(29-05-2013)
On 19 May 2013, the Minister of Education, Mr.
Phongthep Thepkanjana, participated in a public seminar, "Enhancing Efficiency of Administration for Small Schools," at
Wat San
Klang Nua School in San
Kamphaeng District and Ban
Phueng School in Mae
Taeng District, Chiang Mai.
In terms of
Wat San
Klang Nua
School, its teaching and learning system has been adjusted gradually,
with the approval of the school committee, the parents and the local
community, since 2000. Initially, students from three other schools: Ban
Mon,
Wat San
Klang Tai and
Wat San
Klang Nua, were asked to study together. Since then, Ban Mon School has offered kindergarten courses;
Wat San
Klang Nua has provided primary education and
Wat San
Klang Tai has been used for various school activities and community services, such as an
OTOP Center and a Non-Formal and Informal Education Service Center.
According to the School's director, Mr.
Yongyuth Wongchai,
the merging of the three schools has been done since 2000 after a
public hearing with students, parents and local community members. The
merger yielded good results as students enjoyed impressive learning
achievements and there were enough teachers to work full time. Now,
OBEC is providing support for school buses to transport students to and from the school.
Mr.
Phongthep said that merging of small schools should only be done after public hearings in which local people unanimously approve.
Some recommendations were also made at this public seminar,
especially regarding financial support for the principal school after
merging and expanding educational opportunities to the lower secondary
level so that students will not have to study at schools located very
far away. Mr.
Phongthep
said that it depended on the number of students and the availability of
schools. Lately, some merged schools have already started to provide
secondary education.
Mr.
Praphat Pothi is the director of Ban
Phueng School. The school accepts students from
Wat Mae Ho
Phra, Mae
Na Pak and
Fai Witthayakarn.
Its management is done according to the plan for school administration
to develop the effectiveness of managing a cooperative network through
the use of proper innovations, in terms of technology, learning
resources, teachers and educational personnel. This also includes
support for school buses for transportation to other learning centers
and academic camps.
The Ministry of Education does not have any definite rules to merge
any schools but focuses on upgrading the quality of Education in
Thailand. This can be done in various ways, so cooperation is needed
from local communities, local administrations and religious affairs to
develop small schools, especially those in remote areas.
From the public seminar at Ban
Phueng
School, major recommendations concern the need for a center of child
development and provision of a budget for building renovation, computer
rooms, more classrooms and a playground.
On 21-23 May 2013, Mr. Chirachai
Punkrasin, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand led the Team of ASEAN
Ambassadors in Mexico, namely, Mr. Hamdani Djafar, Ambassador of the
Republic of Indonesia, Mr. George Reyes, Ambassador of the Republic of
Philippines, Mr. Tung Le Thanh, Ambassador of Viet Nam, and Mr.
Francisco Rios, Centre Director of the Americas Group, Singapore
International Enterprise to participate in the 2nd ASEAN
Trade and Investment Forum, the 3-day economic event organized in
cooperation with the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade in the
Western region of Mexico (COMCE West) in Guadalajara, Colima and
Manzanillo, the western Mexican cities along the NAFTA corridor.
