Thai Education Minister to focus on role of teachers

[webfact]

Minister to focus on role of teachers
By NOPHAKHUN LIMSAMARNPHUN
THE NATION

 

Teerakiat

 

BANGKOK: -- NEWLY APPOINTED Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin is spearheading a reform of education with a focus on ensuring that the country’s 400,000 teachers put in quality time for their teaching responsibilities.

 

Teerakiat said in an interview that the Office of Teacher Civil Service and Educational Personnel Commission (OTEPC) had recently passed a resolution to ensure teachers were not bogged down in excessive academic work.

 

“Over the past many years, many of our teachers have preferred to do academic work, especially research and thesis work, to gain credentials so as to upgrade their professional status and earn more income – at the expense of their teaching hours and teaching quality.”

 

Teerakiat quoted King Rama IX’s royal message on education in 2012: “Thai teachers tend to focus on writing thesis papers and textbooks for their supervisors in order to get a higher position and salary and sometimes they relocate to new places afterwards.

 

Full story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30305241

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-01-30

[bangon04]

another day, another education minister, another speech

 

[arrowsdawdle]

Focus on the role of teachers? Such a revolutionary idea. Guess the education ministry is like the students and dare not cause a teacher to lose face.

[samsensam]

 

thank goodness my thai friends can afford to pay to send their children to fee paying schools.

[RichardColeman]

Try paying them more. My wife was a teacher. She gave it up as 11,000 a month didn't pay enough - 6 days, 10 hours a day. No travel expenses, no food allowance.

[Lupatria]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Minister to focus on role of teachers

After reading the first four words I held my breath- hoping the following would turn out to: his job.

[Khun Paul]

Now do away with the NO Fail policy and watch the pains then the successes.

[zaphod reborn]

Maybe he should focus on teacher pay, and why all that funding that is budgeted never makes it to the teachers or for the benefit of the students.  Obviously too scared what a little transparency in the MOE and the school administrators might reveal.

[Exnavy]

My daughter completed her exams for this school year, about two weeks ago. Since then, she has received very little by way of teaching because her teachers simply don't turn up, or may appear for the first 5/10 minutes of the lesson and then leave. Even pre exams, she was lucky to get a teacher for more than about 70 percent of actual teaching time, the one subject where a teacher was most in attendance being Buddhism. A few years ago I was asked by the local village school to teach English there, which I did. On several occasions, particularly afternoons, I was the only one teaching because the permanent teaching staff were all 'down the pub', celebrating a birthday or the purchase by one teacher of a new car. Thai teachers are a law unto themselves. 

[johninbkk71]

4 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

thank goodness my thai friends can afford to pay to send their children to fee paying schools.

True, if they're private EP/IP/mini-English or whatever the latest fashion is; the parents know their kids will get good grades. If not they can complain and the grades will be corrected.

Edited January 30, 2017 by johninbkk71

[elgordo38]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

with a focus on ensuring that the country’s 400,000 teachers put in quality time for their teaching responsibilities.

And right after a truckload of confidence the next most used word is focus. Anyone have a spare rifle scope for this fellow. 

[whinginggit]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

“Over the past many years, many of our teachers have preferred to do academic work, especially research and thesis work, to gain credentials so as to upgrade their professional status and earn more income – at the expense of their teaching hours and teaching quality.”

Really?  They have the learning capacity to do this?  Surely their teaching quality would improve if they were actually doing something apart from copying and pasting from the internet!

 

I have 2 nieces whom are 'English' teachers in BKK.  They both can't speak a word of English.  They say they are 'shy'!  When they have a 'meeting' with heads they only communicate in Thai and show that their students have competent 'English' skills.  Google Translate does 99% of the homework...the 'teacher' uses Google Translate to check their work...hence the 100% result!

[Redline]

I swear, for the 8 years I have been here, there is a new Education minister every 3-6 months, and they all say the same things!

[clockman]

But a big trough!

[dinsdale]

Stop stuffing money in your pocket and your other fat cat mates pockets. STOP CORRUPTION. Pay teachers more. We all know no matter who's in govt the huge wads of money for education end up being very small once everyone in positions of power have taken their  cut. Corruption at the expense of educating children. What a sanctimonious, hypocritical piece of ..... .

15 hours ago, webfact said:

“Over the past many years, many of our teachers have preferred to do academic work, especially research and thesis work, to gain credentials so as to upgrade their professional status and earn more income – at the expense of their teaching hours and teaching quality.”

 

 

[DavisH]

9 hours ago, johninbkk71 said:

True, if they're private EP/IP/mini-English or whatever the latest fashion is; the parents know their kids will get good grades. If not they can complain and the grades will be corrected.

Never in my school will that happen:) The kids get the grade they deserve. 50 being the lowest. I give a few on those each semester. 

[Rhys]

16 hours ago, bangon04 said:

another day, another education minister, another speech

 

 

 

 

spot on.....ok.. you know what is coming next.... more educational technology teaching programs.  Now in all fairness, some programs are good "supplements", especially with current student cell phone reliance.  ... thus coming soon this "so called Educational Expert, political appointment" will announce a MOE special program (CALL) computer assisted language learning program that will guarantee all Thai students can speak "some" English... Millions and millions of baht research...has proven this.

Edited January 30, 2017 by Rhys

[Scott]

There are few gov't agencies that can't be improved with some changes and tweaking, but the educational system in Thailand really requires a complete overhaul from top to bottom and back again.   I have worked in over 14 countries (not in education in most, but with some responsibility for educational programs in quite a few).   Never have I seen anything that compares to the incompetence of the Thai education system.   I guess this posts sums it up.  

 

On 1/30/2017 at 8:19 AM, bangon04 said:

another day, another education minister, another speech

 

 

[LazySlipper]

On 1/30/2017 at 0:36 PM, Exnavy said:

My daughter completed her exams for this school year, about two weeks ago. Since then, she has received very little by way of teaching because her teachers simply don't turn up, or may appear for the first 5/10 minutes of the lesson and then leave. Even pre exams, she was lucky to get a teacher for more than about 70 percent of actual teaching time, the one subject where a teacher was most in attendance being Buddhism. A few years ago I was asked by the local village school to teach English there, which I did. On several occasions, particularly afternoons, I was the only one teaching because the permanent teaching staff were all 'down the pub', celebrating a birthday or the purchase by one teacher of a new car. Thai teachers are a law unto themselves. 

 

Been teaching here almost 14 years. I dunno if this is a gvt school thing, but I never saw this in private schools. I only worked in two gvt schools and never saw anything even remotely resembling this. I am not backing the Thais but I don't believe in bashing anyone without justification. Things do slack off but off to the pub? Really?