ONESQA says its evaluation takes 5 hours, not 9 days
THE OFFICE for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (ONESQA) yesterday dismissed findings that suggested teachers had to spend nine days a year on ONESQA-related activities.
“It’s not true. ONESQA assessments take just three days in five years – or simply put, just five hours a year,” ONESQA director Professor Dr Channarong Pornrungroj said.
He was speaking in response to research by the Quality Learning Foundation (QLF) revealing that of 200 school days a year, teachers had spent 84 on non-class activities. According to the study, ONESQA is the agency that takes the highest number of days when it comes to non-class activities.
Channarong said the ONESQA team spent just three days at each evaluated school and each school would undergo just one assessment in five years.
“On the first day, we explain the goal of our assessment. Throughout the three days, we gather information via observation, interviews and document reviews,” he said.
Asked whether document preparations for the ONESQA assessments took so much time, Channarong said every school should have internal assessments and that would require such documents anyway.
“It’s to ensure quality,” Channarong said.
He defended his agency’s work, saying that external assessments by ONESQA were crucial in reflecting the quality of education.
He said the mission was important given that Thailand had 38,010 educational institutes, 660,000 teachers/lecturers, and over 13 million students.
Dr Kraiyos Patrawart, who conducts the QLF research, stood by his research findings. He said the information was gathered from 427 teachers via telephone interviews.
“Of those questioned, 63 said they had spent more than 30 days preparing for the ONESQA assessments,” he said.
Kraiyos said his research was based on academic principles and the authorities could use its findings to improve their efficiency. “I am ready to provide further explanation on my research findings,” he said.
Vice-Education Minister Teerakiat Jaroensettasin said the focus should not be on exactly how many days the ONESQA assessments took from teachers.
“We should address concerns and plight of teachers that are reflected in the research,” he said.
