Students poor at key subjects
More children are being educated, but they are not doing as well in main subjects like English, Thai and mathematics, a report by the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has found.
"At each level, the students' academic performance was on average about half of what the Education Ministry expected," NESDB secretary-general Amphon Kitti-amphon said yesterday while presenting the findings of a report on social conditions in the second quarter of this year. He said the findings on the students' academic performances were based on information from the Education Ministry. Amphon said there was also a wide gap between the best and worst students. Another concern raised in the NESDB report was that alcohol consumption was increasing. "While cigarette consumption [among adults] has dropped, alcohol consumption has increased," Amphon said. He said liquor consumption had grown by 8 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter, while beer consumption grew by 16.3 per cent during the period. Speaking at a press conference, Amphon said Thais spent Bt36 billion on alcoholic beverages in the second quarter of this year, up by 12.5 per cent from the Bt32 billion they spent in the same period last year. "We are also paying attention to the fact that female drinkers aged between 15 and 20 years old accounted for a higher proportion of drinkers," he said. Amphon said if the campaign to encourage people to stop drinking alcohol was not effective, the relevant authorities might have to consider more aggressive measures, such as banning liquor advertising, higher taxes or more restrictions on where and when it can be sold. On a brighter note, the unemployment rate dropped to just 1.4 per cent in this year's second quarter - the lowest rate in the past four or five years. In the second quarter of last year, the unemployment rate was 2.1 per cent. The report also found that people enjoyed better health and more security in their life and property during the period. The crime rate fell in the second quarter of this year, when compared with the same period last year. However, Amphon said the number of drug cases rose in the second quarter of this year. He said the country suffered more from natural disasters last year when compared with 2003. Last year, natural disasters affected 11.8 million people - up from 7.8 million people three years ago.
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