Thai education: Flurry of action on many fronts

[webfact]

EDUCATION
Flurry of action on many fronts
Chularat Saengpassa
The Nation



Reform plans going ahead in many areas, giving rise to a feeling of confusion

BANGKOK: -- THAILAND has just got a new education minister, General Dapong Ratanasuwan, and a blueprint for educational reform from the National Reform Council (NRC).

This is in addition to many other plans to overhaul the country's educational sector for better quality. The Education Ministry, for example, is preparing to draw up the Educational Development Strategy (2016 - 2020) at the order of a national 'super board' that is chaired by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha himself.

Assoc Prof Prapapat Niyom, secretary of the NRC committee on education and human resource-development reforms, has supported the NRC-approved Bill on the National Educational and Human Development Policy Board.

"The ultimate goal is to produce quality humans," she said.

According to her, the bill covers all aspects of human development including education. It, for example, prescribes an improved curriculum, improved tests and improved evaluation methods.

Prapapat believed that when the tests were changed, teaching and learning methods would definitely change too.

"When national tests focus on problem-solving skills, schools will find a way to equip their students with such skills," she commented.

Prapapat also supported the hybrid system for educational budget management.

She said at present, the government allocates the budget based on the supply side, that, as a result, left power over education services in the hands of the state.

"But we should add the demand-side element. We suggest that the government give coupons to children and let them choose schools they want to attend. These schools can then use the coupon to claim the budget. This way, schools will pay more attention to learners," she pointed out.

She said coupon reimbursement should cover teachers' salary, teaching materials, etc.

"With such an approach, schools will try to improve themselves making sure they are good products in the educational market," she said.

Prapapat said such an approach might affect small schools, so she believed the National Educational and Human Development Policy Board should have the duty to draw up plans, particularly to help such educational institutes.

Educational Council secretary general Dr Suthasri Wongsamarn, meanwhile, has disclosed recent-ly that a plan to amend the National Education Act was in the pipeline.

"We are analysing the act's strengths and weaknesses," she said.

Suthasri said lawyer Meechai Ruchuphan heads a subcommittee on how to improve the act. Basically, it was agreed that the amendment would seek to improve management of education - the process, budget, testing and evaluations.

Office of Basic Education Commission secretary general Kamol Rodklai also separately disclosed that his office was going to have serious meetings later this month to work on the Educational Development Strategy that the Prayut-chaired 'super board' had instructed the ministry to draw up.

"Our meetings on the issue will run from September 20 to 26," he said.

Kamol said although the strategy would be implemented between 2016 and 2020, it was expected to deliver some tangible results within one year of its implementation.

"For example, there should be clear results in the very first years of policies to improve English teaching and to use technology more educational purposes."

He said on long-term goals, the strategy would seek to improve teachers and reduce educational inequalities.

Education Ministry permanent secretary Kamjorn Tatiyakavee said all sides were trying their best to boost Thai educational quality.

However, he said the country's educational reform was now in a rather confusing stage.

"Many sides have tried to help, from their different perspectives. But to date, there has been no clear conclusion on how we should stage the reform," Kamjorn said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Flurry-of-action-on-many-fronts-30268279.html


-- The Nation 2015-09-07

[eeworldwide]

I love the fact that a lot of this is based around budget/money......

We couldn't expect TOO radical a change, now, could we?!

[z42]

Start failing students who purposefully do nothing. But basically everything else won't work due to face issues. Sad but true

[clockman]

One of the biggest budgets, and we know the result. Compared withe rest of Asean?

[kaorop]

Coupons for students

Ummm okay right.

However, he said the country's educational reform was now in a rather confusing stage.

Yes and always will be, for many reasons.

[SOTIRIOS]

......quality humans....

.....how about those that have passed through all the previous 'gloroius systems'...that are now teaching.....

....one would think that realistically it will take at least 1 generation...if not 2.....

...and bottom line...there has to be a will....a will to learn...a will to strive...a will to improve oneself....teachers and students...

[laurenrebecca]

Allow us teachers to fail students...it will fix quite a few of the problems. Won't solve everything, but it will be the biggest, easiest improvement that the NRC could make, and no extra money in the budget to implement it.

[cmiuc]

Quote "a national 'super board' that is chaired by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha himself."

First order of business... from super man in the super board chair: Your all fired! Get some non-corruptive people in the "super board" board.....

Quote ""The ultimate goal is to produce quality humans," she said."

Failed students re-do the year... (allow students to be failed from lack of progress)

Update teaching standards, don't let teacher continually use their lesson plans that are not updated with latest info.... bar teachers from buying the DVD/CD that has all the canned pack lesson plans that is being sold.

Stop extra curricular activities unless a student has a progressive high score... privileged students. and do extra curricular activities outside of school teaching times.

Thailand might want to look at Singapore's education system and implement that since they are the hub...

kill corruption at teacher level...

Visit schools unannounced and do surprise audits from outside audit companies... all this hoopla when the MOE visits the school makes you want to throw up... it's like God has ascended to inspect his children with a sacrifice from the Money God... surprise is the best way to see the real action that they "say" they want to have...

[quandow]

[gerryBScot]

Is a coupon system not more likely to make a corrupt system more corrupt? You can't run or administer any system when the sole objectives of the people in the system is to identify and exploit the weaknesses in it. And I'm referring to school managers who must take a page proportion of the blame for the state of the system; it follows from this that you must also blame the people who manage the managers for failing to do their jobs effectively. It is in these areas that the changes need to occur.

[quandow]

Is a coupon system not more likely to make a corrupt system more corrupt? You can't run or administer any system when the sole objectives of the people in the system is to identify and exploit the weaknesses in it. And I'm referring to school managers who must take a page proportion of the blame for the state of the system; it follows from this that you must also blame the people who manage the managers for failing to do their jobs effectively. It is in these areas that the changes need to occur.

The U.S. just ruled coupon systems illegal.

[Kru Baa]

Bwaaaaaaaa A new education minister! And a General no less. How did he get to be a General anyway? The Same way all the students graduate from high school and university, showing up to sleep in class once in a while or copying everything from the one student who paid attention?

Thailand will never be able to fix this problem themselves as everyone at the MOE went through the same education system they have now. The uneducated in charge of education.

This guy will make a bunch of half-assed decisions and then be replaced before he has to be held accountable for the mess he made.

[Kru Baa]

Allow us teachers to fail students...it will fix quite a few of the problems. Won't solve everything, but it will be the biggest, easiest improvement that the NRC could make, and no extra money in the budget to implement it.

Whoa whoa whoa! Now hold on right there! No extra money in the budget?!!! Now, what would be the point of forming a National Reform Committee? How do you expect them to show up to all those meetings to form more committees and have more meetings? All those medals on "the general's" uniform aren't free you know.

[Eddy B]

I wonder how hard these coupons are going to be forged??? I wonder if they will check up, when little Somchai has been enrolled in 4 different schools in the same province.

[Cake Monster]

Could this possibly be the start of a new dawn in Thai Education ?.

Maybe ( at long last ), the stark realization is, that the Education System is spewing out an absolute torrent of worthless " talent ", and letting them loose into a modern society that demands a much higher standard of its citizens.

[lostinisaan]

Allow us teachers to fail students...it will fix quite a few of the problems. Won't solve everything, but it will be the biggest, easiest improvement that the NRC could make, and no extra money in the budget to implement it.

Then you should also allow the students to ask their teachers any questions. This unwritten law by the MoE seems to be from the 17th century.

[Linzz]

Allow us teachers to fail students...it will fix quite a few of the problems. Won't solve everything, but it will be the biggest, easiest improvement that the NRC could make, and no extra money in the budget to implement it.

Whoa whoa whoa! Now hold on right there! No extra money in the budget?!!! Now, what would be the point of forming a National Reform Committee? How do you expect them to show up to all those meetings to form more committees and have more meetings? All those medals on "the general's" uniform aren't free you know.

I took laurenrebecca to mean that it would cost nothing to fail students