When His Excellency Mr.Sukavich Rangsitpol took office on the twenty sixth of July, 1995, his policies concerning #education, #religion and #culture were proclaimed.
The fundamental policy is to improve the #quality of education in line with #economic #development, while considering the expansion of compulsory education from 6 years to 9 years and eventually #12 years respectively, an urgent task.
Under such a policy, it is of great importance to promote such aspects of #Thai heritage as religion, #ethics, %morality and #cultural #preservation.
8. In December 1995, after relevant data on the existing problems had been studied and My father Sukavich Rangsitpol ‘s goals in educational, religious and cultural administration were set,
the Ministry of Education has developed the following 4 approaches in order to attain its education reform policy:-
1) School Reform
2) Teachers Reform
3) Curriculum Reform
4) Administration Reform
9. Education, by its nature, involves a great number of people.
Hence, it is everyone’s duty and responsibility to take part in educational development, especially when considering the fact that schools and educational institutions of all kinds are the closest organization to students, parents and the public alike.
In January 1996, an approach for school reform was laid down, stipulating that all schools under the School Reform Project aim to become an ideal school, like the one prescribed by the Ministry of Education’s 10 Commandments.
This approach encourages the school administrators to create a desirable environment, with well equipped materials and adequately functional classrooms which is conducive to teaching/learning activities.
Moreover, school curricula must be tailored to suit local needs while the community should be encouraged to participate in school adminstration.
The problem of staff shortages must also be solved and finally, the school should prove to be of high quality and a standard which is highly acceptable to the whole community.
10. For over a year, various approaches and solutions have been put into practice in order to alleviate the aforementioned accumulated problems, some of which have turned out to be successful as targeted:
1)Clear policies and practical approaches have been indentified to provide the children of 40 million poor people with 12 years of education free of charge.
Under the Self-Sufficiency Agricultural Education Project, more than 10,000 ninth grade graduates from opportunity expansion schools under the jurisdiction of ONPEC, have been selected to undertake agricultural courses as boarding students.
2) In the 1996 academic year, the curriculum has been adjusted so that English will be taught in the first grade with an emphasis on listening, speaking, reading and writing skills;
3)A policy to raise the standard of education in a complete cycle has been drawn up, starting from pre-primary level through to primary, secondary or equivalent, to higher education, after which a new cycle will resume.
Initially, the quality of primary education is to be upgraded while attempts are made to put all of the young children into pre-school, in preparation for their first grade in the year 1997. (750000 students)
This is the reason why the budget for educational development of the Office of the National Primary Education Commission (ONPEC) has been raised from 6.5 billion to 17 billion baht in 1997, which is the largest amount ever received by this organization;
4) The cabinet approved the proposed amendment of the Teacher Civil Service Commission’s rule number 13 which permits Teacher 2 level 6 to advance to level 7 without having to submit any academic work for consideration.
This amendment will come into effect on the second of October, 1996;
5) 5,669 teachers have been appointed to replace those teachers who retired during the period 1994-1995.
Based on a misconception that my administration ‘s streamlined resolution is to dissolve the positions of retired teachers without any exception,
the 5,669 positions were inappropriately dissolved. In actual fact, it is possible to urge the cabinet to review this issue;
6) While education reform has brought about unity within the Ministry of Education, thousands of individuals involved in the task of education reform over one year ago also created a comceptual diversity in concrete educational development;
7)For the 1997 financial year, the educational budget was increased from 133 billion baht to 163 billion baht which is equivalent to a 22.5% increase from that in the 1996 financial year.
The educational investment budget in particular, was raised from 18% in 1996 to 26.2% in 1997 or from 23 billion baht to 43 billion baht.
During the 1997 financial year, the bulk of this budget will be spent according to the education reform policy, with the aim of upgrading school, teaching/learning materials and equipment as well as the school staff;
While studying in such agricultural colleges, the acquired theoretical nowledge and practical skills will enable the learners to support themselves as the surplus of agricultural produce and products will be sold in the market.
Moreover, other fields such as electrical and mechanical studies, computing, accounting and marketing are also available.
Every graduate from these courses must possess a #driving license for tractors/backhoes and must be able to #cook and use agricultural machinery at the same time.
Learners are also required to undertake a territorial defense course to instill in them discipline and loyalty for #king, #country and #religion.
A graduate will also be conferred the rank of corporal.
At present, there is a plan to enroll another 10,000 students for the second term in November 1996 and expand this to 100,000 students in the year 1997.
This project has already been approved by the cabinet with appropriate budgetary allocations being set aside for 1996 and 1997.
For the five-year-project, a budget allocation of over 7 billion baht has also been approved in principal.
The Ministry of Education is confident that this project corresponds to the needs of society in relation to human development, whereby staff shortages in various occupations have been identified by the Eighth NESDP.
Once a vocational certificate in agriculture is obtained, these agricultural graduates are ready to enter into the world of full time employment;
8.)Clear policies concerning a budget proposal for education administration have been identified, with a 12 year-educational development plan which aims at educational excellence in the year 2007.
In 1998, educational expenditure per head will be adjusted according to the Ministry of Finance’s regulations:-
kindergarten 2,150 baht,
primary 3,000 baht,
lower secondary 4,000 baht and
upper secondary 4,100 baht and upper secondary 4,100 baht per head per year.
In practice, however, the government only released
160 baht in 1995,
170 baht in 1996 and
270 baht in 1997 for every primary school pupil in Thailand.
In an attempt to alleviate the problem of educational spending per head, the Ministry of Education plans to raise the educational fees for civil servants’ children who are studying in government schools, in line with those specified by the Ministry of Finance on the seventh of May 1996.
As such fees can be reimbursed from the government via prior agreement with the Comptroller-General’s Department, Ministry of Finance.
This approach will not pose any financial burden upon civil servants. (Please note that the current rates of educational fees for secondary education used by the Ministry of Education are in accordance with those specified for the year 1977.)
Thus, in the year 1998, the Ministry of Education will urge the government to allocate an adequate budget per head;
9) There are 50% or approximately 20,000 schools under the Education Reform Project which is based on 4 approaches and the ideal schools as reflected in the ten commandments of the Ministry of Education.
These schools are required to complete their school environment improvement work by December 1996 in accordance with the 4 approaches.
To this end, the Ministry of Education has allocated 100,000-150,000 baht for each school to renovate its buildings, for example, with repair work and a new coat of paint as well as creating desirable school environs.
Local communities should be encouraged to participate in school administration and development by means of identifying problems relating to students, teachers, parents and curricula.
Thailand Globalization education reforms in 1995 (Part 2)
The fundamental policy is to improve the #quality of education in line with #economic #development, while considering the expansion of compulsory education from 6 years to 9 years and eventually #12 years respectively, an urgent task.
Under such a policy, it is of great importance to promote such aspects of #Thai heritage as religion, #ethics, %morality and #cultural #preservation.
8. In December 1995, after relevant data on the existing problems had been studied and My father Sukavich Rangsitpol ‘s goals in educational, religious and cultural administration were set,
the Ministry of Education has developed the following 4 approaches in order to attain its education reform policy:-
1) School Reform
2) Teachers Reform
3) Curriculum Reform
4) Administration Reform
9. Education, by its nature, involves a great number of people.
Hence, it is everyone’s duty and responsibility to take part in educational development, especially when considering the fact that schools and educational institutions of all kinds are the closest organization to students, parents and the public alike.
In January 1996, an approach for school reform was laid down, stipulating that all schools under the School Reform Project aim to become an ideal school, like the one prescribed by the Ministry of Education’s 10 Commandments.
This approach encourages the school administrators to create a desirable environment, with well equipped materials and adequately functional classrooms which is conducive to teaching/learning activities.
Moreover, school curricula must be tailored to suit local needs while the community should be encouraged to participate in school adminstration.
The problem of staff shortages must also be solved and finally, the school should prove to be of high quality and a standard which is highly acceptable to the whole community.
10. For over a year, various approaches and solutions have been put into practice in order to alleviate the aforementioned accumulated problems, some of which have turned out to be successful as targeted:
1)Clear policies and practical approaches have been indentified to provide the children of 40 million poor people with 12 years of education free of charge.
Under the Self-Sufficiency Agricultural Education Project, more than 10,000 ninth grade graduates from opportunity expansion schools under the jurisdiction of ONPEC, have been selected to undertake agricultural courses as boarding students.
2) In the 1996 academic year, the curriculum has been adjusted so that English will be taught in the first grade with an emphasis on listening, speaking, reading and writing skills;
3)A policy to raise the standard of education in a complete cycle has been drawn up, starting from pre-primary level through to primary, secondary or equivalent, to higher education, after which a new cycle will resume.
Initially, the quality of primary education is to be upgraded while attempts are made to put all of the young children into pre-school, in preparation for their first grade in the year 1997. (750000 students)
This is the reason why the budget for educational development of the Office of the National Primary Education Commission (ONPEC) has been raised from 6.5 billion to 17 billion baht in 1997, which is the largest amount ever received by this organization;
4) The cabinet approved the proposed amendment of the Teacher Civil Service Commission’s rule number 13 which permits Teacher 2 level 6 to advance to level 7 without having to submit any academic work for consideration.
This amendment will come into effect on the second of October, 1996;
5) 5,669 teachers have been appointed to replace those teachers who retired during the period 1994-1995.
Based on a misconception that my administration ‘s streamlined resolution is to dissolve the positions of retired teachers without any exception,
the 5,669 positions were inappropriately dissolved. In actual fact, it is possible to urge the cabinet to review this issue;
6) While education reform has brought about unity within the Ministry of Education, thousands of individuals involved in the task of education reform over one year ago also created a comceptual diversity in concrete educational development;
7)For the 1997 financial year, the educational budget was increased from 133 billion baht to 163 billion baht which is equivalent to a 22.5% increase from that in the 1996 financial year.
The educational investment budget in particular, was raised from 18% in 1996 to 26.2% in 1997 or from 23 billion baht to 43 billion baht.
During the 1997 financial year, the bulk of this budget will be spent according to the education reform policy, with the aim of upgrading school, teaching/learning materials and equipment as well as the school staff;
While studying in such agricultural colleges, the acquired theoretical nowledge and practical skills will enable the learners to support themselves as the surplus of agricultural produce and products will be sold in the market.
Moreover, other fields such as electrical and mechanical studies, computing, accounting and marketing are also available.
Every graduate from these courses must possess a #driving license for tractors/backhoes and must be able to #cook and use agricultural machinery at the same time.
Learners are also required to undertake a territorial defense course to instill in them discipline and loyalty for #king, #country and #religion.
A graduate will also be conferred the rank of corporal.
At present, there is a plan to enroll another 10,000 students for the second term in November 1996 and expand this to 100,000 students in the year 1997.
This project has already been approved by the cabinet with appropriate budgetary allocations being set aside for 1996 and 1997.
For the five-year-project, a budget allocation of over 7 billion baht has also been approved in principal.
The Ministry of Education is confident that this project corresponds to the needs of society in relation to human development, whereby staff shortages in various occupations have been identified by the Eighth NESDP.
Once a vocational certificate in agriculture is obtained, these agricultural graduates are ready to enter into the world of full time employment;
8.)Clear policies concerning a budget proposal for education administration have been identified, with a 12 year-educational development plan which aims at educational excellence in the year 2007.
In 1998, educational expenditure per head will be adjusted according to the Ministry of Finance’s regulations:-
kindergarten 2,150 baht,
primary 3,000 baht,
lower secondary 4,000 baht and
upper secondary 4,100 baht and upper secondary 4,100 baht per head per year.
In practice, however, the government only released
160 baht in 1995,
170 baht in 1996 and
270 baht in 1997 for every primary school pupil in Thailand.
In an attempt to alleviate the problem of educational spending per head, the Ministry of Education plans to raise the educational fees for civil servants’ children who are studying in government schools, in line with those specified by the Ministry of Finance on the seventh of May 1996.
As such fees can be reimbursed from the government via prior agreement with the Comptroller-General’s Department, Ministry of Finance.
This approach will not pose any financial burden upon civil servants. (Please note that the current rates of educational fees for secondary education used by the Ministry of Education are in accordance with those specified for the year 1977.)
Thus, in the year 1998, the Ministry of Education will urge the government to allocate an adequate budget per head;
9) There are 50% or approximately 20,000 schools under the Education Reform Project which is based on 4 approaches and the ideal schools as reflected in the ten commandments of the Ministry of Education.
These schools are required to complete their school environment improvement work by December 1996 in accordance with the 4 approaches.
To this end, the Ministry of Education has allocated 100,000-150,000 baht for each school to renovate its buildings, for example, with repair work and a new coat of paint as well as creating desirable school environs.
Local communities should be encouraged to participate in school administration and development by means of identifying problems relating to students, teachers, parents and curricula.