Education in Thailand
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Overview
Thailand is located in Southeast Asia and has a decentralized public education system that provides free, compulsory education to all elementary and secondary students six to twelve years of age. Its education budget is 27 percent of the national budget.
The Government is determined to launch educational reforms with the aim of developing Thailand as a knowledge-based society, a pre-requisite for becoming a knowledge-based economy. The reforms will provide the Thai public with equal access to life-long education and training, enabling them to acquire knowledge and capital to generate income and to eventually pull the country out of the economic and social crisis.
The Thai government implemented the 1992 National Scheme of Education/ the Eighth National Education Development Plan (1997-2001) with the aim of accomplishing the following principles:
- Promoting individual wisdom, thought, mind, and morality in order to create a balanced development between spirituality, material, and economic growth.
- Realization of the importance of conservation of natural resources
- Promotion of Thai language and culture to optimize the relationship between modern knowledge and local needs.
- Discovery of the appropriate balance between dependency and self-reliance to develop the basis for co-operation between the individual, community, and the national levels in order to promote sustainable development.
- Define basic education as inclusive of primary and secondary education and extend this to all people.
To achieve these goals --the system and structure of education-- the government encouraged principles such as:
- Policy unity and diverse implementation
- Decentralization of educational authority to service areas, institutions, and administration organizations
- Setting educational standards and quality assurance in all levels of education
- Raising standards for all educational personnel and providing continuous development.
- Creating and promoting partnerships with all types of local private and public organizations
The Office of the National Education Commission (ONEC) established the Teacher Education Reform Office (TERO) to manage the operations for teacher education reform and the Center for Teaching-Learning Development to assist in developing the teaching-learning process.
Educational system
In Thailand, education is presented in three formats:
1. Formal education
- Formal education is facilitated by both public and private institutions and further broken down into basic education and higher education.
- Basic education provides students with six years of primary education, three years of lower secondary education, and three years of upper secondary education.The basic education subjects are Thai language, art, social studies, mathematics, health education and physical education, religion and culture, career and technology-related education, and foreign language. These services may be provided by early childhood development institutions, state or private schools, non-formal educational agencies, individuals, community organizations, and many others. The initial nine years of school are mandatory.
- Higher education is offered by institutions such as universities or colleges and is divided between two levels. These levels include associate degree and degree levels. Most associate degree courses focus on vocational and teacher education but also offer courses in areas such as fine arts, drama, physical education.The degree level ranges from two years for students who received a diploma and four to six years for students for students who have completed upper secondary education but have not received a diploma. Courses in the degree level focus on many subjects including architecture, painting, medicine, and dentistry. Students can earn master's degrees and doctorates for additional study.
2. Non-formal education
- Non-formal education may be provided by public and private institutions outside the school system. These schools provide education for "school-age population who have missed formal schooling and over-school-age population" (Office of Education Council).
- Institutions that provide non-formal education include early childhood educational services, Literacy programs for adults, general non-formal education classes, vocational non-formal education at community and technical colleges, and public service training activities.
3. Informal education
- Informal education is the choice of the individual learners. This type of education is provided by a wide variety of sources at the local and national including library programs, museums, science and technology centers, and mass media such as television, newspapers, and magazines. (Office of Education Council).
For more information please visit:
- World Data on Education Database
- Thai Ministry of Education
- Thai Office of the Education Council
- http://www.learnapec.org
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