MoE to expand education in southern border schools

In his inspection of educational development in the deep South on Monday, Deputy Education Minister General Surachet Chaiwong discussed with local officials the expansion of distance learning via a satellite programme in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.

The programme began in November in 300 schools in the three provinces. The Education Ministry plans to expand the programme to cover another 700 schools. It is expected that a great number of local children will benefit from this programme, which will help improve the quality of education and ease shortages of teachers.

His Majesty the King initiated the distance learning via satellite programme, which is recognised as a model of teaching and learning media and an effective vehicle for life-long learning.

The programme provides education at primary, secondary, and vocational levels in accordance with the Education Ministry’s curriculum via satellite to schools nationwide. It is designed to provide educational opportunities to the population at large by making the same exact-quality-standard teaching and learning contents available to all, at the same time, regardless of their location.

Apart from the distance learning via satellite programme, Surachet said the ministry had approved sports development for schoolchildren in the southern border provinces for the 2015 fiscal year. Under the plan, the Office of the Basic Education Commission will select at least one school in each of the provinces of Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat. Sports development for excellence will be carried out at these selected schools.

The project will be implemented in three stages. The first involves sports training for young people and the promotion of sports competitions, in cooperation with local security forces.

In the second stage, a sports science programme will be included in the curriculum at the secondary level. 

In the third stage, or in the long term, universities will be asked to accept students who excel in sports for their studies towards a bachelor’s degree in sports or health science, or other related fields.

The ministry will send educational personnel to the deep South to offer extra tuition in various subjects to local schoolchildren at the upper-secondary level. The Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre and the Fourth Army Area Command’s Internal Security Operations Command, Forward, will arrange videoconferences for this project. The objective is to enhance the potential of local students to continue their studies at the university level.