Education reform needs a holistic approach
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LIKE other prime ministers, General Prayuth Chan-ocha has also announced that improving education in the country is one of his key missions. Clearly, like his predecessors, he realises that education will shape the country's future.
Yet, since Prayuth – who is also chief of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) – has spent his entire life in the Army, there is a great deal of doubt about what a career soldier can do to pull Thailand’s education sector out of its misery.
The intention is good, but improving education – which involves about 400,000 teachers and millions of students in addition to millions of parents – requires a lot of things.
Like many other parents, Prayuth has also learned about the many flaws in Thailand’s educational system.
Since the May 22 coup, Prayuth has become the most powerful man in the country, with all government officials implementing his recommendations at great speed. Education officials are no exceptions. Yet, hasty action implemented without crystallised ideas for holistic benefits can backfire.
Related authorities have been taking Prayuth’s comments on the education system very seriously.
For instance, the Education Ministry has decided to make History and Civic Duty separate subjects from the second semester this year in response to Prayuth’s policy.
“We need to provide them [children] with full information, instead of just summaries, on topics such as Thai history and the monarchy. Otherwise, how can they develop a sense of pride in their identity? This needs to be resolved,” Prayuth said recently.
Surprisingly, the Education Ministry has taken less than five months to have the two subjects ready to launch in all schools nationwide in both primary and secondary levels. Hopefully, the related officials realise that civic education will only succeed if students have enough knowledge in other fields like history and economics.
Normally, such changes would take a lot longer. But with the NCPO chief having such supreme power in his hands, the Education Ministry has been very quick to respond.
Decisiveness and quick implementation are not a problem, but the lack of careful planning is. After all, a single misstep can affect the lives of millions of children.
Also what will the authorities do now that Prayuth has reportedly said that textbooks nowadays are so difficult that he finds it tough to answer some questions posed to Prathom 1 students?
And what will they do in response to Prayuth’s comment that reform is needed among teachers, so they have more time for their students at school and for their own children at home? Also, what will teachers do now that Prayuth has complained about students having too much homework?
Since Prayuth’s mother is a teacher and his wife a former university lecturer, he has obviously witnessed what is happening in the country’s educational arena to some extent.
He must have noticed how Prathom 1 students now need to learn far more than their peers did a few decades ago. With higher expectations driven by socio-economic changes in national and international levels, children nowadays have to spend their evenings and weekends at tutorial schools.
Teachers, on the other hand, are so busy completing their paperwork that they have little time to focus on their classes and students.
Prayuth’s concerns are not groundless. But relevant authorities should take care not to blindly follow his comments without knowing how to address the problems.
Also when educational authorities listen to Prayuth, they must listen carefully. Unlike Prayuth, who has been making these remarks as a leader without a specific background in education, officials in the field are sitting on evidence. Hence, they need to come up with holistic solutions.
After all, even Prayuth said: “When we handle educational issues, we must do so with a holistic approach.”
He has also emphasised that the Education Ministry should work with other government agencies to ensure that all graduates have employment.
However, what happens if our children have knowledge of their civic duties, but know little about other subjects? Who will employ them?
Also, it will help if the authorities remember that when a part of the education sector is changed, other sectors will also be affected. Perhaps the best thing would be to work on improving the educational sector without losing sight of the overall picture.
