EDUCATION
Pilot project set to slash school hours
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Some 3,500 schools across the country will cut academic hours and offer more extracurricular activities in 2nd semester

AN INITIAL 3,500 primary and secondary schools in Thailand will start reducing compulsory school hours to about 840 hours per year from the current 1,200 late this year in a pilot scheme to free up more time for extracurricular activities that could better promote students' learning capability.

Education Minister General Dapong Ratanasuwan said the change would be implemented in the second semester of this academic year or around November when about 10 per cent of all schools nationwide, or about 3,500, would join the programme.

According to the new policy, compulsory classes will finish about an hour and a half earlier or at around 2pm instead of the current 3.30pm. Dapong said the programme was aimed at easing pressure on students, whose current school hours are regarded as too long.

Students will have more time to take part in non-academic activities after classes while others could do their homework at school or go home earlier. The minister said having fewer classroom hours would not affect students' academic capability as the core subjects will remain unchanged.

Dapong said the change might have some impact on parents, as some of them will not be able to pick up their children from school at 2pm because of work obligations, while others parents might need their children to go home earlier.

"During this pilot project, students may leave school earlier or they may stay at school after the classes. We're planning extracurricular activities for those who stay on, such as sports, music, or environment preservation work. Alternatively, students could choose to do their homework at school," he said, adding the ministry will conduct an assessment on the pros and cons after the pilot project is completed.

Kamol Rod-klai, secretary-general of the Office of the Basic Education Commission, said the change would allow students to have more time for practical activities such as arts, music, physical and vocational education.

For example, some schools may have swimming or cooking lessons, while others may offer different activities that utilise local wisdom. He said there should be six or seven formats of these extracurricular activities to choose from at each of the schools to suit their students' preferences.

Kamol said other countries such as South Korea, Japan, the United States and some European nations had also reduced their academic school hours so as to make available more time for non-academic activities, which are essential for students' development.

"Our policy is not that students should leave school at 2pm or for their parents to pick them up earlier. We want to organise extra activities to develop students' non-academic skills, both physical and emotional, in addition to intellectual development. However, if some students need to go home to help their parents, they will be allowed to do so, but that number is likely to be relatively small," he said.

Meanwhile, Pol Maj-General Charnthep Sesawej, the deputy metropolitan police chief, said the school-hours change might require law-enforcement authorities to come up with a plan to prevent teenage student violence, which has become more serious with the use of deadly weapons such as guns in recent incidents in Bangkok.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Pilot-project-set-to-slash-school-hours-30267712.html

-- The Nation 2015-08-29

Another dumb idea from EOM. Are they not forgetting that almost every school has compulsory tutoring classes done by their teachers after normal classes are finished. This only opens a loop for the Thai teachers to add more tutoring classes or to make the students or their parents pay for the extra curricular activities being offered. Reducing mandatory class hours will only give the students less time to learn what they are already having trouble learning. When will the EOM actually do something that will truly help a Thai student to learn and want to learn and to get a teacher that took their job because they want to pass on knowledge to a kid instead of reaping/raping students and their parents of hard earned money just to ensure they will get a decent passing mark. I say decent because nobody fails. Which is why not many students really care about what or if they learn a subject.

They are in training to become civil servants.

I propose slashing school hours from 1200 to 1 in order to keep brainwashing to a minimum.

I have mixed feelings about this, but on the whole, if it is handled correctly it may be a good idea. The current problem is that schools frequently use quantity over quality, which promotes inefficiency in the learning environment. There is a lot of non-essential learning incorporated into the school day and some of this could be in the afternoon programs, but I doubt that it will. This includes things like Scouts but that is almost a core subject.

Another problem is that it will not reduce the hours for teachers, but may add a fair amount of work because the teachers will be required to help, set up programs and supervise activities.

Primary students will spend less time in classrooms under new education policy

BANGKOK: -- Starting November 1, some 3,000 selected primary schools will reduce the hours spent in classrooms of primary students by two hours from 8 am to 2 pm instead of 8 am to 4 pm in accordance with a new policy laid down by Education Minister Dapong Rattanasuwan.

Minister Dapong said Friday that the reduction of classroom hours for primary education students was intended to ease the pressure on the students so they will not feel too stressed.

This means primary students will, in the future, spend learning in classrooms six hours a day at most or 840 hours per year instead of eight hours a day or 1,200 hours per year.

Mr Kamon Rodploy, secretary-general of the Office of Basic Primary Education, assured that the cutback in classroom hours would not affect the quality of education of primary students. He cited the cases in the US and Europe where primary students spend 750 hours in classrooms each year.

He made clear that reduction of classroom hours does not necessarily means that students would be allowed to return home two hours earlier but it means they will have more time out of classroom doing other activities.

Minister Dapong admitted that shortening school hours might cause a problem to many working parents who might not be able to leave their offices earlier in order to pick up their children and they might feel more comfortable to have their kids remain at schools until 4 pm as they used to be.

In such a case, he noted that schools should arrange for extra-curriculum activities for the students until the arrival of their parents to pick them up.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/primary-students-will-spend-less-time-in-classrooms-under-new-education-policy

-- Thai PBS 2015-08-29

List of schools?

This means primary students will, in the future, spend learning in classrooms six hours a day at most or 840 hours per year instead of eight hours a day or 1,200 hours per year.

No lunch break?

Their not good at English or maths. Maybe they could spend the free time on those 2.

Like Scott said, IF handled in the right way this could be a wise move, it's sensible as it is merely being piloted at this stage. But from what i've seen a lot of behaviour / application issues remain as the cause of students not progressing their learning like they should.

Also if the teachers just keep teaching in the same way, and the school administrators keep running the schools in the same way then I can't quite see how that would facilitate any real change (bearing in mind compulsory learning time is being slashed). Call me a skeptic, but I will be very surprised if this changes anything at all. I hope I am wrong on that however

More time on the internet playing killem games

Bound to be beneficial

.....this on top of the endless (6 at last count)...reforms of the Education system announced in the past 5 months......unbelievable...!!!

.....the other countries that may have done it had ' a well thought out plan' or concept behind it.....

I think it's because the students are learning to think and ask questions and this cannot be allowed to happen

That means more hours for riyen piset tutorials. These teachers are laughing all the way to the bank

I like the idea but am curious as to what this means

"while others may offer different activities that utilise local wisdom"

So the kids will now learn less is better

ie You want me to work 10 hours boss. no problem 5 today and 5 tomorrow maybe

Education reforms?

yea just what Thailand needs LESS education, a brainwave!!!

Their not good at English or maths. Maybe they could spend the free time on those 2.

Now I get why they call it "Amazing Thailand"...they keep coming up with Amazingly ridiculous ideas!

So the kids will now learn less is better

ie You want me to work 10 hours boss. no problem 5 today and 5 tomorrow maybe

Don't know, maybe the kids are asking yoo many questions and need to be dumbed down, so they can keep control of them? Doesn't make sense to me......

Keep em Stupid,So they won't notice how bad Law Enforcement and Corruption is in in Thailand

Actually this change puts school hours pretty much around the average for the 33 developed countries that were studied by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Credit where credit is due, maybe this isn't as much of a hair-brained idea as some here are assuming.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/02/school-days-how-the-u-s-compares-with-other-countries/

How long does it take to memorize the Twelve Values, the defeat of the Burmese and some Thai "history"?

"Sufficiency" education.

This topic brings out the curmudgeons.

Sort of like, "When I was a boy, I had to walk 5 miles to school..."

But seriously, kids don't perform well when the school days are too long (and when they have to get up too early in the morning).

So it could be quality over quantity, if done right, but I definitely understand the skepticism.

I order to compete in a world economy more

Emphasis should be placed on employing

QUALIFIED educators and more class room

Hours. So sad for the younger Thai children.

Thailand has proven they have a problem educating students. Less is more. I don't understand.

So the kids will now learn less is better

ie You want me to work 10 hours boss. no problem 5 today and 5 tomorrow maybe

If they can figure out how do the math on their calculator first....

Their not good at English or maths. Maybe they could spend the free time on those 2.

And you could learn the difference between they're and their.