It’s that nerve-wracking time of year in Bangkok: Mathayom 3 students are on the edge of their seats, pencils poised, as they face the daunting entrance exams to Mathayom 4 at one of the city’s most esteemed schools. The air is thick with anticipation this March, the palpable tension only broken by the steady scratch of pencil on paper and the soft clicks of calculators. (Photo: Nutthawat Wicheanbut)
But behind the scenes of this academic rite of passage, a debate rages at the highest levels of Thai governance. With the disheartening dip in Thai students’ international test scores, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has publicly acknowledged that it’s time for all past administrations to look in the mirror. The premier, at the helm for just three months, has pledged to tackle this crisis head-on, aiming to catapult the Thai education system to its former glory.
The thorn in the nation’s side? The latest scores from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Pisa test. Seeing Thai students hit a 20-year slump is a wake-up call that the Land of Smiles can ill afford to ignore. Thailand now joins the company of countries like Costa Rica and Finland – nations seeing a troubling decline in reading chops even before the pandemic threw a wrench in the works.
Srettha isn’t pulling any punches. The Thai education system has long been in the crosshairs for its perceived shortcomings in curriculum and educator prowess. Yet, as the prime minister points out, the criticisms have yet to spur the transformative action needed. He’s eyeing a multi-pronged approach to rehabilitation, including rallying the titans of industry to throw their weight behind educational reforms.
Adding to this educational mosaic is Siripong Angkasakulkiat, the Education Ministry’s assistant spokesman, who singles out the pandemic’s disruption for the digital divide it caused. With students relegated to virtual classrooms, a minefield of distractions eroded their concentration, leaving casualties like reading and critical thinking skills scattered in its wake.
An intriguing revelation comes to light, though – not all is doom and gloom. Some schools, with a keen focus on the sciences, have not just survived but thrived, outperforming even their Singaporean peers. These academic oases appear to have deciphered the mystical code to scholastic success, igniting calls to replicate their teaching models across the nation.
Amidst the policy strategizing and bureaucratic back-and-forth, you’ll find Prof Sompong Jitradab, an education maven whose patience for reform is wearing thin. He beckons the prime minister to urgently prioritize comprehensive educational overhaul, with a spotlight on critical subjects such as English, mathematics, and science. The professor can’t help but question the Education Ministry’s curricular choices, as he senses a disproportionate emphasis on history and civic duty.
Prof Sompong’s clarion call for action stretches beyond the classroom, envisioning a future where the learning environment itself acts as a beacon for the youth, inspiring them to eschew the perils of drugs and crime. It’s an ambitious vision, championing a classroom renaissance that could foster not just academic prodigies, but also citizens poised to propel Thailand forward on the world stage.
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