BANGKOK, Sept 6 – Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang has said he will propose a revamp of Thailand’s education system as a “national agenda” priority.
His remark came on the heels of an announcement by the World Economic Forum (WEF), placing the quality of Thai education at the eighth rank among Southeast Asian countries and falling behind Cambodia and Vietnam.
He admitted that the country’s education system needs urgent remedy and that the Education Ministry would be the driving force in improving the deteriorating education quality.
The priority is to improve Thailand’s formal learning system to meet the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) which evaluates education systems worldwide.
Mr Chaturon admitted that Thai education lacked consistent development in the last 15 years while the Education Act concentrated on structural reform rather than teaching reform.
Education policy and ministers in charge of education have frequently changed while Mr Chaturon himself is the fourth education minister in the Yingluck Shinawatra government.
He also declared an urgent policy to develop literacy among 1.6 million students at Pathom (Grade) 3 and Pathom 6 levels, adding that the quality of teachers also needs improvement.
