Public Health Minister concerned with IQ drop among Thai children

[webfact]

Public Health Minister concerned with IQ drop among Thai children



BANGKOK: -- The Public Health Ministry has expressed concern that the IQ (intelligence quotient) of Thai children of primary education has steadily dropped below the international standard.

A survey conducted last year of 4,929 prathom 1 students across the country showed that their average IQ was 93.1 points compared to 94 three years ago which was below the international standard level of 100, said Public Health Minister Ratchata Ratchatanawin at a press conference on Wednesday.

However, he said that the IQ of the primary education students in urban areas is higher than that of their peers in the rural areas which averages 89 points. But the EQ (emotional intelligence quotient) of the urban and rural youngsters are up to normal level, he added.

The minister disclosed that the ministry had worked out three strategies to improve the IQ and EQ of Thai children.

These include cooperation between public health offices and children’s centres to promote the development of children; promotion of closer relationship between families and children’s centres with emphasis on spending more time together, hugging and less time spent on watching TV or video games and greater access to simple information about child’s development.

Three factors were identified for attributing to IQ slide among Thai children, said Dr Jesada Chokedamrongsuk, director-general of Mental Health Department.

The three factors are: parents spend less time with their children because parents were divorced or parents have to work far away from homes; children were left to be tended by elderly people or grand parents; and the quality of pre-school education at children’s centres.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/public-health-minister-concerned-with-iq-drop-among-thai-children

-- Thai PBS 2015-05-27

[JOC]

Don't worry minister, they will become excellent politicians......................

[Cuchulainn]

And their children, and their children, and their children, and their children........

Back to the Stone Age.

[seajae]

nothing new , the schooling is that bad it doesnt matter anyway, they will never have a chance to improve the way the teaching is done here. Parents seem to act like kids area burden and do whatever they can to keep them out of their way, they dont take an interest in them or spend time with them, easier to let others do it. At school they dont learn anything because the teachers are hopeless and they are all passed whether they do the tests or not, they are more concerned with face than actually learning anything.

[Always18]

Less than a year ago a study involving 6000 pairs of twins ( http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/10/genes-dont-just-influence-your-iq-they-determine-how-well-you-do-school) showed a strong genetic basis for IQ level - can't quite see how extra cuddles will overcome that apparent deficiency here in Thailand.................

[Chicog]

Less than a year ago a study involving 6000 pairs of twins ( http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/10/genes-dont-just-influence-your-iq-they-determine-how-well-you-do-school) showed a strong genetic basis for IQ level - can't quite see how extra cuddles will overcome that apparent deficiency here in Thailand.................

There might be some genetic predisposition, but that doesn't mean it requires both nature AND nurture.

[trogers]

And their children, and their children, and their children, and their children........

Back to the Stone Age.

Low IQ with high fertility, a lethal combination for any country.

[NeverSure]

I think IQ is largely genetic. I think "gifts" are too such as art, music, math, etc. Educating someone who's gifted is another story. Trying to nurture or educate someone who isn't gifted isn't going to create a Beethoven.

[Seastallion]

I wonder how much the IQ tests were fudged?

[Seastallion]

I would venture to say that this result does not show the true IQ of the kids.

I suggest that it shows the result of lazy brains...brains that have not been nurtured at home because dumb parents think it's the government's responsibility to teach their kids, and brains that have been mollycoddled at school/early childhood learning. It's all about being cute or spoiled or sanuk.

Hugs are not the answer.....in fact hugs is a dangerous suggestion as far as getting a better result. Hugs are very good....but suggesting that hugs will make the kids smarter will only perpetuate the problem.

[thesetat2013]

What does this ministry expect? Did they think that the rural areas where most kids are raised by old grandparents would give them a good start at life with a high IQ? When will they learn that the Thai way of letting grandparents raise the child is wrong? And to think my wife gets criticized for letting me raise the kids while she works yet gets complimented at the same time as to how smart and advanced my kids actions and behavior are.

[FireMedic]

This is what happens when EVERYONE passes.........you dumb down the whole system. It's no longer challenging.

[HeijoshinCool]

The government should give every child a new i-Pad.

That'll solve the problem.

[DavisH]

I think IQ is largely genetic. I think "gifts" are too such as art, music, math, etc. Educating someone who's gifted is another story. Trying to nurture or educate someone who isn't gifted isn't going to create a Beethoven.

No it won't but the main problem seems to be how students use the intelligence they have. Whether IQ can be changed is debatable, but if it can be changed at all it will before kids reach high school. Poor education at this stage sets kids on the back foot. I believe the preponderance of rote learning at the expense of creativity and critical thinking skills is a major factor. The scariest part is that IQ is not on a linear scale, so a 10 point difference in IQ is rather large indeed.

[NeverSure]

Anything I said about Thai IQ would/could be taken as racist. Som tam is pretty good though.

[konying]

Long way to go before it gets into negative, so nothing to worry about.

[englishoak]

The dumbing down is working then.

[MaxYakov]

And their children, and their children, and their children, and their children........

Back to the Stone Age.

You do an injustice to the intelligence, drive and creativity of the paleolithic Homo sapiens.

[NeverSure]

I don't think nurture can explain child prodigies.

Mozart performed on the piano at age 5 at the University of Salzburg and at the imperial court in Vienna the next year. LINK

Or -

Kim Ung-Yong—A guest physics student at age three

At the age of three, Kim Ung-Yong began taking courses as a guest physics student at Hanyang University in South Korea. By the age of eight, he was invited by NASA to study in the United States.

Born in 1962, Kim Ung-Yong is listed as having the highest IQ at 210 in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The young prodigy began speaking at four months old and merely two years later, he was able to read in Japanese, Korean, German and English.

[webfact]

EDUCATION
Low IQ blamed on family situation
The Nation

Thai children's average intelligence quotient down slightly, survey finds

BANGKOK: -- THE AVERAGE intelligence quotient (IQ) of Thai children slipped to 93.1 in 2014, from 94 in 2011, according to surveys by the Public Health Ministry.

The IQ scores of Prathom 1 students in Thailand are also below the world average of 100.

"But Thai children's [average] emotional quotient is normal," Public Health Minister Rajata Rajatanavin said at a press conference yesterday.

The 2014 survey covered 4,929 Prathom 1 students across all Thai regions.

Rajata said surveys showed children living in urban areas had higher IQ scores than those in rural zones. He said rural children's more limited access to development stimuli - such as educational toys and proper nourishment - could affect their IQ.

Mental Health Department director-general Jedsada Chokdamrongsuk said children's lack of opportunities to live with both parents and living in skipped-generation families (those living with grandparents, in absence of their parents) also ranked among key IQ-affecting factors.

Jesdada He estimated that only 62 per cent of children now live with both their mother and their father. As many as 32 per cent of children say their parents have gone separate ways. Some 8 per cent of others say one of their parents has died.

"There are more than 1.4 million skipped-generation families in Thailand's rural zones," Jedsada said. He said some foreign research shows that that children raised by grandparents faced educational disadvantages when compared with those in the arms of parents.

"We have also found that educational quality in nurseries can boost IQ," Jedsada said. "Pre-school learning programmes can stimulate children's development."

Rajata said that in honour of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on the occasion of her 60th birthday, a project was launched to improve children's development.

"The project gives special attention to children in risky groups, such as those underweight at birth and those not living with parents," he said.

In addition to deploying health volunteers and tambon health-promotion hospitals, the project was trying to engage parents in promoting children's development.

"Ties between children and their keepers count," Rajata said.

He also placed an emphasis on hugging and talking, and reiterated that TV-watching time should be reduced.

Jedsada said his department would try to boost Thai children's intelligence and emotional quotients through three measures.

"We will try to support children's development via healthcare facilities," he said. "We will promote pre-school development at family and nursery levels."

Focus would also be on identifying children with special needs.

"Teachers should identify children with autism, emotional and behavioural problems, and learning disabilities, and provide help," Jedsada said.

Parents who needed children-development guidance could download it from www.dmh.go.th and www.rajanukul.go.th.

"If they need counselling, they can call 1667 and 1323," Jedsada said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Low-IQ-blamed-on-family-situation-30261067.html


-- The Nation 2015-05-28

[NongKhaiKid]

Children are taught little at home and in school it's rote, carefully selected.

I remember a friend, a very experienced primary teacher, being absolutely frustrated after a PTA meeting where the school director had flogged a dead horse all night trying to get parents to understand not everything in children's life was the school's responsibility.

[tonbridgebrit]

As long as Thailand's GDP per person is GREATER than for places like Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Vietnam, right, things are okay.

[kotsak]

From the movie Idiocracy http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808

[BigBadGeordie]

I know it sometimes it feels like we are living in zoo, but what the hell!

"Links betwwen children and their keepers...."

Edited May 28, 2015 by BigBadGeordie

[recycler]

Great results from the policy of keeping the majority poor and stupid!

[oneday]

Let's check the IQ of the Health Minister. Doesn't this fall under the "Education Minister"...at least knowing how important education is I assume they do have an "Education Minister"?

[haroldc]

Too much brain-deadening television and a diet of junk food loaded with chemicals...

[kaorop]

I think IQ is largely genetic. I think "gifts" are too such as art, music, math, etc. Educating someone who's gifted is another story. Trying to nurture or educate someone who isn't gifted isn't going to create a Beethoven.

Yeah throw em on the scrap heap when they are 5, talent springs from anywhere and so much here gets lost due to poor resources.

[quandow]

The more critical thinking is squashed, the more this trend will continue.

[Traveling Sailor]

I would venture to say that this result does not show the true IQ of the kids.

I suggest that it shows the result of lazy brains...brains that have not been nurtured at home because dumb parents think it's the government's responsibility to teach their kids, and brains that have been mollycoddled at school/early childhood learning. It's all about being cute or spoiled or sanuk.

Hugs are not the answer.....in fact hugs is a dangerous suggestion as far as getting a better result. Hugs are very good....but suggesting that hugs will make the kids smarter will only perpetuate the problem.

So true. And, not surprising that there is no mention of diet. Rice that contains pesticides and toxic furtilizer, cooked with polluted water and served with deep fat fried pork, etc. doesn't do much for stimulating brain cells. Add to all this, the fact that most rural parents supply no incentive or discipline or direction, it's no wonder IQ is low and dropping. Now, I don't know for sure, but I suspect that there are not too many geniuses born to dumb parents.

Edited May 28, 2015 by Traveling Sailor