Education agency to spend most on AEC readiness

In the budget bill, subjected to three days of scrutiny starting from yesterday, various government units plan to spend hundreds of millions of baht in preparation for the AEC, the single market that paves the way for free flows of trade and investment.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said preparation for AEC was one of eight strategies planned for next year. A total of Bt145 billion is allocated for the purpose.
Ministries and units under their jurisdictions will take up more than Bt8 billion. Of these, Bt2 billion will go to the Education Ministry, Bt749 million for the Agriculture Ministry, and Bt661.5 million to the Labour Ministry, among others.
There are no details in the budget bill on AEC-preparation projects. The only available data are on which government unit is to spend how much.
The Office of the Basic Education Commission is the unit under the Education Ministry with the biggest spending plan (Bt946 million). Several universities also have their own spending plans. While Chulalongkorn University plans to spend nearly Bt100 million, Prince of Songkla University plans to spend the highest sum, worth Bt197.5 million. A number of Rajabhat universities are also preparing their own programmes.
An Indonesian diplomat once told The Nation that he was impressed with the Thai government’s success in promoting awareness of the AEC.
“Some of our people know about the AEC. But in Thailand, students at the secondary level already have that knowledge,” he said.
Ranked second in terms of spending is the Agriculture Ministry. The Queen Sirikit Department of Sericulture – or silk farming – under the ministry also has its own spending plan.
Much of the spending is pro-|perly allocated to the Labour Ministry, which must ensure that Thai workers will not fall behind |in a market that promises free flow of labour. Of the ministry’s total Bt661.5-million spending plan, Bt607.5 million is for the Department of Skill Development.
Free flows of labour mean faster spread of diseases. This explains why the Public Health Ministry’s spending in this regard is ranked fifth, at Bt557.7 million. Still, its spending will be lower than the Bt658 million of the Interior Ministry.
Other units that are not affiliated with any ministry have come up with their own plans. Among them, the Professional Qualification Institute plans the biggest sum, at Bt270 million. The Forestry Industry Organisation, with Bt256.79 million, is ranked second. The Tourism Authority of Thailand plans spending of Bt70 million, against Bt13 million by the National Economic and Social Development Board.
All of this is zeroed in on one single issue: to prepare the country and Thai people to compete with the other nine members of the Asean Economic Community by 2015.
The big spending plans are in line with the government’s policy to make the AEC a top priority. That means any reference that has the letters “AEC” in it will certainly get government funding. That also explains why there will be hundreds of AEC seminars next year.