And this effort was furthered last week by the planned introduction of aptitude tests for university hopefuls beginning in the year 2010.

Excuse me for saying it, but it's far from a secret that most educators place no value whatsoever on critical thinking and keeping an open mind. From the first grade, students are taught to "repeat after me", recite a few sums, and believe every word that comes out of their teachers' mouths in quiet obedience. Should one of them even dare to question a teacher, he will be on the receiving end of a boot out the door.

So what do Thai kids learn at school besides the basic stuff and the merits of a nice, neat haircut? Well, in the mornings they may have to sing a rendition of some song along the lines of "Thailand is so good - the land of the free. Thai people are so kind". Again, should any young scoundrel dare to be critical, his mother will instantly be summoned to the school for a serious chat on the state of her son's mental health.

If the Education Ministry is serious about teaching Thai kids to be critical thinkers then they can start by abolishing their tradition of multiple-choice tests, which really test only one's memorisation skills. They should also cut down on the number of classes devoted to exploring things like "Why I love my province", or other theme classes. I can recall working at one all-girls high school when another teacher was instructed to teach a sex education class. Being a bit of a Nosey Parker and wondering what the pitiable teacher's lesson plan was for this hour, I came across a sheet of A4 paper on her desk entitled something like "The beauty of virginity and 10 other reasons to abstain from sex before marriage".

Beginning in the year 2010, it has been proposed that the number of exam subjects be increased to eight. Besides just boring old maths and English, the kids may soon have to pass tests for subjects like home economics. On top of testing the kids on their ability to make a tasty tom yum kung, I would advise that they also institute mandatory testing on other useful subjects such as "preserving the environment". Tricky examination questions could include: "How should you dispose of a plastic bag? A) Chuck it out a bus window. B) Lob it in the nearest canal. C) Tie it to a tree. D) Put it in a bin.

The education authorities often contradict themselves. An official statement by Onec (National Scheme on Education) in 2002 read: "Thai people shall adopt desirable values and behaviour in accordance with the traditional ways of life". Meaning that not only should Thai students sit down, shut up and obey the teacher, they ought to also instinctively honour their elders and abide by everything they say. Of course, it is utterly unheard of in traditional Thai culture to even think about confronting seniors over some cheesy ideas they might have.

And on the subject of self-expression, I can perhaps count on one foot just how many times a Thai student has asked me a question beginning: "Excuse me, what do you think about...?" Of course, to be fair to Thai youths, they do have their own notions, but unfortunately they have been conditioned to silence them.

Young people around the world always get the blame for a society's decadence and Thailand is far from an exception. Should little "Somchai" be in the habit of using the computer often, it will be automatically assumed that besides playing games he will be downloading some Brazilian blue movies and chatting with some topless lassies on Camfrog.

You certainly do not need a master's degree in psychology to realise that perhaps just a tiny portion of the blame for Thai juvenile delinquency lies with parents and society. Let's take a look at Somchai's typical weekend activities. After having had to listen carefully to his teachers all week, he is next ordered by his parents to buck up his school grades by attending some over-priced private tutorial school at Siam Square. Regardless of whether his tutorial teacher may have just been released from a mental asylum, little Somchai will again have to just sit there and listen to the same old repetitive stuff that he has already been taught in his government school. What Somchai doesn't know though, is that maybe he is only there because his parents either don't have the time to look after him or just can't be bothered with the hobo lazing around the house all day.

Unlike a lot of the older Thai generation, countless foreigners on coming to Thailand are thoroughly impressed with Thai youths. Sitting on a baht bus in Pattaya, they may hear some smiling young students shouting from the street "Hello, where you go?" "Where are you come from?" That is in comparison to where I come from back in Farangland, where turban-wearing tourists on the bus, instead of hearing kind friendly words from the local kids, will instead be viewing a bunch of whippersnappers turning around, bending over, pulling down their pants and exposing their backsides in an unconventional salute. Quite simply, Thai youths are not as menacing as society sometimes makes them out to be.

The education authorities, however, seem to totally disagree with any such assertion. Just last week, besides the introduction of aptitude tests, they agreed that, for society's sake, children needed a course in "morality and virtue". And it seems that the majority of parents are nodding their heads in approval. What the adult population doesn't realise, is that they are not much different from the kids.

Let's have a look at some of the issues governing teenage delinquency and start with drinking. Come on. let's get serious, how can a father honestly teach his kids to stay away from alcohol when he himself sits hooching it up outside with his buddies every night? Then we have the hellish problem of hoodlum motorbike racers. Now, any pedestrian in Thailand would have realised by now that the country is not exactly famed for its lovely capable drivers. Look at Somchai's dad, he sets a fantastic example: racing in and out of traffic, driving through red lights and mowing over some elderly pedestrian before parking it on the pavement to the total inconvenience of every passer-by.

So, let us and not just the Education Ministry get a grip on reality and realise that the youth of today are only a reflection of the world we have brought them into.

If the Education Ministry wants to teach Thai kids to think for themselves, then they ought to realise first that they would be in an extremely difficult Catch-22 situation.

Stephen Cleary

The Nation

Suphan Buri

Stephen Cleary is the co-founder of www.thai-blogs.com.