Parties want public schools management to be untethered from politicians

(Special report: Education)

Political involvement was linked to many hidden agendas and benefits that would eventually limit the independence of the school management as well as budget transparency. They pointed out that the Education Ministry had always received the highest government budget allocation each year.

Government data shows budget allocation for the country's education in 2023 at 325.9 billion baht, which amounts to roughly 20-30% of the country's total budget.

Eight representatives from the Pheu Thai Party, the Move Forward Party, the Democrat Party, the Thai Sang Thai Party, the Chart Pattana Kla Party, the Thai Liberal Party, the Bhumjaithai Party, and the Chartthaipatta Party attended a forum on education policy and political parties hosted by Thai Education Partnership, the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), and their alliance on Sunday.

Key discussions
The nearly three-hour discussion centred on the TDRI's five education reform proposals: 

1. Reform the central curriculum to prioritise competency-based learning;

2. Specific measures and management for small rural schools; 

3. Consider canceling all non-related student and teacher development projects in each community;

4. Oppose all forms of violence and bullying in schools;

5. In support of new creative working cultures among directors and executives.

All panelists concurred with the TDRI's proposals, but of the five, new creative working cultures are the most urgently needed. It is because if directors and executives are free to make decisions about their work, they will do their best to develop their own schools in order to improve student performance and wellness while also gaining the trust of parents.

 

Government control

Meanwhile, when a politician is appointed as education minister, some educational plans and policies may be delayed if they cause a conflict of interest with the political party that oversees the Education Ministry, some political party representatives noted.

Currently, the administration of all public schools across the country is centralised. Curriculum, activities, classroom projects, school regulations and measures and the appointment and transfer of teachers and directors are all controlled by the central government.

Each representative also shared some of their party's education policy vision.

Sita Diwari of the Thai Sang Thai Party said that if Thailand could transform the core, the entire system would change. School administrators and teachers would be encouraged to create curriculum tailored to their students' contexts and competencies.

"The current curriculum cannot meet the global demand. We end up producing students who are only interested in attending top universities and not in entering the global labour force. Teachers must be facilitators rather than lecturers in order to encourage their students to develop essential skills such as critical thinking and adaptability," he said.

 

Case for decentralisation
Parit Wacharasindhu of the Move Forward Party added that a decentralised education system across the country would enable the creation of schools that truly respected students and teachers.

He pointed out that allowing schools to choose their leaders, manage their own budgets, include student participation, and respect human rights would encourage schools to reduce or eliminate all unnecessary subjects and indicators that are not appropriate for students' competency.

Furthermore, it would reduce teachers' total document workload, he said.

"The two main defects of education in Thailand are a lack of efficiency and empathy. Inefficiency means that we can neither transfer students' efforts to improve their performance, nor can we transfer the budget to excellent results."

“A lack of empathy would allow authoritarianism to abuse students' and teachers' rights, ultimately leaving our education system underdeveloped and unequal," Pita elaborated.

 

 

Greater role for students
Nantaporn Damrongpong of the Chartthaipattana Party proposed that students should be able to design their own learning path in order to learn without violating their own preferences, characteristics, and aptitude.

She also advocated cultivating a fearless failure mindset in order to boost student self-esteem and equip them with all necessary skills for a global future.

 

Trusting technology
Pornchai Maranet of the Chart Pattana Kla Party said that after teaching for over 10 years, he believes Thailand's education system requires a single big data to manage the entire system.

He noted that data, combined with technology, will aid in closing the education gap between urban and rural areas. It will notify all parties involved as to where the problems are located and which methods and technologies can be used to solve those problems.

Nahathai Thewphaingarm of the Pheu Thai Party agreed with him, pointing out that technology had proved its role during the pandemic in serving the needs of lifelong learning trends.

Technology not only empowers students and teachers, but it also strengthens parents and communities by allowing them to reskill their competencies in order to earn more money and live a healthier lifestyle, she claimed.

 

Focus on teachers
The Thai Liberal Party's Boonsong Chalethorn added that another important key to reforming Thailand's education system is to change the process of incubating skilled teachers.

He questioned how students could be excellent if teachers were inefficient.

He insisted that professional teachers would be able to assist students in finding their ideal future career.

Kamol Rodkray of the Bhumjaithai Party said that a good education system should ensure students would have well-paying jobs in the future. This implies that vocational education should be prioritised as well.

Students would also be properly prepared with all necessary skills to survive in this volatile world, he said.

 

Call for political unity
Phoomsan Seneewong na Ayudhaya of the Democrat Party, who is currently a member of the working group pushing the education act, said most of the concepts and proposals to reform the country's education system are already incorporated in the bill. Unfortunately, a lack of continuity has rendered education reform inactive.

He urged all parties to collaborate and ensure that all proposals meet their objectives.

In addition to sharing their policies, the eight representatives agreed to reduce academic learning time and provide more space for students to practice their own competencies.

Meanwhile, students' physical appearance, such as hairstyle, should no longer be regulated, and teachers and students who violated the rights of others should face severe consequences.

The forum took place after the country's education system is facing a crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has caused hundreds of students nationwide to miss out on learning opportunities due to school closures, affecting nearly 9 million children aged 3 to 17. The school closures only exacerbated the country's educational disparities.

According to the Unesco Institute of Statistics, over 800,000 Thai youths in upper secondary school were out of school by 2021.

The TDRI pointed out that the pandemic had not only increased Thailand's dropout rate, but also caused more students to suffer from learning loss, particularly children from poor background.

 

'Now's the time for reform'
TDRI president Somkiat Tangkitvanich told the forum that there was no better time than now for Thailand's education to be reformed, otherwise Thai students would be left behind in a world full of uncertainties and challenges, such as climate change and the rapid development of technology, particularly artificial intelligence.

He praised all the political parties' representatives who eagerly participated in the forum and shared their parties' educational policies. Each party's vision has fuelled his optimism, he said.