BANGKOK, 16 May 2013 – The Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) will start implementing a new school calendar that goes along that adopted in other ASEAN nations from next year.
OBEC Secretary General Chinnapat Bhumirat said that around 70 percent of schools under OBEC have kicked off their new school year on Thursday and they have had no problem with classes or even traffic conditions around their premises.
Mr. Chinnapat stated, such a smooth start was partly attributed by the fact that there are fewer-than-expected new students attending kindergarten, grade 1, grade 7 and grade 10 at all OBEC schools this year.
He added that OBEC has been preparing to adjust Thailand’s education system to be more in line with that in other ASEAN countries.
As part of the plan, the commission is going to move the opening date of the new school year from the middle of May to June 10, from 2014 onwards.
Prior to that, Mr. Chinnapat said a bi-lingual curriculum has already been introduced to many schools this year to help student more acquainted with the use of English as a second language.
