The Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec), which is pushing for the overhaul, has asked the ministry to approve the appointment of a panel to oversee a sweeping revision of the core curriculum of basic studies, which has been in use since 2008, Obec secretary-general, Thanu Wongjinda said.
A revamp would modernise the country’s basic-level education, reports the Bangkok Post. The office has implemented revisions of individual courses to keep abreast with global changes by introducing more subjects taught with the aid of technology, Mr Thanu said.
However, upcoming changes promise to be a major step forward for the country’s education, he added.
According to Mr Thanu, if and when the revision panel is appointed, it will hit the ground running. Its chief responsibility will be to look at each subject in detail and find ways to improve it. One of the key changes in the pipeline is to reduce study hours, he said, citing research that said Thai students endure some of the longest school hours in the world.
With students in Pathom 1-6 (grades one to six), classes devoted to teaching compulsory and supplementary subjects as well as developmental activities amount to no less than 1,000 hours per academic year.
In Mathayom 1-3, or lower secondary schools (grades seven to nine), classes amounted to at least 1,200 hours per academic year.
For Mathayom 4-6, or upper secondary school students (grades 10-12), classes exceed 3,600 hours throughout the three years.
“It only makes sense to try and scale back study hours,” Mr Thanu said.
The committee will be open to suggestions from educational workers, students, parents, textbook publishers, and related sectors for the planned revamp, he added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Education Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul criticised a cut in the budget earmarked for the ministry’s ‘Learning Anywhere Anytime’ project, which mainly utilises online learning platforms. The project targets Mathayom 4-6 students.
A budget of B7.6 billion was proposed for the next fiscal year’s spending. However, during scrutiny, the fund was cut to B4.1bn, the deputy minister said.
He said the cut would hurt the overall efficiency of the project.