Education

  • Education

    Criticism over bad English lesson in Thai online class

    Thai schools are pushing for online learning to slow the spread of the coronavirus, but a recent English lesson posted online is just proof that basic English levels remain poor in the country. The video of a Thai teacher with poor pronunciation spread across the internet, with some saying she should be a student rather than a teacher. The teacher…

  • Covid-19 News

    Thai virus expert says careful consideration needed before reopening schools

    Thailand’s chief virologist Dr. Yong Poovorawan, from the Faculty of Medicine at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, says reopening the country’s schools should not be a political decision. Instead, he says it should be based on science, with consideration given to the risks involved, and adequate safety measures put in place. Thai PBS World reports that Dr Yong says that while most…

  • Bangkok News

    Architecture students propose redesign and makeover of Bangkok prison

    Most of Thailand’s prisons are well past their designed capacity. Living conditions for inmates are cramped and unsanitary. Now some architecture students are trying to come up with creative solutions to improve the living environment at one Bangkok prison. They’ve been working on design proposals that would make the conditions more “humane” at the Thonburi Remand Prison. “Treeward” is one design…

  • Education

    Online learning system to support re-opening of schools

    Thailand’s Ministry of Education is launching an online learning system designed as a back-up in the event that the re-opening of schools is deemed unsafe. With Thaialnd’s schools set to reopen their doors from July 1, a televised and online system is being tested to supplement children’s learning. The new system, set to be tested next Monday, May 18, will…

  • Covid-19 News

    More time with your kids :) Government Schools to reopen July 1

    Remember that New Year’s resolution you made to spend more quality time with your kids? Well, the government heard your prayers and raised you another month and a half of close and personal self quarantine time by postponing the return of the school semester to July 1. A recent notification from the Ministry of Education stated: “All public and private…

  • Covid-19 News

    7 Thai cabinet members are ‘high risk’ personnel and should be isolated

    One of the directives under the state of emergency decree is a measure for certain types of people who are asked to stay home due to being in a high risk category if they contract the virus. The 3 groups are… Seniors aged 70 years and above People with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cerebrovascular diseases, respiratory…

  • Covid-19 News

    Be informed, be aware. Prevention and precautions in a Covid-19 world.

    As of this morning the number of cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus has reached 169,552. The number of deaths related to the virus is now 6,516, representing a death rate of around 3.8%, up from 3.4% two weeks ago, and up from the earlier days when it hovered around 2%. But the number of people that have fully recovered has…

  • Food

    MSG makes a comeback with a new campaign against the ‘Chinese restaurant syndrome’

    MSG, or monosodium glutamate, a common seasoning in many foods from Doritos, to salad-dressing and Thai food, is making a come back. Not that it really went away. But there was 50 years or so when it suffered, unreasonably, a poor reputation. For years it was branded an unhealthy processed ingredient despite a lack of supporting scientific evidence. It became the…

  • News

    School funding challenge for bilingual curriculum

    The secretary-general of the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC), Amnat Wichayanuwat, says plans to introduce a bilingual school curriculum at all grade levels have thrown up an obstacle for meeting funding requirements. The bilingual curriculum plans were announced by the Education Minister last week in an effort to improve English proficiency among the Thai population. It’s hoped to…

  • Thailand News

    Stop Fake News seminar run by LINE and Digital Economy ministry

    The Minister of a Digital Economy and Society, Puttipong Punnakanta, opened a Stop Fake News seminar to promote online media literacy and discretion before sharing information and news with other Thai youth, to prevent the spread of misinformation. The seminar was run in conjunction with Thailand’s most popular messaging App, ‘LINE’. Apart from representatives from LINE, the seminar also involved communication…

  • Politics News

    Wissanu admits Thammanat Prompeo’s educational credentials were not checked

    Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngarm admits that the Office of the Secretary-General of the Cabinet had not vetted the educational background of Captain Thammanat Prompao, before he was appointed deputy agriculture minister, because the vetting process might have delayed the appointment of the cabinet. But he says the embattled deputy agriculture minister might be replaced “if there is an ethics problem”.…

  • Politics News

    “The fake university degree is irrelevant if Thammanat has a genuine BA degree” – Wissanu

    PHOTO: Thai PBS World “Wissanu refused to give a direct answer to a reporter’s question about whether Thammanat would still be considered qualified if the higher-level degrees were proven to be fake.” Key leaders of the coalition continue to back the embattled deputy agriculture minister Thammanat Prompao despite a week were his drug past has been revealed in a Sydney…

  • Expats

    Koh Phangan get a fully licensed International School opening next month

    Si Ri Panya International School announced this week they have received their license from the Thai Ministry of Education and will open as the first official international school on Koh Phangan on September 4. In an important first for the Gulf island, a ferry ride from Koh Samui or the mainland, the school is now licensed to teach a full…

  • Northern Thailand News

    How to raise rats and other livestock: lessons from a north-eastern school

    PHOTOS: The Nation A school in Surin province, north-east Thailand, is teaching students how to make a living raising small livestock such as wild rats and voles. Local farmers will often pay up to 1,000 baht for breeding rodents, with fully-grown ones sold for meat at 120 baht a kilo. Rodent meat remains a traditional food source in some parts…

  • Thailand News

    2,800 small Thai schools facing consolidation

    2,800 small Thai schools with fewer than 40 students will be merged – this from the chairman of the Basic Education Commission. Associate Professor Dr Ekkachai Kisukphan says not all 18,000 small schools under the Office of Basic Education Commission that are located near one another would be merged. But the OBEC wanted to merge small schools each with fewer than…

  • Transport News

    State offices and public spaces need to provide better access for the vision impaired

    PHOTO: PPTV HD 36 Bangkok’s Governor Aswin Kwanmuang says he will coordinate with related agencies and public parks about making access for the disabled better around the city. He made the announcement after meeting with a visually-impaired person complaining about her guide dog not being allowed into state offices and other public sites. Sight impaired Kirin “Sai” Techawongtham, who created…

  • World News

    Students are dropping out along Cambodia’s border with Thailand

    by VOA A Cambodian official has reported that about 23% of children in three provinces along the border with Thailand have stopped attending school. The Cambodian Education Minister Hangchuon Naron was speaking about the student dropout rate. He said that the rate in Battambang, Banteay Meanchey and Oddor Meanchey provinces was much higher than in other areas, where rates are…

  • Hua Hin News

    The ‘sweet generation’ head back to school in Hua Hin

    by Piyarat Nildee Hua Hin residents may be wondering why some of their more mature residents have been putting on school uniforms and heading back to school. Some of the elderly Prachuap Khiri Khan residents reported at a special college for ‘the Sweet Generation’ yesterday, ready for classes and ready to learn again. Hundreds have enrolled in the School for…

  • Thailand News

    Future teaching graduates don’t need good ‘English’ levels to pass

    The committee in charge of preparing a teacher qualifications framework has decided to lower the level of English needed for its graduates following pressure from its stakeholders. The committee’s chair Rathakorn Kidkan mentioned serious concerns that students may not be able to graduate if the English level was set too high. Using the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for…

  • World News

    Six reasons Thailand’s English skills are the lowest in SE Asia

    by tastythailand.com An article, compiled by tastythailand.com, chronicles some of the key reasons Thailand’s education system battles with the teaching of English. An unnamed author poses the premise…. “In the last few years, as countries like Vietnam and Laos now have English skills surpassing Thailand’s, it’s become obvious Thailand’s education system is to blame. But why?” Thailand’s education is a…