Thai education: Mixed reaction to class-hour reduction plan

[webfact]

Mixed reaction to class-hour reduction plan
Wisarut Sankhum
The Nation

Teachers query wisdom behind ending classes early, some welcome changes

BANGKOK: -- SCHOOL EXECUTIVES and teachers have questioned the wisdom of an Education Ministry initiative to significantly cut down on the number of hours primary and junior-secondary students spend in class.

"It is a dictatorial idea, not reform," said Sucheep Patthong, president of La-Un Wittayakarn School in Ranong province.

Newly appointed Education Minister Dapong Ratanasuwan recently instructed the Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec) to implement the policy to allow students at more than 3,500 schools across the country to end their classes at 2pm every day, instead of 3.30pm, from November onwards.

The Education Ministry has described the policy as a great idea because it will allow students to enjoy a more diverse education outside the classroom and will give them a happier environment in which to develop. Those working at schools, however, beg to disagree.

"This policy is not going to solve educational problems. It's not the right solution," Sucheep said. He pointed out that many students avail of private tuition in the evenings after school, which reflects the fact that students want to learn academic content, not engage in extracurricular activities.

Tuanjai Wuskasem, assistant director of Phyathai School in Bangkok, said her school lacked the staff and the facilities to go ahead with such a policy. She pointed out that while Obec boasted about providing students with happy activities such as sport, her school only had one swimming pool.

"How can we arrange swimming time for all the students?" she asked.

Paradee Khamma, director of Wat Chana Songkhram School in Bangkok, said her school would definitely not implement this policy, which would initially be implemented on a voluntary basis.

"It's not possible for parents to pick up their children at about 2pm. They are still working," Paradee said.

Yupaporn Kruekam, teacher of Ban Nonmuang School in Nong Bua Lamphu province, was reluctant to embrace the policy. "Timetable clashes might occur when this policy is implemented," she said.

Her school is one of the educational institutes operating under the government's policy to increase educational opportunities for children.

"All activities that the school can provide are already provided for children now. This means that when the new policy is introduced, children won't get anything more than a change in the class schedule," Yupaporn said.

But not all school administrators were against the policy.

Saipetch Pettorom, director of Banlubintararatbamrung School in Nong Bua Lamphu, said the policy would be good for her and her students. As the only teacher in the school, she finds it hard to manage all the class hours. "After-class activities will ease my stress on this part while also benefiting my students," she pointed out.

Saipetch said local experts could be invited to help conduct these activities. "It's a way to promote local wisdom too," she added.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Mixed-reaction-to-class-hour-reduction-plan-30268000.html


-- The Nation 2015-09-03

[Lunchbob]

Hopefully, the less creative admins will see this as a great opportunity for a first step toward creativity and change. The parents can help fill the time.

[trogers]

"It's not possible for parents to pick up their children at about 2pm. They are still working," Paradee said.

Ahhh...schools are primarily valued for providing free baby sitting services, not education.

[RayD]

If you want to reduce classroom hours, which I agree with, there are plenty of ways of doing it without finishing at 2pm. Have a ten minute gap between classes so students have no excuse for lateness. (In my school students are expected to get from one end of the campus to the other instantaneously.) Introduce morning and afternoon breaks so students can get a cold drink and hit the bathrooms and extend the lunch break. More sport wouldn't go amiss either.

[Inn Between]

One can certainly argue that not much is done to teach the basics effectively in Thai schools, but giving the student more free time and assuming that they'll use it wisely is absurd.

If they want to make such a policy effective, use a good chunk of the meager classroom time to make an honest-to-god effort to teach them English, so the massive amount of knowledge and resources available on the internet to learn are available to the students (and make the internet available to the students who don't have it.). Those that want to succeed will take advantage of their new "key" to knowledge.

But if the general public has knowledge of the world and an ability to use critical thinking, it can be dangerous to a dictating type of government, I'm afraid that this plan is just another part of the great "dumbing down", and there is no intention here to benefit the Thai people.

Edited September 3, 2015 by Inn Between

[willyumiii]

I knew Thai teachers would not like this idea.

This will greatly reduce their opportunities to cancel classroom time, in favor of things like sports, dancing, praying,marching, and other "important" reasons not to educate the students.

Thai teachers seem to dislike actually teaching!

[bamnutsak]

Well they can make "cheer-leading" an annual event rather than a biennial event?

"Cheer-leading" is very popular here - not to be confused with western-style cheerleaders; organize the masses to follow a leader mindlessly and repetitively, makes for docile "citizens".

[JAG]

"It's not possible for parents to pick up their children at about 2pm. They are still working," Paradee said.

Ahhh...schools are primarily valued for providing free baby sitting services, not education.

For a long time now it has been accepted that parents, particularly mothers, can work approaching a full working day whilst their young children are in school. Such an arbitrary change to the school day, seemingly at the whim of the minister, puts the boot into a great many people's lives.

That is not the same as a baby sitting service.

[prakhonchai nick]

For the 4/5 hours that are available every day for normal schooling, that should be sufficient for those that are interested in learning. Maths, Thai, English and sciences are quite enough. Never moind the religious and "other" items that are shoved down kids throats!

Spend the extra 2 hours teaching the kids about life in general, and what they will come up against when they leave school/

Teach them basic cooking, so that are not dependent on 7/11 all the time

How about motor mechanics, woodworking, electricity -all basic needs when they have their own homes

And perhaps more relevantly teach them all about the rules of the road, whether on motorbikes or in 4 wheel vehicles. Speed limits; keeping to inside lanes, indicating their intentions, looking in rear view mirrors etc etc.

[JAG]

"It's not possible for parents to pick up their children at about 2pm. They are still working," Paradee said.

Ahhh...schools are primarily valued for providing free baby sitting services, not education.

For a long time now it has been accepted in virtually every country with universal education that parents, particularly mothers, can work approaching a full working day whilst their young children are in school. Not least to enable them to earn the money to pay for that education. Such an arbitrary change to the school day, seemingly at the whim of the minister, puts the boot into a great many people's lives.

That is not the same as a baby sitting service.

[ikke]

This is only to keep the people dumb, educated citizens are difficult to control !

This was and still is the aim of most communist governments.....

The General wants to create a system in which parents who like to pay for more hours education can do so, and in that way the elite, backed by the army, will always be ahead of the majority .....

[phil2]

"It's not possible for parents to pick up their children at about 2pm. They are still working," Paradee said.

Ahhh...schools are primarily valued for providing free baby sitting services, not education.

That's what schools are. Students are not expected to learn where I work. I'm supposed to be a teenage sitter.

[Gandtee]

Great! Now my six feet tall grandson who is as graceful as an elephant can hone his Thai dancing skills to pass his exam which he failed recently.

[Srikcir]

For the remaining 1.5 hours of the school day children should focus on Prayut's 12 Values.

If there were ever to be a grassroots movement against dictatorial leadership, this might just be the instigator.

[selftaopath]

"It's not possible for parents to pick up their children at about 2pm. They are still working," Paradee said.

Ahhh...schools are primarily valued for providing free baby sitting services, not education.

Exactly.

AND in this village is seem like many "adults" only "job" is to take the children to school and bring them back after a day of ????? oh yea right "school."

I wish teachers got paid according to the "product" of they efforts e.g. educating children. If the kids aren't taught then no pay.

[selftaopath]

I knew Thai teachers would not like this idea.

This will greatly reduce their opportunities to cancel classroom time, in favor of things like sports, dancing, praying,marching, and other "important" reasons not to educate the students.

Thai teachers seem to dislike actually teaching!

Maybe b/c they are lazy of don't know how?

Hell I'm forever seeing them shopping during school hours. But the they all have new cars. :-)