Bad signs on the road to Thailand 4.0

He blames the lack of progress in Thai education on two specific factors in Thai culture: the habit of ignoring issues that take time to solve, and the tendency to ignore problems whose impact is not felt “close to home”. 
I know there is no quick fix for the country’s low standard of education, but the planned leap to a digitised economy (Thailand 4.0) means that improving Thai education is now an urgent necessity. A 21st-century economy cannot be built with a low-skilled 20th-century workforce. 
Prof Kriengsak’s point about the cultural habit of ignoring issues that take time to solve also signals a possible answer. 
 Last year a major educational institute in Bangkok issued an English-language report on the importance of teaching basic STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – skills to under-fives, using simple objects like children’s building blocks. 
My rural neighbourhood suffers from the phenomenon known as the skipped generation, where pre-school kids are taken care of by grandparents as their parents have emigrated for work. While extremely loving, these older carers often don’t have the skills or awareness to teach the children.
Seeking a copy of the report and guidance, I contacted the Bangkok institute but got no reply. So instead I had the report translated into Thai, to place it with my local kindergarten. 
The fact that an institute would present an important report on teaching STEM skills that are a vital pillar of Thailand 4.0, and then fail to translate it or respond to public enquiries about it, makes me wonder just how serious authorities are about laying the foundations for digital transition. 
 Thai authorities no longer have the luxury of ignoring the need for forward planning and tough challenges. The digital economy is taking off worldwide and Thailand risks being left on the ground.
Dirk Sumter