Council sets out stall for education reform

"The second education reform will be about the development of teachers and students," he said, "If teachers are not capable, how can we expect students to excel?"

Why does the country's education need more reform?

We started reforming the country's education system about a decade ago -  because whenever a problem in the country arises, one tends to blame it on the lack of education, inequality in educational opportunities and the like. If we look at the country's budget, we will find that the government has allocated a huge budget to education every year. But if we look at the results, we must admit they are not impressive.

So, we need education reform.

The first education reform was very big in scope because we had to organise things, make necessary preparations, identify flaws and fix them. Now, we are going to implement the second education reform but this will be just a minor reform, taking six to seven months to implement.

What will the second education reform focus on?

From our brainstorming with experts, we intend to focus on nine points: first, the development of students; second, the development of teachers; third, increasing educationmanagement efficiency; fourth, increasing educational opportunities; fifth, producing the skilled workforce needed for the country; sixth, preparing sufficient funds for education; seventh, educational technology; eighth, enforcing education laws efficiently; and ninth, promoting nonformal education.

We will hold public forums on these nine points in February and March.

In addition, we will be happy to attend forums held by relevant parties such as the Faculty of Education. It's okay if their forums address only one of the nine points. We will be happy to listen to opinions and we will be happy to provide information.

What about the timeframe?

We will gather public opinion in February and March. After that, we will analyse information and draft implementation measures. The Education Council is expected to review and approve the implementation plan in June. Then, the plan will be submitted before the Cabinet in July or August. If we stick to this timeframe, the government should be able to allocate money from the Fiscal Year 2010 Budget for our plan. That means we will get the money to implement the second education reform as early as October.

Where will the focus lie, on students or teachers?

Both students and teachers are the main focus in the second education reform. The other seven points are what we do to supplement the development of students and teachers. For example, students and teachers will need technology and an efficient system to do well. So, we have to work on those areas too.

Who will be reformed?

Both students and teachers. But mainly, we will work to improve the quality of teachers. If we have quality teachers, we will have quality students too.

How will the reform produce quality teachers?

We will have to brainstorm ideas during these two months. Perhaps, we will help teachers understand that a teaching job can allow them to work happily and to live with dignity. We will also need to look for newgeneration people with a passion for teaching, the ability and readiness to improve themselves even further. If we get these good new teachers, things will improve. Furthermore, it's necessary that we relieve teachers of administrative tasks in order for them to focus their attention on teaching.

We are now thinking about having the Galyani Vadhana Institute as a central agency to oversee the development of teachers. I believe this institute can work with relevant universities and associations in accomplishing this mission.

What about teachers' work pattern?

Academic ranks for schoolteachers are now awarded according to criteria applied to university lecturers. That's why schoolteachers have been preoccupied with writing and doing their research. Some teachers have withdrawn from classrooms so that they can have time to work on the research, which will entitle them to higher academic rank. Problems clearly arise here because schoolteachers belong in classrooms. Their job is about teaching, not doing research. We have to do something to change this. I think it will be more appropriate to promote academic ranks for teachers who teach efficiently. For example, teachers may get promotion when the academic performance of children under their supervision clearly improves.

How will you bring in newgeneration teachers while so many oldergeneration teachers are still there?

Over the next 10 years, 30 per cent of teachers will reach mandatory retirement age. That means 150,000 teachers will leave the public service. On the bright side, we can replace retiring teachers with the newgeneration teaching staff. We will try to attract quality people to a teaching career.

How will you improve the quality of students?

If we can provide quality teachers, we will be able to get quality students.

Will you follow any model used by a foreign country in implementing the second education reform?

No. We will implement the second education reform based on our own experiences. We will tackle problems we see from the first reform.

Who will sit on the Education Reform Commission? 

The members of the commission will come from three groups. The first group comprises people involved in the first education reform. The second group comprises academics and educators who are not involved in the first reform. The third group comprises nongovernmental organisations, people's sector and communities. The Education Reform Commission will be established in April.