New school hours in Thailand to be effective on Nov 2

[webfact]

New school hours to be effective on Nov 2

BANGKOK, 30 October 2015 (NNT) – The Ministry of Education is ready to impose shorter school hours, beginning this November 2nd, in compliance with the measure to allow students more time to take up extracurricular activities.

In a televised interview, Education Minister Gen Dapong Ratanasuwan pointed out that the reform of Thai education requires changes in the educational structure, curricula and quality of personnel. He said it is crucial to foster a good relationship between teachers and students and to promote the importance of unity among youngsters in line with the royal initiative of His Majesty the King.

Gen Dapong stated that the Education Ministry had been assigned by the Prime Minister to search for ways to make classroom lessons more concise, allowing students to study with ease and enabling them to apply the knowledge in real life. Therefore, the Ministry came up with the measure to move up the school finishing time from 3.30 pm to 2.30 pm in a bid to give the students a chance to learn from useful activities after school.

According to the Minister, the new school hours will take effect from November 2nd onwards and will be piloted in 4,100 schools nationwide. Out of the number, 3,800 are schools under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Basic Education Commission and the other 300 are private schools.


-- NNT 2015-10-30

[stoneyboy]

While I agree the school day for some children is ridiculously long especially in more rural areas where they use the school bus and are often out of the house for over 12 hours,but the other half of me is wondering what they shall do with the extra time,I suppose it will be iPads,telephones and Internet shops as always.

We will soon know when the already slow internet gets bogged down that little bit earlier with the advent of schools finishing earlier.

Edited October 29, 2015 by stoneyboy

[Thailand]

Make it 1.30pm and they could pick up a drink on the way home to fill in the extra leisure time?

[Seastallion]

The school I teach at is using this as a money spinner. They are offering, for a price, supplementary lessons. They have to offer activities, which they will do, but they will push parents to "make the most of this wonderful opportunity for their kids to get cheap extra tuition."

[Soi Sauce]

Bit sad though, when good teachers get sacked wen they prove their methods and standards are hgher than those in charge.

Pity Thailand, bcoz those in power hate new ideas and different approaches that would improve the kids' perfomances.

Ignorance is bliss to those in charge. Imagine the consequences if Jo public reallly knew the troof about wot is going on. .

Heaven forbid, or the house of cards would definitely fall down.

[Somtamnication]

Internet cafes are slap happy!

[Suradit69]

Bit sad though, when good teachers get sacked wen they prove their methods and standards are hgher than those in charge.

Pity Thailand, bcoz those in power hate new ideas and different approaches that would improve the kids' perfomances.

Ignorance is bliss to those in charge. Imagine the consequences if Jo public reallly knew the troof about wot is going on. .

Heaven forbid, or the house of cards would definitely fall down.

"Ignorance is bliss ..."

That's certainly the driving force behind many opinions expressed here at TV

[selftaopath]

The school I teach at is using this as a money spinner. They are offering, for a price, supplementary lessons. They have to offer activities, which they will do, but they will push parents to "make the most of this wonderful opportunity for their kids to get cheap extra tuition."

TIT definitely LOS i.e. Land of Scams. And many of the scammers are teachers/police/govt. officials etc. No wonder the average Thai is apathetic.

[laurenrebecca]

While I agree the school day for some children is ridiculously long especially in more rural areas where they use the school bus and are often out of the house for over 12 hours,but the other half of me is wondering what they shall do with the extra time,I suppose it will be iPads,telephones and Internet shops as always.

We will soon know when the already slow internet gets bogged down that little bit earlier with the advent of schools finishing earlier.

They're actually not leaving school early, rather core subject curriculum (Math, Science, Thai, English, Social Studies etc) will finish by this time, and then the afternoon 2-3 hours will be spent with Art, P.E., Music, etc. My school is also offering supplementary Computer, Thai and English classes (with no extra fees - it is calculated into our weekly hours).

This is the plan, anyway, at my school being one of the 4,100 that will pilot this program. It is a primary school in a very rural location. We are not cutting down on the core subject teaching hours, but rather the government is cutting out all the "extra curricular" activities and making them elective in the afternoons.

Either this will be the greatest thing since sliced bread, or will be an absolute abysmal failure. I have a feeling that some of the teachers have no desire to teach above their standard 12-14 hours a week, and these classes increase that by 3-4 hours. I have gone from 19 hours to 23, but that's ok, because I'm the foreign teacher and get paid so much, so mai bpen rai....anyway, these old school teachers will not want to do any extra activities and will probably instead send the kids out t oplay.

I hope not, but speaking with teachers at other schools, this is the general fear. The kids will just have open reign of school grounds every day from 13.30 to 16.00....

[kingstonkid]

Works for me I teach privately so it means more hours and more students

[wow64]

In one swift move they have just fixed the education system.. Who'd a thunk it.

[arfurcrown]

Kingston kid post# 10

Works for me I teach privately so it means more hours and more students

Kingstonkid raises an interesting point in his or her post above.

There could well be an expansion in the amount of children going into the weekend and after school tutoring establishments s as well as a mini explosion in the private tutoring sector.

I am presuming that a lot of teachers may well find themselves being approached by their students and families to see if they will or can teach privately.. Could be a golden opportunity for many teachers.

Edited October 30, 2015 by arfurcrown

[pgangeles]

While I agree the school day for some children is ridiculously long especially in more rural areas where they use the school bus and are often out of the house for over 12 hours,but the other half of me is wondering what they shall do with the extra time,I suppose it will be iPads,telephones and Internet shops as always.

We will soon know when the already slow internet gets bogged down that little bit earlier with the advent of schools finishing earlier.

How ridicules to shorten hours. Spend that hour learning another language (English?). Thai students are not to sharp to begin with. They need more time in school NOT less and better teachers. With all the vacations and Holidays, they must spend less time in school than most countries. How backward thinking can you get. WOW!

[PattayaPhom]

While I agree the school day for some children is ridiculously long especially in more rural areas where they use the school bus and are often out of the house for over 12 hours,but the other half of me is wondering what they shall do with the extra time,I suppose it will be iPads,telephones and Internet shops as always.

We will soon know when the already slow internet gets bogged down that little bit earlier with the advent of schools finishing earlier.

A month ago I may have agreed with you but the recent 3 week holidays, my kids that were always playing on their tablets didn't touch them once, was surprised...days were filled with cycling, sports, beach swimming just playing with friends

[jaywalker]

HMMM.....I used to wake up at 0530, slog thru snow and ice (JOKING - I grew up in Florida), barefoot (joking again) to catch a school bus 1/4 mile away by 0724 hrs. The bus driver was also my Mom's favorite preacher...Good guy. He'd whip that bus over to the side of the road in a heartbeat and put the FEAR OF GOD into any trouble-makers. I always stayed on the good side of Mr. Stevens, as I was forced to see him every Sunday at the Church of The Nazarene.

I got dropped off (again 1/4 mile from home) about 3:30 PM = after a lazy amble home, I got there about 4:00 PM = 11 hours for me for school, start to finish every day.

I LOVED it!

As soon as I got home, Mom would start dreaming up "chores" for me to do.

I went thru US Army Basic Training, and living around my Mom, as a teenager, was only about 2% better than that.

I feel sorry for these kids......Just my point of view.

=====================

Off topic, but does relate a bit to teenager being at home.

I was about 15 and had a LARGE Schrade pocket knife in my back pocket.

I had crashed out on a Saturday night after a few beers w/ my buddies & here came Mom Sunday morning waking me up to go to church.

I woke up, pulled my pants on (with that big knife in the back pocket), and decided to grab another 40 winks, and pulled the covers back over me.

She came back in 20 minutes later, mad as a hornet, all 110 lbs and 5' 2" of her, and slapped me on the butt as hard as she could. She slapped that chunk of metal in my back pocket.

She almost broke her thumb. Served her right. She was dancing all around my bedroom holding her thumb in pain.

Kids need a bit of freedom, and often they find it AWAY from their homes.... Ya know, at school.

Edited October 30, 2015 by jaywalker

[Jeremy50]

A lot of Thai teachers only go into school to recruit students for their after school private classes, these can be seen taking place in many venues around towns and villages from about 5pm to 9pm. At school many classes are missed, or the teacher just doesn't show up because breakfast and lunch or facebook take precedence. Many students feel they have to go to the private classes in order to keep up. Thai teacher gets to pay for her car and stupid gadgets that she bought on credit. It's a huge scam and takes place at every government school in the country. The new school hours will just make this business more profitable.

[overherebc]

The school I teach at is using this as a money spinner. They are offering, for a price, supplementary lessons. They have to offer activities, which they will do, but they will push parents to "make the most of this wonderful opportunity for their kids to get cheap extra tuition."

TIT definitely LOS i.e. Land of Scams. And many of the scammers are teachers/police/govt. officials etc. No wonder the average Thai is apathetic.

You've got one extra 'a' in there.

[Suradit69]

The school I teach at is using this as a money spinner. They are offering, for a price, supplementary lessons. They have to offer activities, which they will do, but they will push parents to "make the most of this wonderful opportunity for their kids to get cheap extra tuition."

TIT definitely LOS i.e. Land of Scams. And many of the scammers are teachers/police/govt. officials etc. No wonder the average Thai is apathetic.

You really think dishonest politicians, police and other government officials are somehow unique to Thailand? Were you living in a protective bubble when you were back in Farangville?

Imagine you lived in a country which last year had 3,000 allegations of police corruption. Worse, imagine that of these 3,000 allegations only half of them were properly investigated — because for police officers in this country, corruption was becoming routine. Imagine that the police increasingly used their powers to crack down not on criminals but on anyone who dared speak out against them. What sort of a country is this? Well, it’s Britain I’m afraid — where what was once the finest, most honest service in the world is in danger of becoming rotten.

http://new.spectator.co.uk/2015/03/the-shocking-truth-about-police-corruption-in-britain/

"No wonder the average Thai is apathetic. "

Over the past forty years, power, money and greed have corrupted our elected government officials at every level. What’s most alarming is that the blatant corruption running rampant in Washington is actually being tolerated by the American people. Unfortunately, members of both parties act as if their jobs are nothing more than a big political game. They’re so focused on insulting the other side and getting their own agendas passed that they forget who they’re supposed to be working for: the United States public.

http://economyincrisis.org/content/political-corruption-on-the-rise

Edited October 30, 2015 by Suradit69

[Sawan Chan 7]

Make it 1.30pm and they could pick up a drink on the way home to fill in the extra leisure time?

What an absolute idiot.

[AjarnMartin]

While I agree the school day for some children is ridiculously long especially in more rural areas where they use the school bus and are often out of the house for over 12 hours,but the other half of me is wondering what they shall do with the extra time,I suppose it will be iPads,telephones and Internet shops as always.

We will soon know when the already slow internet gets bogged down that little bit earlier with the advent of schools finishing earlier.

They're actually not leaving school early, rather core subject curriculum (Math, Science, Thai, English, Social Studies etc) will finish by this time, and then the afternoon 2-3 hours will be spent with Art, P.E., Music, etc. My school is also offering supplementary Computer, Thai and English classes (with no extra fees - it is calculated into our weekly hours).

This is the plan, anyway, at my school being one of the 4,100 that will pilot this program. It is a primary school in a very rural location. We are not cutting down on the core subject teaching hours, but rather the government is cutting out all the "extra curricular" activities and making them elective in the afternoons.

Either this will be the greatest thing since sliced bread, or will be an absolute abysmal failure. I have a feeling that some of the teachers have no desire to teach above their standard 12-14 hours a week, and these classes increase that by 3-4 hours. I have gone from 19 hours to 23, but that's ok, because I'm the foreign teacher and get paid so much, so mai bpen rai....anyway, these old school teachers will not want to do any extra activities and will probably instead send the kids out t oplay.

I hope not, but speaking with teachers at other schools, this is the general fear. The kids will just have open reign of school grounds every day from 13.30 to 16.00....

...open rein... :-) the phrase is actually associated with horse riding ...

[khun custard]

A lot of Thai teachers only go into school to recruit students for their after school private classes, these can be seen taking place in many venues around towns and villages from about 5pm to 9pm. At school many classes are missed, or the teacher just doesn't show up because breakfast and lunch or facebook take precedence. Many students feel they have to go to the private classes in order to keep up. Thai teacher gets to pay for her car and stupid gadgets that she bought on credit. It's a huge scam and takes place at every government school in the country. The new school hours will just make this business more profitable.

OFF TOPIC

But, teachers are not the only ones on this extra curricular income agenda

Just look at he number of Clinics (specialist and GP) who operate from 5-7pm after they finish their "day job"

[Guitar God]

Yeah, that's just plain wrong.

They'd need to leave by 13:25 to make it in time because of that extra 300 meter walk.

Make it 1.30pm and they could pick up a drink on the way home to fill in the extra leisure time?

What an absolute idiot.

Edited October 30, 2015 by Guitar God

[thai006]

lucky them , when i was child in france we finish at 4pm 5 pm really tired

[fred Kubasa]

And now, as many as 40 thousand sets of parents will have to rearrange theirlives to accomodate these new hours before, as they usually do, the Ministrydecides " this isn't working " and changes back from new misery to

old/proven misery ! Did anyone consider what the students/teachers/school

maintenance people/parents/nannies/transport companies would have to go thruto accomodate a totally unproven/untried elsewhere and,likely, non valid

change ?

Nincompoop idea !

[Vandadavid]

Chess board move

[Seastallion]

Kingston kid post# 10

Works for me I teach privately so it means more hours and more students

Kingstonkid raises an interesting point in his or her post above.

There could well be an expansion in the amount of children going into the weekend and after school tutoring establishments s as well as a mini explosion in the private tutoring sector.

I am presuming that a lot of teachers may well find themselves being approached by their students and families to see if they will or can teach privately.. Could be a golden opportunity for many teachers.

You're right, but what you may not be aware of is that many teachers already purposely under-perform and tell their failing students that they can get extra tuition...for a price. It happens all the time.

Now, the schools are cashing in on it and telling the parents that the school can provide extra tuition in these free times.

[chainarong]

For the life of me working in education in Thailand must be a nightmare for persons that have experienced the Western side of education, from as far as I can remember in OZ the week starts at Monday and finishes Friday 0830 to 1500 Sat & Sunday free the children need space to grow up all this class room stuff just stifles freedom to develop , unfortunately like in Thailand the younger gen everywhere likes their I pads etc to much , however that's how it goes till the next electronic gizmo comes along, some however may take up sports or lessons in Democracy.

[MaxLee]

Get ready for the Social Media frenzzzzyyyyyyyy attack......

[jaywalker]

Make it 1.30pm and they could pick up a drink on the way home to fill in the extra leisure time?

What an absolute idiot.

You took that comment seriously???

The guy was being satirical, as in, they'll have to walk 301 meters to get a snort of booze, instead of 300 meters.

I doubt anybody advocates underage drinking, but legislating human behavior is ludicrous.

For some strange reason though, the masses lap it up the way my dog drinks a bowl of milk.

Edited October 30, 2015 by jaywalker

[bangon04]

"New school hours in Thailand to be effective on Nov 2"

well that is just a matter of opinion.......