Teachers 'should be assessed by pupils'

Children should rate performances of masters in classes, newminister says

New Education Minister Suchart Tadathamrongvech sees teachers as service providers in the education industry who should be subjected to performance appraisals by their students.

"As ’customers’, children should be allowed to assess teachers’ performances.

The performance scores will count for pay raises and academic promotions," Suchart recently told Nation Multimedia Group.

The scores given by students should account for 70-80 per cent of a teacher's evaluation and the rest by the scores from school directors, he said.

Suchart counts himself as a real expert in the education field. When it comes to policymaking, he does not have to consult research findings.

"No need. I myself am a professor." Just like his predecessor, Woravat Auapinyakul, Suchart has come up with many new ideas. While Woravat initiated the English Speaking Year campaign, the new minister would also give priority to Mandarin.

With assistance from the Thai-Chinese Culture and Economy Association, the Education Ministry was calling on China to send 5,000 instructors to teach Mandarin at Thai schools.

According to the association, China was interested in supporting the programme and willing to provide some financial aid. China has offered to help Thailand create suitable Chinese language courses, hold youth camps for the teaching of Mandarin, organise Chinese language contests in Thailand and even launch a "sister school" project among Thai and Chinese academic institutions.

Suchart is scheduled to visit China to clinch a bilateral agreement late this month.

However, he vowed never to ignore the importance of English. Tens of thousands of native English speakers and Indians would be imported to accelerate the development of English language skills in the country.

Suchart was rather non-committal about education reform. Although the reform plan in its second decade (2009-18) has already been released, Suchart did not express full support for its implementation.

He was enthusiastic, though, about the "One Child One Tablet PC" scheme.

"We can no longer resist tablets because technology will continue to be developed. Students will have to learn how to use them. Using tablets makes life more convenient.

"This is similar to the transition from using slate to paper when I was a child. Even though paper was more expensive at the time, we eventually had to replace slates with paper since it was more convenient to use," he said.

Suchart had hoped that the Cabinet at its last meeting would approve a budget of Bt800 million-Bt900 million so that 300,000 more tablet PCs can be distributed to schoolchildren, but the proposal was not taken up.

He vowed to bring up the request at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow.

The tablet policy management committee has agreed to increase the distribution of tablets for the upcoming academic year from more than 600,000 units at a total cost of Bt1.9 billion to 900,000.

The ministry is trying to start handing out the tablets in May.

Suchart has new ideas for educational development.

Teachers would be encouraged to keep improving their knowledge by having them take tests to get certificates - the higher the level they can reach, the higher the pay they will get.

Teachers who want to become school directors would take only the objective test related to administration and management and skip the interview to stop corruption among some of the committees' members.

The problem of tea money at schools would also be addressed.

"Anybody who knows or witnesses any officials [school directors or teachers] receiving bribes can report and send us the evidence. We'll take legal action against them."

However, Suchart has not explained in detail how he will be able to implement all his ideas within the education system.

Suchart said he would supervise those who are under his ministry like his family.

"With the student-centred approach commitment, we'll take care of students like they're our children. They won't be dominated by people in the older generation, but will be free to think and imagine under a suitable scope. Then, the country will be developed."