Cablegate: Education Reform or Not

VZCZCXRO6361
RR RUEHCHI
DE RUEHBK #4881/01 2220326
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 100326Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0835
INFO RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 2272

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 004881

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958, AS AMENDED: N/A
TAGS: ECON SCUL BEXP TH
SUBJECT: EDUCATION REFORM OR NOT

Education

1. Summary. Most employers and academics consider the Thai
education system inadequate in providing a workforce for the
country's economic needs. Standardized test scores are dropping,
students are not developing critical thinking skills, and they are
seen as entering the workforce unprepared. This is one of two cables
looking at these issues. The Ministry of Education enacted a 15-year
education reform package to address these problems in 1999 but the
program is thus far unsuccessful, largely due to a lack of funding,
an absence of clear direction from the top, and little demand for
improved educational quality from the population. End Summary.

Basics of Education System

2. The formal education system in Thailand is divided into two
levels: basic education and higher education. Basic education
consists of six years of primary education, three years of lower
secondary education and three years of upper secondary education.
Higher education is provided by colleges and universities and is
divided into two levels: associate degrees and degree levels. An
associate degree, or diploma level, is the equivalent of a four year
undergraduate program in the States. The degree level of higher
education is a specialized field, such as doctors and engineers, and
is an additional year or two depending on the area of study. In
some professions, additional qualifications are required to practice
professionally. Masters and Doctorate degrees can be acquired after
receiving a bachelor's degree, similar to the U.S. system.

3. Vocational education and teacher training is also available.
Vocational education is offered at the primary, secondary, and
higher education levels. Formal technical and vocational education
is conducted at three levels. The upper secondary level leads to a
lower certificate of vocational education; the post-secondary level
leads to an associate's degree in vocational education, and at the
university level, which leads to a degree. Teacher training is
offered at the college level and requires an extra two years to
complete.

Problems with the System

4. The Thai education system is seen by many American Chamber of
Commerce member companies as inadequately educating students in two
important areas: English and critical thinking. Science, math, and
Thai language skills have also recently been dropping to levels
below international standards and lower than its neighbors.
Standardized national tests administered by the Ministry of
Education show that these scores in Thailand are dropping, with
neighboring Malaysia, and even Laos, faring better in English, math,
and science. Traditionally, schools focus on memorization and
classrooms are not interactive. Students subsequently learn to
listen, memorize, and repeat information verbatim onto a test. This
produces a student population lacking innovation, creativity, and
critical thinking skills.

5. Thailand's distinct hierarchical and class conscious culture
provides little incentive to be innovative, according to the Dean of
Public Administration at NIDA University. College degrees are in
part an issue of social class, not education. A person with a
college degree is considered a higher class than those without one,
regardless of their thinking ability or actual knowledge gained.
Many college students do not care about how or what they learn, as
long as they do just enough to acquire a degree.

6. It is widely considered among the academic community that
teachers in basic education are quickly becoming an educational
liability. Poor salary and declining social class status are the
main factors in deterring would-be high quality teachers. There are
few incentives to become a teacher and the brightest students choose
other professions. Consequently, much of the teacher workforce
consists of average quality graduates at best. There are also no
incentives for teachers to undertake continuing education or
training and, subsequently, few do. To make up for the poor teaching
and in order to do better on the standardized college admissions
exam, students that can afford to do so take private classes after
school hours.

7. The leading universities have very difficult entrance
examinations. Thus, only the top students are accepted and this
attracts the best professors. Only about 23% of professors have
doctorate degrees and they are subsequently clustered together in
only a few of the nation's universities. The rest of the students
end up attending other institutions that aren't as high quality.

Education Reform

8. The Ministry of Education is aware of these issues and is acting
on it according to the National Education Act of 1999, which stems
from the 1997 Constitution. The reform is outlined in the National
Education Plan, which covers the period 2002 - 2016. Many academics
believe that the National Education Plan is a good blueprint for
successful reform. According to the Ministry of Education, it
focuses on 3 broad objectives. First, balanced human development,

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Second, building a society of morality, wisdom, and learning.
Third, development of a social environment. Through these
objectives, it is hoped that the National Education Plan will 1)
lead to a knowledge-based economy and society, 2) promote continuous
learning, and 3) involve all segments of society in designing and
decision-making concerning public activities. The Ministry of
Education is currently trying to implement these changes by
reforming the curriculum, basic education learning process, and
admission processes.

9. The curriculum for basic and higher levels of education is set
to accommodate each individual's age and potential. The basic
education curriculum is broken up into the national level and the
institutional level. There is an emphasis on Thai identity and
promoting good citizenship on the national level. Basic education
covers 12 years and includes eight groups of subjects: Thai
Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Religion and
Culture, Health and Physical Education, Art, Career and
Technology-Related Education, and Foreign Language. A new
nationwide teacher training program for various levels of teacher
personnel has also been organized. At the institutional level,
educational institutions are required to develop a curriculum that
"benefits the community and society."

10. The learning process is supposed to focus on the individual
student and the top priority is self-development. There are six
steps to the basic education level: 1) teachers are encouraged to
develop their own teaching materials, 2) teacher training about
individual learning, 3)revising standards for disabled students, 4)
"Learning Paths of Thai People" project that promotes learning
methods, 5) "Education Improvement Model," which incorporates
teachers and learning technologies, and 6) strengthening the
capacity of the Royal Thai Government to carry out education
reform.

11. Standardized tests will be given in grades 3, 6, and 9 to see
if the students qualify for gifted programs, and these gifted
students can attend anywhere they want although there will be no
government stipend for them. The higher education admissions
process will now include the student's GPA, class rank, and entrance
examination score. Previously, the entrance examination score was
the only criteria.

Sounds good, but...

12. So far, the Ministry of Education has succeeded only in
expanding educational opportunity as the quantity of students
increase. Caretaker PM Thaksin successfully expanded the mandatory
education requirement from 9 to 12 years and increased the quantity
of students, but the government has not provided anything else,
including additional classrooms, teachers, or materials.

13. The Secretary General of the National Economic and Social
Development Board told us that rural people feel that education
should be free and are not willing to pay more than they already due
for things like school uniforms. The Thaksin government had tried to
implement a plan to decentralize responsibility for education,
making each province responsible for its own education results,
including how education funds should be apportioned. Teachers
demonstrated against this change, officially because they argued
that provincial governments do not have the necessary expertise to
take charge of education. However, the unofficial reason is that the
status of a person who is a provincial employee is lower than that
of someone with a national-level position. The decentralization plan
has since been shelved.

14. According to the Office of National Education Standards Quality
Assessment (ONESQA) Director, the National Education Plan faces a
severe shortage of funding that prevents educational institutions
from achieving these goals. The Democratic Party of Thailand
controlled political power and supported the National Education Act
in 1999. However, when the Thai Rak Thai party took control in
2001, the Director claims that "education became a forgotten issue"
and the National Education Plan did not receive enough funding to
properly implement. The result is an increase in the number of
students without a parallel increase in quality. The teacher
problem continues and rural schools are not upgrading their
facilities.

15. Comment: The Thai's are well aware of the shortcomings of
their education system, but reform seems to focus more on buzzwords
than on measurable outcomes. There is also the question of education
reform as a priority for the government and the society at large.
Since the beginning of the Constitutional Monarchy in 1932, there
have been two educational reforms - in 1977 and this one - both of
which were surrounded by similar social environments: political
instability and an emphasis on economic advancement over other
priorities. Academics tell us that the recent government has so far
focused on tangible economic goals, such as building infrastructure,
rather than the long-term development of human resources. And that
although the education reform looks good on paper, it has yet to
bear any fruit or be close to fully implemented.

BANGKOK 00004881 003 OF 003

16. Comment: It is doubtful that additional effort will be put into
education reform in the near future despite near-universal agreement
that more needs to be done in order for Thailand to compete in an
increasingly globalized world. Thai's are aware of the situation
and the problems that it causes, but it is not seen as an immediate
priority, especially in rural areas where most Thais still live.
Education reform talks have been an issue for much longer than the
current political instability, and the only result from the
extensive agenda is an increase in student numbers. With the
political crisis continuing to unfold, education reform is far down
the priority ladder, regardless of what party eventually takes
power.

Arvizu

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