One Decade of Educational Management in Sri Saket

(01-05-2013)

The Minister of Education, Mr. Phongthep Thepkanjana, chaired the opening ceremony of, "One Decade of Educational Management in Sri Saket," organized by the Local office of Education Service Area 2 on 26 April 2013. The Secretary General of the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC), Mr. Chinnapat Bhumirat and the Inspector General of Education, Ms. Jirapan Punkasem, also attended the event.

After the opening ceremony, Mr. Phongthep complimented the organizer for upgrading local education to the leading standard in Thailand which is reflected through the good learning achievements of students in Sri Saket and their three consecutive year award-winning talent.

Then, the Minister of Education recommended the following policies on educational management:

- The progress of curriculum reform - at present, Special Prof. Phavich Thongrot chairs a weekly meeting on this topic. Work is being done so actively that, within the next five months, a new reformed curriculum will be completed and teachers will be informed how to use them according to the goal of creating new generations of Thai students. Before using the curriculum, public hearings will be conducted for all Thai people.

- Student study hours - nowadays, Thai students have more study hours than those in other counties, thus making them stressed out. These study hours need to be reduced because some subjects are unnecessary for Thai students while others are too profound for young people. The students should learn more mathematics and general sciences which are subjects that can be used in their daily lives.

- Changing the title of Thammasat University - Initially named, "Thammasat University and Political Sciences", the university offers courses on law, politics and other relevant subjects. After the Ministry of Education proposed a drafted act of Thammasat University again to the Cabinet, some members of the Thai parliament wondered why the old title of the university could not be used again. An answer to the question is that the old title contains the term, "political sciences" which implies that the university may be a political university although it actually is not.

The "One Decade of Educational Management in Sri Saket" aims to honor organizations and educational personnel who have contributed to Sri Saket and to allow all participants to share their knowledge of classroom management. It also features a display of good educational works and reports on the development of educational quality for the relevant organizations and the public by educational administrators, teachers, educators and students of the province. Their contributions result in the fifth rank for Grade 6 students and the 14th rank for Grade 9 students in the academic year 2011. In addition, the Local Office of Education Service Area 2 won the first gold medal for the northeast of Thailand at the 62nd Handicraft Festival for students in northeastern Thailand and the Student Handicraft competition of the academic year 2012.

OVEC to Propose ODOS for Vocational Students

(01-05-2013)

The Secretary General of Office of the Vocational Education Commission (OVEC), Dr. Chaipruek Serirak, said that the One District One Scholarship (ODOS) program that recently took place had only 137 passes out of the total of 20,381 students who sat it. As a result, the Ministry of Education is preparing a second round of the ODOS exam. However, none of the vocational students who applied for the test passed the written exam. So, at the upcoming meeting of the ODOS committee on 3 May 2013, to be chaired by the Education Minister, Mr. Phongthep Thepkanjana, he will propose an adjustment of exam regulations which will allow vocational students to take the written exam for the scholarship separately. By so doing, those students will have more chances to win scholarships to further their studies in Thailand or overseas in the required areas of study.

Dr. Chaipruek added that, for the next ODOS exam for 77 scholarships, he would propose that students who received the scholarships should have good academic records as well as records of good behavior and creativity and should come from families of limited financial status. Moreover, they should have studied in the province where they apply for the scholarship for at least two years. The scholarship will also be given to students from academic institutions supervised by OVEC, the Office of the Private Education Commission (OPEC) and the Office of Non Formal and Informal Education (ONFIE). The scholarship recipients who study abroad will be required to come back to work in Thailand for the same number of years that they spent studying.

Phavich to Deal with Ph.D. Thesis Ghost Writers

(01-05-2013)

Special Prof. Dr. Phavich Thongrot, the advisor to the Minister of Education, has recently reported that he was aware of the business of writing Ph. D. theses for doctoral students as advertised on some websites. When visited, the sites provide information on how to contact the so-called research team leaders who come from many universities in Thailand. Moreover, the sites guarantee their customers that the academic work will be of high quality as it will be conducted by former university lecturers, Ph. D. students from Thailand and foreign countries as well as over ten highly qualified people who have been carrying out research for more than 20 years. Some sites even boast that their staff has successfully written 1,000 research projects on behalf of many Ph. D. students already.

"Actually, ghost writers for academic work have existed for quite some time, starting from bachelor degree term papers, master degree theses and finally Ph. D. dissertation. The development of this business usually begins with only typing research work for students. The more work the business owner has, the more databases and networks there will be. To make things worse, the ghost writers are hired to do research work for teachers who would like to be promoted. Each work reportedly costs 200,000 baht. I can call this activity an academic crime," said Special Prof. Phavich, adding that he was meeting the Director General of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to discuss how to prosecute not only the ghost writers of academic work but also the students and universities that allow this to occur.

Policy on Exam for Teaching Assistants

(30-04-2013)

The Minister of Education, Mr. Phongthep Thepkanjana, presented the policy on the exam for teaching assistants at a seminar on exams for public teachers and educational personnel on 25 April 2013 at the Adriatic Palace Hotel in Bangkok. There were 500 participants from Offices of Education Service Areas, the Office of the Vocational Education Commission (OVEC), the Office of Non-Formal and Informal Education, the Institute of Physical Education and other concerned public sectors in attendance at this event.

The Education Minister said that the exam for teaching assistants was crucial because it was a process for selecting good people to become role models for students in the future. The exam should be carried out with transparency, fairness and without any corruption.

As the Ministry of Education is responsible for creating good citizens, this examination will set an example that will make Thai people confident in effective ministerial work that will follow all regulations and rules without any cheating whatsoever. Moreover, Thai people should help the Ministry to monitor any wrongdoings. In cases where they find problems, they should inform the Minister of Education or the Office of the Prime Minister immediately so that history will not repeat itself.

For this exam, the Office of Teachers and Educational Personnel (OTEP) will use the same exam paper for the same education areas. One of the Local Education Area Offices will be the focal point for supervising its members. The supervising office should be systematic, straightforward and trustworthy in order to regain the confidence of the Thai public.

The Education Minister also asked the participants at the seminar to propose and recommend ways of solving problems with cheating in any admission exams which could be shared with any of the offices under the Ministry of Education's supervision.

"The current exam for teaching assistants will be different from the previous ones because Local Offices of Education Service Areas are using the same exam paper that other offices in their groups do. Each group will take care of its members so that exam proctor systems are transparent, fair and trustworthy. However, I'd like to ask all the relevant people to monitor this exam to prevent any problems that may occur," concluded Mr. Phongthep.

Short-Term Professional Training Site Now Available

(30-04-2013)

The Secretary-General of the Office of the Vocational Education Commission (OVEC), Mr. Chaipruek Serirak, reported that the information technology project under the initiative of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and carried out by the Distant Learning via Satellite Foundation and OVEC had recently created 1,365 video clips on professional training and publicized them through the website: www.edltv.vec.go.th, so that interested people could download and use them to improve their professional skills.

The video clips are categorized into various disciplines: food science, business management/commerce, fine arts, industry, general education, technology and communication. Under these disciplines, there are many sub-categories that learners can study according to their interests. For example, the food science discipline offers how to make golden shrimp, five-color congee or deep fried Thai pancakes made of taro, whereas the industry discipline provides basic knowledge on semiconductors and PN junction jump heads.

"The length of each of the progressive training clips depends on how easy it is. Anyone can view them and learn for free. In cases where they would like to study with the trainer, they have to contact OVEC vocational colleges that provide the relevant professional training individually. In so doing, they will be able to obtain more knowledge to improve their professional skills," concluded Mr. Chaipruek.

OVEC to Propose an Increase of Financial Support for Students' Learning Materials

(30-04-2013)

The Secretary General of the Office of the Vocational Education Commission (OVEC), Mr. Chaipruek Serirak, is planning to propose to the Cabinet the need for more financial support regarding learning materials for vocational students under the 15-year quality education program. This is because all vocational students have to buy learning materials themselves and, according to OVEC’s research, some learning materials cost more than 2,000 baht. At present, each vocational student receives financial support of 230 baht per semester or 460 baht per year to purchase learning materials. As a result, a lot of parents have complained about the expenses and some students have had to drop out because they could not afford the additional learning materials.

"Expenses for learning materials for vocational students are different to those of basic education students because, apart from notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers or rulers, vocational students have to buy more professional equipment for their specific areas of study. The equipment can be used in their future careers. Although OVEC helps them to buy it, the students still have to find some more money to cover the cost of the equipment. OVEC has to help these students, but the additional financial support will start in 2014 and the amount will vary according to areas and years of study. For instance, first year students may get more money than the second and the third ones because some equipment may be used until the students graduate," said Mr. Chaipruek.

In terms of student uniforms, Mr. Chaipruek said that OVEC might propose a higher budget for the students if the Ministry of Education changes it. Although vocational students get higher financial support than basic education students; i.e. 900 baht per person per year, if basic student uniforms becomes more expensive, so will those of the vocational students.

Phongthep Visits ONESQA

(29-04-2013)

The Minister of Education, Mr. Phongthep Thepkanjana, paid an official visit to the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (ONESQA) to monitor the work there on 23 April 2013. On this occasion, the director of ONESQA Prof. Dr. Channarong Pornrungrot and the executive members gave the Minister a warm welcome then discussed ways to evaluate the quality of Thai universities.

Prof. Dr. Channarong informed Mr. Phongthep of the current problem of educational management caused by a lack of continuous policy implementation, a lack of qualitative supervision and a lack of quantitative control. Therefore, ONESQA has designed a new tool to assess the quality of Thai universities which focuses on three aspects: basic, identity and promotional measure indicators. Moreover, all outside evaluators have been instructed to encourage universities, not to find faults with them.

Moreover, ONESQA emphasized Area-Based Assessment or ABA as a crucial tool for evaluating Thai universities. It transforms the macro assessment to the micro one. The assessment will be carried out at three main levels: higher education, basic education and vocational education, at the provincial level. Furthermore, the results will be announced within a year.

Another innovative assessment which foreign countries are interested in is the 1 for 9 method in which 1 academic institution that enjoys very good evaluation results helps nine others without using any budget so that they have better results of evaluation.

Currently, ONESQA has to assess the quality of 1,785 faculties, 803 vocational colleges, 903 non formal and informal institutions, 36,453 schools and 22,605 child centers. Recently, 6.93% of schools have been ranked as very good, 58.30% good and 34.77% uncertified while 20% of vocational colleges have been ranked very good, 63.33% good and 16.67% uncertified.

The Minister of Education then asked ONESQA to consider the following issues:

- In terms of quality assessment, ONESQA should think about the effectiveness of their work because student learning achievement is actually a good indicator of the assessment;

- Although academic institutions are sometimes categorized in the same group, they are all different. So, the goal of assessment should vary according to this factor;

- The assessment should not take a long time as it distracts teachers from teaching and taking care of students in class. It should focus on aspects that need to be completed and the timeframe should not be overlong; and

- ONESQA has hired more evaluators to monitor the result of evaluation.

After the discussion with the ONESQA, the Education Minister visited its offices and a server room. Finally, he said to all ONESQA staff that a good indicator of Thai education was the quality of learners. ONESQA should cooperate with relevant organizations to develop the quality of Thai graduates. Regarding the budget proposed by ONESQA to the Ministry of Education, the Minister asked it to put some of the budget from projects that are not currently necessary or urgent to use for ones that are more important now.

Research Universities Suffer from Huge Budget Cut

(29-04-2013)

Research universities in Thailand are now facing budget cuts for the fiscal year of 2014. The proposed budget was dropped from 1 billion baht to 600 million baht. However, the Minister of Education said that the government was pleased to support any research useful for national development.

On 23 April, the Education Minister talked about the upcoming budget given to Thai research universities after their representatives met with him to discuss this. He said that, according to the government's continuous budget for 2010 - 2012 with a total amount of 5 billion baht to promote research at Thai universities and to develop Thai national research, over three billion baht had been approved. Now, there was around one billion baht left. The Ministry of Education has already proposed the budget for the next fiscal year of 2014 and 600 million baht had been already approved. So far, the overall budget for the Ministry in the next fiscal year of 2014 is 488,264,141,600 baht.

"I guarantee that the government is happy to support research useful for the economy and agriculture. That's why I asked Thai universities to formulate research proposals that will yield quick results for national development. They can present the proposals at the 2nd National Research University Summit from 7 to 8 May," said the Education Minister.

Assoc. Prof. M.D. Kamchorn Tatiyakawee, the Deputy Secretary General of the Higher Education Commission, said that many universities were disappointed that the 1 billion Baht had been cut because this might affect some ongoing research projects and might result in incomplete and non-practical research methodology in the future.

OVEC to Persuade more Students for Vocational Education

(29-04-2013)

The chairman of the Vocational Education Commission (VEC), Dr. Anusorn Saengnimnual, was invited to a TV program, "Chuay Kid Chuay Tham (Think Together Do Together)", in which he gave an interview with the host Ms. Siribun Natthapan.

Dr. Anusorn said that he would like a larger number of lower secondary students, especially those with very good academic performances, to study vocational education because the country is now in great need of many skilled human resources to improve the national economy.

This interview was televised on Channel 3 Thailand on 25 April 2013 at 5.10 a.m.

OPEC Confident about more Students for Private Schools

(26-04-2013)

The Secretary General of the Office of the Private Education Commission (OPEC), Mr. Bandit Sriphutthangkul recently talked about the admission of private school students in the upcoming academic year of 2013, saying that, normally, the number of students applying for private schools is continuously increasing every year, especially kindergarten and primary students. Like last year, 40,000 to 50,000 more students are expected to apply for private schools which keep accepting students until before the first semester of the academic year of 2013. Parents interested in sending their children to any private schools in Thailand can contact them directly because the schools do not depend on any financial support from the government.

"Although private schools are allowed to accept new students until the beginning of the first semester, they have to close the applications if the number of students exceeds the limit set per classroom. Due to concerns regarding the quality and standard of the education provided, one classroom can have no more than 45 students. Currently, many private schools are asking OPEC to increase the maximum number of students per class. This shows that private schools in Thailand are still much favored by parents," said Mr. Bandit.

Regarding admission of lower level vocational education students, the number does not tend to increase. However, after the Office of the Vocational Education Commission (OVEC) introduces bachelor degree courses in vocational education in the next academic year of 2013, more students are expected to study vocational courses and OPEC's curriculums are similar to those of OVEC, so students who complete their studies in private vocational colleges can then further their studies at public institutions, concluded Mr. Bandit.

OVEC Joins Retail Business Training

(26-04-2013)

On 22 April 2013, the Secretary General of Office of the Vocational Education Commission Dr. Chaipreuk Serirak chaired the opening ceremony for teacher training at business companies organized by CP All Co. Ltd. (Public Company)

The CP All has been conducting this project on vocational education management through bilateral cooperation with OVEC since 1995. The fast and continuous growth of business in Thailand requires competent human resources in the retail business. Since academic institutions are responsible for providing proper workers that the labor market needs, CP All has organized the teacher training so that all participants understand and gain hands-on experience in retail business and pass on their knowledge to their students.
The training is divided into two parts as follows:
Part 1 - theoretical training on 22 to 23 April 2013 at Thara Park Training Center, Chaeng Wattana, Nonthaburi

Part 2 - practical training on 25 to 27 April 2013 at 7-11 shops located close to all trainers' neighborhoods.
Dr. Chaipreuk also emphasizes maintaining the number of vocational students and keeping them at their colleges until they complete their studies. This needs cooperation between business companies and vocational colleges.

Participants of the teacher training were 27 teachers from vocational colleges under OVEC's supervision and 18 university teachers. Speakers at the event were provided by CP All and Panya Thara Co. Ltd.

OVEC Considers Bachelor Degree Curriculum on Vocational Education

(26-04-2013)

The Deputy Secretary General of the Office of the Vocational Education Commission (OVEC), Dr. Akanit Khlangsaeng, chaired a workshop at the Asia Airport Hotel in Pathum Thani on 23 April 2013 to consider the bachelor degree technology curriculum or the operation of Thai vocational colleges. The workshop consisted of a sub-committee responsible for making recommendations on the curriculum so that all proposed curriculums are improved and perfect prior to the OVEC meeting on 2 May 2013.

During this meeting, nine vocational colleges and forty-seven academic institution networks proposed draft curriculums in technology and the operation of sixteen subjects so that altogether the participants made recommendations on several important issues, namely course syllabi, plans for bilateral cooperation on educational management and plans on educational resources, such as the total number of teachers, trainers at companies, teaching and learning materials and classrooms.

Progress of 4th ODOS

(25-04-2013)

On 22 April 2013, the Minister of Education, Mr. PhongthepThepkanjana, reported on the progress of the “One District, One Scholarship”project (ODOS) for which very few applicants had passed the written exam.

According to Mr. Phongthep, this is the fourth time the ODOS project has been organised. This year, there were 20,381 applicants for the written exam, of whom only 137 passed. Fourteen of them received scholarships for students whose families had total incomes of less than 200,000 baht and 123 won scholarships for bachelor degrees in science both within Thailand or abroad. Since very few applicants had passed the exam for the scholarships, the Minister said that it might be repeated.

Mr. Phongthep said that students who study abroad should possess some prior knowledge, otherwise, they will have some problems when they study. When he met ODOS scholarship students in France, he encouraged them to improve their foreign language skills and to find academic institutions suitable for each of them so that they can graduate successfully.

Mr. Phongthep asked the media to do the P.R. for ODOS so that all Thai students would know about it and apply for it.

The ODOS scholarships, worth over 1 million baht, have very few commitments for the scholars because it aims to encourage them to study, whatever their status or family backgrounds. Even first year university student a eligible to sit the scholarship exam.

The Minister of Education finally concluded that he would discuss the regulations and criteria for the scholarship with the ODOS committee. If the rules are not strict enough, scholars will have problems. He believes that Thai students can do anything but, in terms of this ODOS exam, the more applicants there are for this exam, the more qualified scholars the fund will sponsor and the better the country will become after they graduate.

MOE to Systemize Teachers' Debts

(25-04-2013)

The former Deputy Education Minister, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Waraporn Samoset, said that he was currently concerned with Thai teachers' debts because, although the problem was not getting worse, their debts were increasing. The Office of Teachers and Educational Personnel Welfare Promotion (OTEPWP), is trying to solve the problem by letting some teachers have new loans to pay for the old one. Although no problems exist at the moment, the debts of Thai teachers will get worse in the next couple of years.

"Some Thai teachers misunderstand that the government will help them pay the debts. That's why 400,000 Thai teachers are victimized by both official and illegal loans. Some will probably be sued because they don't have enough money to pay back their loans. If the government isn't serious about finding a practical solution, the problem will get more complicated. Personally, I think that the Ministry of Education should not ignore the problem as it's very important and may affect Thai education in the future," concluded Assoc. Prof. Waraporn.

Seminar held to promote cabinet missions

(26-04-2013)

Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Labour opens a seminar on the compilation and the sending of information via IT network for support of cabinet mission at Phukhaongam Resort Hotel in Nakornnayok province, suggesting concerned agencies to work with virtue and ethic and create good work relations among them to foster an organization harmony.

 

Mr. Poonsak Sethanandha, Deputy Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Labour, said after opening the seminar that coordination sometimes requires techniques in order to smoothly and swiftly achieve a goal.  Coordination techniques help concerned parties understand policies and objectives of the organization, save times/money/resources, smooth work operations, increase rate of success and create harmony/understanding/unity among them. They also help reduce work tension, prevent work interference and duplication, and create teamwork and passionate responsibility. Good coordination allows concerned parties to understand reality and problems of others, which they could use to spark new ideas and improve their works.

 

Mr. Poonsak said coordinators of the cabinet and the house of parliament need to be a virtuous person with work ethic. Having work ethic allows each person to choose to do right thing, to avoid making mistake and to develop good work relations with others, helping foster an organization harmony.

 

Mr. Poonsak said civil servants of Ministry of Labour should apply these ethic virtues, namely honesty, sacrifice, tolerance, fairness, generous, politeness, and kindness when performing their duties. They should also be a good role model of civil servants by having good work attitudes, conducting one-self, not using their authority to pursue interest of their own or others, regularly visiting people, not distorting government information and taking responsibility for mistake.

 

Mr. Poonsak said achieving work success with transparency requires officials at every level to have work ethics, especially discipline. The basic code of work ethics is percepts. A person who undertakes the percepts seriously is a disciplined person. Discipline then breeds work ethics.

National Economic And Social Advisory Council proposes using zoning to determine minimum wage rate in future

(25-04-2013)

On April 24, 2013, Mrs. Pranin Muttaharach, Deputy Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Labour, presided over a meeting of National Economic And Social Advisory Council and Office of the Permanent Secretary to consider proposals and recommendations on 300 baht daily minimum wage relief measures at Ministry of Labour’s conference room. During the meeting, the National Economic And Social Advisory Council proposed using zoning to determine minimum wage rate in the future.

 

Mrs. Pranin said the meeting proposed an interesting recommendation to use zoning to determine minimum wage rate in the future. The study has been made to determine its appropriateness and see whether it can practically been enforced in the country. The proposal is currently being considered by the Central Wage Committee.

 

Mrs. Pranin said the meeting also reported revised versions of the 15 300 baht daily minimum wage relief measures, including the reduction of employers’ and insured persons’ contribution to the Social Security Fund, the increase in welfares – which is currently being studied and required laws amendment --, loans granted to boost liquidity of firms affected by the wage hike policy and assistance for laid-off workers.

 

Mr. Chavalit Akhomthon, Director of Labour and Social Welfare Taskforce of Office of the Permanent Secretary, said it is possible that Office of the Permanent Secretary will compile its own study on the minimum wage zoning, which the government can use for its management.

 

Mr. Chavalit said business operators must understand and adjust to the minimum wage hike. They cannot blame the policy for them having to move their production base because a study has found that most firms can adjust to the policy and not many firms have been forced to move their production base.