Prayut should have praised boy, not ejected him

Premier Prayut Chan-o-cha was totally out of line in having a Mathayom 5 (Grade 11) student removed from the hall when he responded to the premier’s call for questions after his anti-corruption speech. “Teaching kids not to grow up to be corrupt must involve reasoning and ethics, rather than just memorising civic duties,” the boy said. “In real life, what will they do if they encounter a circumstance which is not in their textbooks? If they learn ethics and philosophy, they will be able to think and act by themselves on a case-by-case basis.”

The PM has often, and correctly, said that students must be analytical. Prayut, praise and answer the lad, please, so that education administrators nationwide will be given the courage to reform our bottom-of-the-barrel system.

Burin Kantabutra