We need to give our kids a better start in life
By The Nation
2011-03-05
Thailand ranks low in educational performance and high in social problems; the system is not doing enough to foster well-rounded citizens
As a developing country, Thailand places a great deal of hope on its future generations to help guide the country through this transitional period. Our leaders pay lip service to the idea of quality education, but as a recent report from the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has revealed, a significant number of young people and children are in a sorry condition.
The poor quality of education is often to blame for youngsters turning to crime and illicit drug use. But education, while essential, is not necessarily a cure-all remedy. Perhaps we should start to change our mindset regarding these social ills and treat people not as victims or criminals, but as patients. In doing so, we can explore ways to solve problems that are social in nature, not criminal.
It's easy to lock up drug offenders and antisocial youths and even throw away the key. But all that does is to take one "criminal" off the street. The sad fact is that the authorities do see these young people as - criminals.
Social scientists will tell you that social problems cannot be treated by legal means alone. In short, we have to build an environment that gives our future generation some hope, something to live and work for - or else we risk seeing them go astray.
Drug-related crimes last year were the highest number recorded in the past eight years, and most drug addicts were youths, the NESDB report revealed earlier this week.
"There were 266,010 drug-related arrests last year, up from the previous year by 11.6 per cent. Youths aged 20-24 years old were the largest group of offenders in terms of drug taking. Addiction impact is most acute among unskilled workers and unemployed people," the report said.
Moreover, in the fourth quarter alone, there were 77,839 of these arrests, a 7.2-per-cent increase from the third quarter, and a 36.8-per-cent increase from the fourth quarter of 2009.
Thailand also has a high rate of teenage mothers, as well as slow learning development and low intelligence and emotional quotients (IQ and EQ) among children when compared to international rankings.
The number of teenage mothers (aged under 20 years) comprised 18.6 per cent of all deliveries at hospitals last year, up from 17.6 per cent in 2009. The figure was higher than the average rate stated by the World Health Organisation, at 10 per cent. In addition, over 9,000 students underwent drug addiction treatment last year.
An NESDB survey found that 67 per cent of five-year-old children had normal development in 2007. A Public Health Ministry survey from 2008-2009 found that 40 per cent of Thai children aged 6 years had a 91.4 IQ score on average, in the 90-110 IQ range, which is considered normal or average intelligence, but another 25 per cent had scores lower than 90.
Poor educational achievement was reflected in the International Institute for Management 2010 report that ranked Thailand 47th out of 58 countries; and the Programme for International Student Assessment 2009 found that Thai students' average scores in every testing subject were lower than international averages.
To increase Thais' personal capability, we will have to improve them from birth and in their childhood, and the 11th National Economic and Social Development Plan will have to focus on child development.
Certainly this is easier said than done. Our educators and our strategy must be more focused toward creating well-rounded citizens. We must start with reforming not just the institutions, but our teachers and policy-makers as well. Teaching as a profession is no longer attractive. It has lost its status. Too many of our teachers are teaching because they are unable to get into other professions.
In order to change such attitudes, we must make the profession more attractive - both in terms of remunerative reward and respect - in order to attract better quality and qualified teachers. We cannot change this situation overnight; therefore, a sound, long-term strategy is needed. Unfortunately our education planners can't seem to think beyond the next election. And so they come up with fancy-sounding projects that sound good to the public but do nothing in terms of long-term improvement. A sorry state of affairs, indeed.
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