Taya Teepsuwan, deputy governor of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), has taken on the tough job of turning BMA schools into "community schools" that can serve students across the capital. She tells The Nation how she is working to give everybody, even underprivileged children, the chance of a good education with wellknown teachers.
What are your goals?
My target is to bring BMA schools up to the standard of popular demonstration and private schools. Of the 435 BMA schools, only 50, such as Prachaniwet, Banbangkapi, Prayamonthaturadsripijit and Thainiyom Songkroh, are popular. I want to bring the rest up to a high level so all students have more choices.
What do you plan to do to achieve this goal?
We have developed the facilities, the quality of the curriculum and introduced innovative teaching standards as well as teacher training programmes. Already Bt13 billion has been allocated to improve BMA schools during the 2010 academic year.
BMA is currently collaborating with the Patumwan Demonstration School, the Srinakharinwirot University's Prasarnmit Demonstration School as well as the Kasetsart University Laboratory School Centre. I am also trying to do a deal with Chulalongkorn University's demonstration school. These schools have different strengths and together they will help us develop the curriculum, instructional media, teaching standards as well as giving us tips on making students enthusiastic about learning.
We have already had our teachers sit in on lessons at several wellknown private schools such as Mater Dei, Srivikorn and Amnuay Silpa. More than 10 BMA schools have taken part in projects with these demonstration and private schools, and hopefully their educational quality will rise in the next four years.
How do you plan to develop students at BMA schools?
Owing to the highly competitive education system in our country, students need to work very hard to enrol in wellknown secondary schools and universities. Therefore, it's necessary to tutor our students, though many parents cannot afford to pay for tutorial schools. To help with this, BMA has joined up with nine popular tutorial schools to provide class¬es for 8,000 Matthayom 3 (Grade 9) and 500 Matthayom 6 (Grade 12) students so they are prepared for entrance exams at secondary schools and universities. We want to give all students an equal opportunity.
By the second semester of this academic year, some 20,700 computers will be pro¬vided so each student has access to a computer. Also, within this month, schools will start using the Microsoft MultiPoint soft¬ware to allow large groups of students to take part in lessons at the same time. This should help solve computershortage problems.
In addition, our elibrary project will load ebooks and instructional media created by 150 pilot schools on to the same server so teachers and students can share these resources more easily.
How do you plan to improve the quality of teachers?
BMA will spend Bt3,000 per teacher per year on training programmes that will include introductions to educational innovation and hightech teaching aids as well as creating good instructional media.
Teachers are crucial to improving the quality of education. Unfortunately, more than 3,000 of the 15,000 teachers do not hold a degree. This is a problem we need to tackle, so we'll try and recruit teachers who specialise in certain subjects and hold degrees in them. To help the unqualified 3,000 teachers, students at all schools will get to sit in on lessons through the electronic Distance Learning Television (eDLTV) project run by Hua Hin's Wang Klai Kangwon School under His Majesty's patronage. This way, students can study with teachers who specialise in certain subjects. The satellite dishes are currently being installed and we expect the installation process to be completed in all 435 schools by January.
BMA is facing the same problem as the Education Ministry, because teachers are spending more time on their academic research papers than teaching their students. BMA is planning to cut down the weight of academic research when considering academic standing and will instead focus on students' performance in Ordinary National Educational Tests as a key performance indi¬cator. This way, teachers' academic research papers can be based on their students getting higher grades or their own innovative educational initia¬tives.
Does the BMA have any plans to change students' attitudes and behaviour?
I'm trying to include lessons explaining transparency. Why? Because corruption is a big problem in Thailand, and though we can't change adults, we should instil good ethics in children so they grow up to be good citizens. Brazil, Italy, the US and Singapore have already done this. At these classes, students will be taught that taking bribes and cheating is wrong through activities such as drama, roleplaying or puppet shows.
In addition, municipal officials will patrol gaming cafes and dormitories to monitor stu¬dents' behaviour.
Students will also be given proper sexeducation classes through computer animation programs, while parents will be trained on providing proper care for children at different ages under the parentsclass project. This way, parents can help develop their children's Emotional Quotient.
Have you had to make many adjustments to work with the BMA after spending so many years in the private sector?
In the 10 months at the BMA, I've had to make a complete turnaround. I have prob¬lems with the agency's inflexibility, the complicated red tape and the inadequate humanresources management system such as 'inactive' civil servants being allowed to keep their jobs. The private sector is so different. Working here is a huge challenge. Luckily, now I can take steps to improve the BMA education system, when in past all I could do was complain about the low standards at BMA schools.
Facts:
BMA runs 435 schools
There are 340,000 students studying from kindergarten to secondary school levels.
