VZCZCXRO6361
RR RUEHCHI
DE RUEHBK #4881/01 2220326
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 100326Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0835
INFO RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 2272

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 004881 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958, AS AMENDED: N/A 
TAGS: ECON SCUL BEXP TH
SUBJECT: EDUCATION REFORM OR NOT 
 
 
Education 
 
¶1.  Summary.  Most employers and academics consider the Thai 
education system inadequate in providing a workforce for the 
country's economic needs.  Standardized test scores are dropping, 
students are not developing critical thinking skills, and they are 
seen as entering the workforce unprepared. This is one of two cables 
looking at these issues. The Ministry of Education enacted a 15-year 
education reform package to address these problems in 1999 but the 
program is thus far unsuccessful, largely due to a lack of funding, 
an absence of clear direction from the top, and little demand for 
improved educational quality from the population.  End Summary. 
 
Basics of Education System 
 
¶2.  The formal education system in Thailand is divided into two 
levels: basic education and higher education.  Basic education 
consists of six years of primary education, three years of lower 
secondary education and three years of upper secondary education. 
Higher education is provided by colleges and universities and is 
divided into two levels: associate degrees and degree levels.  An 
associate degree, or diploma level, is the equivalent of a four year 
undergraduate program in the States.  The degree level of higher 
education is a specialized field, such as doctors and engineers, and 
is an additional year or two depending on the area of study.  In 
some professions, additional qualifications are required to practice 
professionally.  Masters and Doctorate degrees can be acquired after 
receiving a bachelor's degree, similar to the U.S. system. 
 
¶3.  Vocational education and teacher training is also available. 
Vocational education is offered at the primary, secondary, and 
higher education levels.  Formal technical and vocational education 
is conducted at three levels.  The upper secondary level leads to a 
lower certificate of vocational education; the post-secondary level 
leads to an associate's degree in vocational education, and at the 
university level, which leads to a degree.  Teacher training is 
offered at the college level and requires an extra two years to 
complete. 
 
Problems with the System 
 
¶4.  The Thai education system is seen by many American Chamber of 
Commerce member companies as inadequately educating students in two 
important areas: English and critical thinking.  Science, math, and 
Thai language skills have also recently been dropping to levels 
below international standards and lower than its neighbors. 
Standardized national tests administered by the Ministry of 
Education show that these scores in Thailand are dropping, with 
neighboring Malaysia, and even Laos, faring better in English, math, 
and science.  Traditionally, schools focus on memorization and 
classrooms are not interactive.  Students subsequently learn to 
listen, memorize, and repeat information verbatim onto a test.  This 
produces a student population lacking innovation, creativity, and 
critical thinking skills. 
 
¶5.  Thailand's distinct hierarchical and class conscious culture 
provides little incentive to be innovative, according to the Dean of 
Public Administration at NIDA University.  College degrees are in 
part an issue of social class, not education.  A person with a 
college degree is considered a higher class than those without one, 
regardless of their thinking ability or actual knowledge gained. 
Many college students do not care about how or what they learn, as 
long as they do just enough to acquire a degree. 
 
¶6.  It is widely considered among the academic community that 
teachers in basic education are quickly becoming an educational 
liability.  Poor salary and declining social class status are the 
main factors in deterring would-be high quality teachers.  There are 
few incentives to become a teacher and the brightest students choose 
other professions.  Consequently, much of the teacher workforce 
consists of average quality graduates at best. There are also no 
incentives for teachers to undertake continuing education or 
training and, subsequently, few do. To make up for the poor teaching 
and in order to do better on the standardized college admissions 
exam, students that can afford to do so take private classes after 
school hours. 
 
¶7.  The leading universities have very difficult entrance 
examinations.  Thus, only the top students are accepted and this 
attracts the best professors.  Only about 23% of professors have 
doctorate degrees and they are subsequently clustered together in 
only a few of the nation's universities.  The rest of the students 
end up attending other institutions that aren't as high quality. 
 
Education Reform 
 
¶8.  The Ministry of Education is aware of these issues and is acting 
on it according to the National Education Act of 1999, which stems 
from the 1997 Constitution.  The reform is outlined in the National 
Education Plan, which covers the period 2002 - 2016.  Many academics 
believe that the National Education Plan is a good blueprint for 
successful reform.  According to the Ministry of Education, it 
focuses on 3 broad objectives.  First, balanced human development, 
 
BANGKOK 00004881  002 OF 003 
 
 
Second, building a society of morality, wisdom, and learning. 
Third, development of a social environment.  Through these 
objectives, it is hoped that the National Education Plan will 1) 
lead to a knowledge-based economy and society, 2) promote continuous 
learning, and 3) involve all segments of society in designing and 
decision-making concerning public activities.  The Ministry of 
Education is currently trying to implement these changes by 
reforming the curriculum, basic education learning process, and 
admission processes. 
 
¶9.  The curriculum for basic and higher levels of education is set 
to accommodate each individual's age and potential.  The basic 
education curriculum is broken up into the national level and the 
institutional level.  There is an emphasis on Thai identity and 
promoting good citizenship on the national level.  Basic education 
covers 12 years and includes eight groups of subjects: Thai 
Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Religion and 
Culture, Health and Physical Education, Art, Career and 
Technology-Related Education, and Foreign Language.  A new 
nationwide teacher training program for various levels of teacher 
personnel has also been organized.  At the institutional level, 
educational institutions are required to develop a curriculum that 
"benefits the community and society." 
 
¶10.  The learning process is supposed to focus on the individual 
student and the top priority is self-development.  There are six 
steps to the basic education level: 1) teachers are encouraged to 
develop their own teaching materials, 2) teacher training about 
individual learning, 3)revising standards for disabled students, 4) 
"Learning Paths of Thai People" project that promotes learning 
methods, 5) "Education Improvement Model," which incorporates 
teachers and learning technologies, and 6) strengthening the 
capacity of the Royal Thai Government to carry out education 
reform. 
 
¶11.  Standardized tests will be given in grades 3, 6, and 9 to see 
if the students qualify for gifted programs, and these gifted 
students can attend anywhere they want although there will be no 
government stipend for them.  The higher education admissions 
process will now include the student's GPA, class rank, and entrance 
examination score.  Previously, the entrance examination score was 
the only criteria. 
 
Sounds good, but... 
 
¶12.  So far, the Ministry of Education has succeeded only in 
expanding educational opportunity as the quantity of students 
increase.  Caretaker PM Thaksin successfully expanded the mandatory 
education requirement from 9 to 12 years and increased the quantity 
of students, but the government has not provided anything else, 
including additional classrooms, teachers, or materials. 
 
¶13.  The Secretary General of the National Economic and Social 
Development Board told us that rural people feel that education 
should be free and are not willing to pay more than they already due 
for things like school uniforms. The Thaksin government had tried to 
implement a plan to decentralize responsibility for education, 
making each province responsible for its own education results, 
including how education funds should be apportioned. Teachers 
demonstrated against this change, officially because they argued 
that provincial governments do not have the necessary expertise to 
take charge of education. However, the unofficial reason is that the 
status of a person who is a provincial employee is lower than that 
of someone with a national-level position. The decentralization plan 
has since been shelved. 
 
¶14.  According to the Office of National Education Standards Quality 
Assessment (ONESQA) Director, the National Education Plan faces a 
severe shortage of funding that prevents educational institutions 
from achieving these goals.  The Democratic Party of Thailand 
controlled political power and supported the National Education Act 
in 1999.  However, when the Thai Rak Thai party took control in 
2001, the Director claims that "education became a forgotten issue" 
and the National Education Plan did not receive enough funding to 
properly implement.  The result is an increase in the number of 
students without a parallel increase in quality.  The teacher 
problem continues and rural schools are not upgrading their 
facilities. 
 
¶15.  Comment:  The Thai's are well aware of the shortcomings of 
their education system, but reform seems to focus more on buzzwords 
than on measurable outcomes. There is also the question of education 
reform as a priority for the government and the society at large. 
Since the beginning of the Constitutional Monarchy in 1932, there 
have been two educational reforms - in 1977 and this one - both of 
which were surrounded by similar social environments:  political 
instability and an emphasis on economic advancement over other 
priorities.  Academics tell us that the recent government has so far 
focused on tangible economic goals, such as building infrastructure, 
rather than the long-term development of human resources.  And that 
although the education reform looks good on paper, it has yet to 
bear any fruit or be close to fully implemented. 
 
 
BANGKOK 00004881  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶16.  Comment: It is doubtful that additional effort will be put into 
education reform in the near future despite near-universal agreement 
that more needs to be done in order for Thailand to compete in an 
increasingly globalized world.  Thai's are aware of the situation 
and the problems that it causes, but it is not seen as an immediate 
priority, especially in rural areas where most Thais still live. 
Education reform talks have been an issue for much longer than the 
current political instability, and the only result from the 
extensive agenda is an increase in student numbers.  With the 
political crisis continuing to unfold, education reform is far down 
the priority ladder, regardless of what party eventually takes 
power. 
 
Arvizu