About 800 area educators were briefed on the government’s “Education 4.0” initiative as part of the latest effort to salvage Thailand’s failing schools.
Mayor Anan Charoenchasri opened the May 11 workshop for teachers, school administrators and directors of preschools at Pattaya Technical College along with top city officials.
“Thailand 4.0”, the latest economic-model from the government, proposes to pull the country out of the middle-income trap and into a high-income society by developing its economy beyond agriculture (1.0), light industry (2.0) and heavy manufacturing (the current 3.0).
The 20-year strategy focuses on a value-based economy, as Thailand needs to deal effectively with disparities and the imbalance between the environment and society.
Playing a key role in that process is education, which has put Thailand at the bottom among its Southeast Asian neighbors, despite spending more money on education than any of them.
Educators were shown a video on Education 4.0 and briefed on the program by Prime Minister’s Office Minister Suwit Mesinsee.
They then listened to a series of speeches by Pattaya officials, starting with Anan, who spoke on moving schools forward to 4.0.
City Councilman Wasan Naowniew, head of the panel’s Education Committee, spoke on “The Concept of Upgrading the Educational Standards in Pattaya” and City Manager Wuthipol Charoenpol spoke on “Stepping Forward as a Professional Teacher”.
Educators were told they are key players in the country’s development and were urged to train and improve themselves in order to prepare acceptable educational materials and practices that are recognized by the rest of the world.
