind of like asking a doctor to take out your appendix and it just happened that he slept through that class or just copied the answers on his quiz for that topic?

I really don't understand your reply

are you saying that because they went through the Thai educational system, no Thai has the capacity for independent

thinking and analysis?

[aarontendo]

So basically we have a study made by ex students who learned under the same system that is in place now. The same system that allows everyone to pass and allows parents to pay extra if the student is lazy and getting bad marks. The same system that allows everyone to get into universities and that doesn't promote individual thinking or critical thinking or originality.

After reading this thread it is clear that as long as they continue to use Thais to assess the problems with the education system the longer they will continue to get stupid ideas of how to fix the education problems.

This report only shows that this TDRI is making excuses by their claims in lost days of teaching from paperwork. As an experienced teacher in Thailand I have NEVER seen a teacher sitting in their office doing the required paperwork during a class. I have seen them do it during and inside a classroom at the same time the students were doing other work. So their claims are only excuses to save face.

The fact about missing so many classes for activities is true though and will never change because it is their culture and tradition that forces the school to make these activities.

What they need to do is discontinue their no fail system. Make extra curricular activities after normal classroom hours. Have teachers encourage students to be interactive in their lessons instead of giving lectures. Entice students to be individualized and creative instead of letting them copy and paste. Allow students to ask questions and to challenge the teacher daily about the topics.

It has to start somewhere and the ministry could use some of all those billions the get in budget to send one person to every school to ensure that schools and teachers are adhering to methods and rules and policies. Until the ministry has a means of enforcement then schools and teachers will do as they please.

Many good points,

but what I dont understand is why a person who went through the system , and is intimately familiar with it, could not have an opinion on how to reform it.

Isn't your question kind of like asking a doctor to take out your appendix and it just happened that he slept through that class or just copied the answers on his quiz for that topic?

I really don't understand your reply

are you saying that because they went through the Thai educational system, no Thai has the capacity for independent

thinking and analysis?

There's a suggestion that people who went through the system in the first place probably have neither the know-how nor the desire to make lasting changes.

[mikebell]

'As things stand now, there is a huge surplus of applicants for teaching jobs. It is forecast that in the next five years, teaching colleges will produce about 300,000 new graduates, who will be joined by another 300,000 who already possess teaching licences. But there are only about 40,000 to 50,000 vacancies.'

This means the bribe to secure a job, paid to the Principal will go up exponentially. My step-daughter has been turned down for 3 jobs because I won't pay.

[Rhys]

Well some progress.. some Thais realized the tablets were only a payout for a certain group with applications mainly for western educational research circles.. and the usual... new is better, comes from the west.. Then sadly other well meaning Thai Educational official were advised to sign off.... Money.. influenced.

For the long time teachers... we see this as Chalk rattling... Those with money send their kids abroad or to private schools... and all is well with the world.

The Thai officials with true educational moxie, do their best to improve the system.... but those with power, still maintain to dumb down the masses with narrow thinking, egocentric, almost retired.."educa-hang- on" officials.

However it is amazing.... that some Thai students emerge with academic excellence...as result of applying themselves to the task of responsibility for their own education... and GO for It..

[billd766]

Right! Instead of granting them endless holidays order attendance in mandatory education-adjustment courses- preferable held by hordes of experts from abroad.

Oh, I forgot the budget is already planed for maintenance of a useless aircraft carrier, more bicycle path' as death rows for cyclists, the staff of the highly effective submarine squad, blimps, and red elephants like the TAT.

Do you know which ministry has the biggest budget in Thailand.

No, it isn't the Defence Ministry. It is actually the Ministry of Education.

The Defence Budget is about 40% of the Education budget.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-18/thailand-general-delivers-draft-fiscal-2015-budget/5679470

The Ministry of Education was allocated 498.16 billion baht ($15.66 billion), a 3.2 per cent increase from last year's budget and 19.5 per cent of the total budget allocations.

Defence spending, which typically increases in Thailand after a coup, grew 5 per cent from last year's allocation to 193.07 billion baht ($6.07 billion).

or you could look here for a better breakdown.

http://asiancorrespondent.com/125880/thai-juntas-2015-draft-budget-infographics/

[Rhys]

Well for starts the MOE and the special working group could please limit the : Oversea Educational Tiow events, ophs.. I mean learning tours..oppohs.. oh my gosh.. I mean .....

[mikebell]

Why does Thailand not limit the number of trainee teachers by imposing quotas on Colleges/Universities? What is the point of training and taking money off students & their families if the only jobs available are cleaners and counter staff?