Thailand Min of Education to give more power to local officials

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Thailand Min of Education to give more power to local officials

BANGKOK, 28 September 2015 (NNT) - The Ministry of Education will consider empowering local education officials, in a bid to improve schooling nationwide.

Education Minister General Dapong Ratanasuwan attended a recent briefing of suggestions from local offices to increase the efficiency of educational management in Thailand.

It was proposed at the meeting that certain regulations be revised regarding the transfer of teachers, as well as the procurement of education staff and supplies. Proponents of the revisions have argued that current practices are vulnerable to corruption.

Education officials said that teachers should no longer be required to handle administrative tasks so they can pay more attention to their students. They also proposed that the hiring of school administration be open to non-civil servants.

As for the new school hours, all education offices across the country are expected to keep parents informed and adjust timetables accordingly.

Source: http://thainews.prd.go.th/website_en/news/news_detail/WNSOC5809280010004

-- NNT 2015-09-28

[scorecard]

My original home country has a similar picture.

The central authority rewards school which create and implement new ideas (especially new or improved ways to develop critical thinking, analysis, getting kids to pay attention and to enjoy learning, and it must be something which has been implemented and proven to be of strong value) etc., and then they provide some funds to spread the details to other schools.

Why? To push for and gain continuous improvements.

The assessment of the value / worth, in terms of education outcomes is done by a committee, 50% respected modern educators, 50% from outside the education system, including some respected business people, and their discussions are open to the public.

[lostinisaan]

Education officials said that teachers should no longer be required to handle administrative tasks so they can pay more attention to their students

​ For their students, or their facebook status? Only Buddha knows the answer. But he's dead.

[peterjackson]

QUOTE :Proponents of the revisions have argued that current practices are vulnerable to corruption.

Now that's an understatement.

[Eddy B]

To be honest it would be better if the schools where able to hire people they want without the TCT being involved. It was like this almost 10 yrs ago and the schools very rarely had teacher shortages.

[puchooay]

To be honest it would be better if the schools where able to hire people they want without the TCT being involved. It was like this almost 10 yrs ago and the schools very rarely had teacher shortages.

Spot on. When I first started teaching here, more than 15 years ago, all that was needed was a letter from the school and one from the provincial governor. It was up to the school to decide if you were worthy to be a teacher. They would check on site while you were doing your job. A much better way than a guy with a rubber stamp in an office somewhere deciding for them.

[timber]

There still has to be Universal standards that the school must adhere to and if they don't then the system has to check on what the problems is. This universal check should also highlight those that are doing a superior job and the system can learn and pass on the reasons for their successl

[attrayant]

There still has to be Universal standards that the school must adhere to and if they don't then the system has to check on what the problems is.

Can you expand on this a bit? What do you mean by "universal standards", and why are they needed?