It was a wet opening day for Pattaya’s schools as heavy rain dampened uniforms, but not enthusiasm.
Those who had enjoyed lighter morning and afternoon traffic during the April recess were reminded how bad it could be May 16 as parents dropped off their kids around the city. School staffers and police volunteers tried to keep things moving by rousting double-parkers.
Students said it would take time to get back in study mode after six weeks of fun under the sun.
Teachers spent part of their recess getting indoctrinated in the Thailand “Education 4.0” initiative and will have to prepare new lessons aimed at training students for high-technology jobs.
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).
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.
