Organisers blamed for urging teachers at event to clap for PM
THE GOVERNMENT spokesman yesterday blamed the organisers of today’s “Prime Minister Meets Teacher Friends” event for issuing a programme that tells the audience to clap when he arrives and shout in support after he completes his speech.
Maj-General Sansern Kaewkam-nerd said there was no need to “please the prime minister to such an extent” because he is not a politician.
This issue has been widely debated on social media, with netizens having mixed reactions.
The event’s programme tells participating teachers to applaud when Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha arrives at Challenger Hall in Nonthaburi’s Muang Thong Thani. It also advises them to shout “keep fighting, prime minister!” when he completes his speech.
Some social-media users have found this funny, though others say they are losing hope in the so-called national models that are teachers.
The event’s programme was initially accessible via the Secondary Educational Service Area Office 1 website, but was removed after it went viral. A screenshot of the document was posted on Rackchart Wong-arthichart's Facebook timeline and won more than 1,500 “likes” and got shared over 500 times.
Prayut is scheduled to meet thousands of teachers from across the country today to tell them about educational-reform policies and the structural overhaul of the sector. He is expected to highlight progress achieved by the government and teachers during his tenure.
In March, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) moved to drastically overhaul the country’s educational sector, setting up a powerful Educational Reform Steering Committee, which is chaired by the education minister.
Apart from its many duties, the committee also has the power to appoint, transfer or suspend school directors as well as other officials. Moves are also being made to establish provincial education committees.
About 20,000 teachers are expected to be present at the meeting with Prayut, who is also NCPO chief, . Many more are also expected to attend the event via teleconferencing or watch it live on ETV.
The Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec) has said that teachers can also listen to Prayut’s speeches about educational reform and his policy through other media, such as satellite TV channels, at their schools.
“The meeting aims at inspiring teachers to carry out their mission,” the government spokesman said yesterday. He went on to say that Prayut expected teachers not to just convey knowledge and wisdom to their students, but also to inspire them.
Sansern said teachers should help children break free from rote learning and learn to think analytically.
According to statistics, Education Minister General Dapong Ratanas-uwan’s initiative to cut class hours has delivered satisfactory results.
As per a survey conducted from November last year to February, 97.13 per cent of the students said they were happy about the policy.
Based on the policy, participating schools have been ending classes at 2pm, which allows students to take part in extracurricular activities.
