Strategies for Education Reform

15 June 2015

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has stated that the Government attaches great importance to education reform, with an emphasis on basic education, as its effects would shape the future of the country.

 

In his televised national address on 12 June 2015 in the program "Return Happiness to the People,” the Prime Minister touched on the issue of strategies for basic education reform.

 

The issue was discussed recently by the Basic Education Commission, which set three major strategies to be implemented from 2015 to 2020. The strategies include teaching and learning reform, vocational development reform, and education management reform.

 

In the initial stage, six guidelines for basic education reform must be carried out urgently from now until March 2016. In the first guideline, an effective form of teaching should be developed to ease learners’ difficulties with learning to read and write. The second guideline seeks to manage basic education in accordance with vocational skills. Emphasis is placed on schools in special economic zones in border provinces, namely Tak, Mukdahan, Sa Kaeo, Songkhla, Trat, and Nong Khai.

 

In the third guideline, the teaching of English at the basic education level must be developed. For instance, the Ministry of Education should seek cooperation with the British Council in improving skills in English communication for Thai students, in preparation for the ASEAN Community.

 

The fourth guideline seeks to produce, develop, and train teachers, education administrators, and education supervisors. The fifth guideline involves the upgrading of distance learning, while the sixth one involves the qualification development of learners.

 

The Prime Minister said that he wanted to see the country’s education focus not only on an intelligence quotient, but also emotional quotient. He believed that parents also wanted to see their children be able to live happily with other people, without the use of violence.

 

Speaking at a recent seminar on curriculum and teaching reforms, Education Minister Admiral Narong Pipatanasai stressed the need for Thailand’s education to adjust in order to produce and develop human resource, in response to the changing situation. Education reform is not the matter of the Ministry of Education alone; all sectors of Thai society should also give a helping hand.

 

He pointed out that education reform must help the country cope with future challenges and prepare Thai workforce for multicultural society and the increased application of new technology. Moreover, because of the shifting demographic structure of Thailand’s population, the number of older persons will increase significantly. The Thai education needs to be ready to meet this trend, as well.

Public Health Volunteers Playing an Active Role in a New Anti-Smoking Campaign

13 June 2015

Public health volunteers across Thailand are joining a project to reduce the number of smokers, as a tribute to Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on the occasion of her 60th birthday anniversary this year.

 

The project was launched jointly by the Ministry of Public Health and the National Alliance for Tobacco Free Thailand in a new anti-smoking campaign.

 

Public health volunteers are close to local villagers, as they help take care of their health. They have also played a role in assisting people to change their behavior in order to improve their health. Aware of the important role of public health volunteers, the Ministry of Public Health has asked them to urge local villagers to give up smoking.

 

A target has been set for one public health volunteer to help one person quit smoking within a period of three months. In the first year of the project, it is expected that 100,000 people, or one in each village, will quit smoking.

 

Those who give up tobacco consumption during the period will be given purple wristbands, with the statement "Giving up smoking as a tribute to Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on the occasion of her 60th birthday.”

 

Tobacco causes health hazards and both smokers and non-smokers are affected by tobacco-related diseases. The effects of smoking are serious. According to the Ministry of Public Health, about 50,000 Thais die each year from tobacco-related diseases. The number represents 12 percent of all deaths in the country. Smoking causes emphysema, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease, as well as other diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, and damaged blood vessels. The Government spends about 45 billion baht each year on the treatment of tobacco-related diseases.

 

Statistics compiled by the National Statistical Office showed that, in 2014, 11.4 million Thais over 15 years old were smokers. This means that one in five of Thailand’s population is a smoker. Seventy percent of them live in rural areas. The number of smokers who are younger than 18 was around 400,000 and 100,000 youths become first-time smokers each year. Seven in 10 of the new smokers would be addicted to tobacco for the rest of their lives. The number of smokers is likely to increase, if no action is taken.

 

All agencies involved are, therefore, stepping up the anti-smoking campaign. The project to encourage public health volunteers to urge people to give up tobacco consumption also focuses on providing the public with knowledge about the dangers of smoking.

 

Many people are found to have decided to give up tobacco consumption because of their determination, while a number said that they have been advised by doctors to quit the smoking habit for a better life.

Good Response from Foreign Investors

12 June 2015

Deputy Prime Minister M.R. Pridiyathorn Devakula said that Thailand had received a good response from foreign investors.

 

Speaking in the program "Moving Thailand Forward,” the Deputy Prime Minister revealed that during his recent visit to Japan, he learned that the number of new companies seeking to co-invest with Thailand exceeded the set target.

 

Over the past four months, 150 foreign investors have proposed to co-invest with Thailand. It is expected that in the next two years and a half, these companies would complete establishing their production bases here and start to export.

 

In his opinion, the Deputy Prime Minister said that foreign investors were interested in investing in Thailand, because they were impressed by the favorable investment atmosphere here.

 

However, he said, Thailand should improve the tax system in order to encourage more investors to use Thailand as a multinational trade center. It should also focus more on co-investing with foreign investors in new industries, with complex manufacturing processes and with innovation development.

 

Concerning the Thai economy over the past nine months, he said that the overall situation has improved because of the expansion of the tourism sector and public investment. The private sector investment is also picking up, but the export sector still needs some time for improvement.

 

According to a report by the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board, Thailand’s total investment grew by 10.7 percent in the first quarter of 2015, accelerating from a 3.2 percent growth in the previous quarter. Public investment expanded by 37.8 percent. Private investment expanded by 3.6 percent. For the first time in seven quarters, the Business Sentiment Index stood at a level higher than 50, which is the level at which business expand their investment.

 

The export value in the first quarter was recorded at 52.9 billion US dollars – a 4.3 percent contraction – and the export volume declined by 2.6 percent. The decline was a result of the slowdown in the global economy.

 

Meanwhile, the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee on 10 June 2015 decided to maintain the policy rate at 1.50 percent per annum. It said that economic momentum in the first four months of 2015 softened due to sluggish private consumption and continued contraction in exports, as a result of a slowdown in the Chinese and Asian economies and a shift in global trade structure.

 

 Nevertheless, increased disbursement of public investment expenditure and continued improvement in tourism helped shore up the economy. In the periods ahead, the Thai economy is projected to improve gradually, but subject to downside risks from slower-than-expected recovery of the global economy, especially China and other Asian economies. Therefore, the monetary policy stance should continue to be accommodative in order to support the economic recovery.

 

The Monetary Policy Committee will closely monitor Thailand’s economic and financial developments, and stand ready to utilize the available policy space appropriately in order to support the ongoing recovery and maintain long-term financial stability.