Cutting class hours needs to be well thought out

Does the move delight or scare Thais? What do educators and education analysts have to say? 

General Dapong Ratanasuwan, the new education minister, has proudly said the big cut in class hours is in response to Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s policy to imbue children with happiness, echoing the National Council for Peace and Order’s promise to return happiness to the people. 

“After the class ends, schools can arrange happy activities for children to do in the afternoon. Parents and teachers will be happy too,” Dapong said. 

But does this sound too good to be true?

Critics can’t help wondering why the measure was implemented so suddenly. They are afraid Dapong has not yet looked into all relevant research before allowing such a big measure to go ahead? This general, after all, was sworn in as education minister less than two weeks ago. 

Dapong has been trying to dismiss such criticism by suggesting that the class-hour reduction had been planned long before he rose to the helm of the Education Ministry. 

He was also quick to point out that only the schools that are ready to implement the policy will start reducing class hours in the second semester.

He put that number at just 10 per cent of the total schools under the Office of Basic Education Commission’s supervision. 

Dapong, who said a man from a military background like him had a teacher’s spirit, insisted the cut in class hours would not hurt children’s learning. 

“We’ve reduced the class time, not the learning time. With the cut in class hours, children will have time to learn from other activities. They can learn how to play music and sports after the class schedule ends each day. It’s good for brain development,” he said.

He even expressed confidence that the new schedule will not affect parents, because those who cannot look after their children in the afternoon can simply allow them to stay at school to join various activities that the schools will provide. 

But will teachers be able to prepare new course syllabus and design extracurricular activities in time? 

According to Obec secretary general Dr Kamol Rodklai, chiefs of the educational-services area offices and school directors will be invited to meetings in the middle of next month to decide what those outside-class learning activities will be. 

“We plan to draw up six to seven options for schools to choose,” Kamol said. 

He, too, insisted that these activities would stimulate children’s social skills, and encourage their physical and emotional development. 

If things go according to Dapong and Kamol’s plan, students would be happy learning and enjoying well-rounded development thanks to the policy to cut a huge number of class hours. 

Scepticism, however, prevails among the many people who have closely watched Thailand’s educational sector during the past few decades. 

Many policies that seemed excellent at the time were mentioned before. But in practice, only a few were good enough. And sadly, the good ones are sometimes abandoned as soon as a new education minister comes to power. 

Dapong is the 17th education minister in the past 14 years. And like his predecessors, this new man at the helm has pushed for a big idea. 

When Jurin Laksanawisit served as the education minister in 2009 and 2010, the authorities launched the Tutor Channel in response to his policy.

A few years later, Suchart Thadathamrongvej became education minister. Encouraged by his keen interest in Mandarin, the ministry agreed to hire more than 1,000 Chinese teachers for Mandarin classes at schools.

While these initiatives may have been implemented with good intent, there is the need for all stakeholders to focus on the overall picture, a holistic approach and the continuity needed to achieve intended results.

Some projects, when not sustained, may deliver few, if any, benefits. Young children who attended Mandarin classes for a few hours each week for just one or two semesters were prone to quickly forget basic Mandarin after the special project ended.

Most of the time, the new man heading the ministry is keen on pushing his own ideas rather than continuing projects introduced by his predecessors. Officials, meanwhile, are prone to oblige the wishes of their new boss.

Recent activities at the ministry suggest the same old pattern is going to repeat itself again.

This is despite the fact that during the age of reform, which the NCPO has preached so much about, the education minister should introduce efficient system-based thinking for others to follow.

If Dapong plans to push for any idea, he should use a holistic approach to implement it and think long-term.

And his successors should do the same.