Thousands of teachers should get permanent contracts: Ovec

“We are now facing a shortage of teachers,” Ovec secretary general Chaiprug Sereerak said yesterday.
He said at present vocational colleges under his office’s supervision had to ease the shortage by hiring temporary teachers using portions of money from budgets initially allocated for other purposes.
“If we go on like this, the colleges will continue to lose opportunities for their further development,” Chaiprug said.
Half of the 14,486 vocational teachers were in temporary positions, he said. And they missed out on pay rises and job security.
Chaiprug said the shortage of vocational teachers began around 1996 when the government started its plan to open 90 vocational colleges without approving a budget for hiring teachers.
Meanwhile, the Ovec also wants to ask the new government to approve its plan to develop Thailand as the Asean hub for vocational education. “This plan should be implemented between 2015 and 2019,” Chaiprug said.