NCPO drastically overhauls education

A DRASTIC order from the junta promises sweeping structural changes to the country’s educational sector.
But it raises growing concerns among educators that Thailand’s educational reforms will again reduce focus on quality and increase the dominance of political-office holders.
Athapol Anunthavorasakul, a lecturer from the Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Education, yesterday said the order effectively abolished all educational service areas and their offices across the country – and that worried him.
Issued on Monday by National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) chief General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the order also sets up a powerful Educational Reform Steering Committee and names the education minister as its chair.
The committee, among other things, will have the power to appoint, transfer or suspend school directors as well as various other officials.
Under the order, provincial education committees will spring into force and have similar powers to oversee teachers, school directors and officials in their areas. The heads of these committees are provincial governors.
“I am worried that this order will undo the decentralisation that Thailand has been trying to achieve,” Athapol said.
He said the centralisation of power – as reflected in this order – would revive old problems such as excessive red tape.
He believed that if the education minister and provincial governors, chosen by the interior minister, would have control over who would fill the best posts, politicking in the country’s educational sector would intensify.
“That may have big effects during elections,” he warned.
Education Minister Dapong Ratanasuwan, meanwhile, insisted that he would use the power under the latest NCPO chief’s order for good .
“I will streamline the work process and integrate work for higher efficiency,” he said.
He also believed that the latest order would provide wider choice for human-resource management because the scope would not be limited by the jurisdictions of each educational service area.
“In the past, such area zoning has caused many problems about teacher distribution, teacher recruitment and implementation of disciplinary action,” Dapong said.
He also downplayed concerns about power centralisation. He pointed out that the move could promote unity among agencies and integrate their efforts.
“When we make changes in line with the NCPO chief’s latest order, gaps in the line of command will be reduced,” Dapong said.
Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec) secretary general Karoon Sakulpradit, who also sits on the Education Reform Steering Committee, said he agreed with the latest changes.
“With the educational service areas in place, the Obec could not transfer teachers at all – even when sometimes such transfers were needed,” he said.
Prayut separately said he introduced major changes to determine if a new approach could deliver better results. He claimed most teachers and education officials were satisfied with his decision.
Athapol, however, disagreed. In his opinion, some teachers and education officials were now worried about what would happen to them next because the changes came “out of the blue”.
“Educational service area offices naturally would know more about local contexts,” he said.
Professor Sompong Chitradub, a lecturer at the Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Education and a key member of the Quality Learning Foundation, said the latest changes would restore 80 per cent of the country’s past educational structure.
“In my opinion, these changes should be used only for a transitional period. After decisive decision makers can solve key issues in the educational sector, decentralisation should come back,” he said.