Education gaps 'cost country trillions'
Without help, 5 million underprivileged children whose parents cannot afford to give them a proper education are fated to become low-skilled workers, an outcome that could cost the country trillions of baht in the long run. To prevent this scenario, the Education Ministry has been urged to ensure that these children are properly educated.
Amornwich Nakhonthap, a board member and adviser of the Quality Learning Foundation, said a survey counted 5 million underprivileged children, 3 million of whom had not been in school for the past decade. And a study by the Office of the Education Council showed that from 1997-2008, 20 per cent of schoolchildren had dropped out before completing Matthayom 3 (Grade 9) and 30 per cent before completing Matthayom 6 (Grade12). Only 35 per cent of students pursued higher education."This has resulted in a low-quality workforce. More than 60 per cent of Thai workers have education profiles lower than Matthayom 3. Based on income differentials between private-company employees with bachelor's degrees and those with Matthayom 3- and Matthayom 6-level educations, our calculations found that the cumulative losses to the country in the next 40 years will be Bt37.5 trillion, or five times the country's current gross domestic product," he said.
The education of more than half the country's schoolchildren has been overlooked, Amornwich said, adding that people only pay attention to the 35 per cent who are in higher education.
LOW RANKING IN EDUCATION
"According to the Human Development Index, Thailand is ranked 71st, lower than Malaysia, Lithuania, Croatia and Tonga. The Mental Health Department said the intelligence quotient (IQ) of children aged 6-15 is very low. The province with the lowest IQ [scores] is Narathiwat, while Nonthaburi has the highest.
"One third of children live with their grandparents due to teenage pregnancy problems. Relevant agencies know that all children must have equal access to education. However, the figures reflect that the education gap persists," he said.
Amornwich added that academic competition among students and schools had contributed to the disparity, with the quality of teachers and schools varying. He urged the Education Ministry to try to produce qualified or good teachers in all parts of the country.
Teachers' performance should be assessed in terms of the knowledge they pass on to their students. Many do not care sufficiently for their students' learning and development, he said.
"Our foundation is encouraging provincial agencies to work with our educational development networks and to invest more in education. Each province should be given a per-student budget and should be allowed to manage the budget themselves.
As well as ensuring teachers perform satisfactorily, each province should employ teachers as counsellors, nurses, nutritionists and psychologists to assist students. Counsellors could help students who are at risk of dropping out to remain in the education system," he said.
He urged the ministry to allocate more of its Bt400-billion annual budget to student development activities, while reducing operational costs, including teacher salaries and management costs.
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