Chaturon vows to end school errand-for-pass practice
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Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang said he would review the practice of allowing primary pupils who fail exams to earn a pass by helping teachers with their errands.
Chaturon said he’d heard that in many cases, students could automatically pass exams – and those who failed certain subjects could be “re-tested” – by helping teachers with work such as flower arranging or classroom cleaning. This has led to students being unable to read well into secondary education, a situation that affects the whole education system, the minister said.
Instead of letting children pass easily, which resulted in problems, conditions should be set, he said. “Such as, where kids are unable to read and write, there should be a condition for them to undergo intensive tutoring until they can pass the test and be allowed to continue to the next level. We can’t just let them pass when they can’t read,” he added.
