BANGKOK – The Ministry of Education is ready to impose shorter school hours, beginning this November 2nd, in compliance with the measure to allow students more time to take up extracurricular activities.
In a televised interview, Education Minister Gen Dapong Ratanasuwan pointed out that the reform of Thai education requires changes in the educational structure, curricula and quality of personnel. He said it is crucial to foster a good relationship between teachers and students and to promote the importance of unity among youngsters in line with the royal initiative of His Majesty the King.
Gen Dapong stated that the Education Ministry had been assigned by the Prime Minister to search for ways to make classroom lessons more concise, allowing students to study with ease and enabling them to apply the knowledge in real life. Therefore, the Ministry came up with the measure to move up the school finishing time from 3.30 pm to 2.30 pm in a bid to give the students a chance to learn from useful activities after school.
According to the Minister, the new school hours will take effect from November 2nd onwards and will be piloted in 4,100 schools nationwide. Out of the number, 3,800 are schools under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Basic Education Commission and the other 300 are private schools.
