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The Kingdom of Thailand is one of the few developing countries never to have been colonized. It is located centrally in Southeast Asia with both extensive Pacific coasts (Gulf of Thailand) and Indian Ocean (Andaman Sea). It shares borders with Myanmar (Burma) to the west and northwest, the Lao PDR to the north and northeast, Cambodia to the south and east, and Malaysia to the south. Thailand occup…
In 1871 King Rama V issued the Command Declaration on Schooling, representing the beginning of formal education in Siam. At that time, however, such schools were essentially elitist and served the royal family and their adoptees. Later schools were established to serve commoners. An English school was set up at the Palace to prepare princes and other royals for study overseas. In 1887, King Rama V…
Thailand has a large and complex educational system. Basically, the system is a 6-3-3 one followed by a wide variety of postsecondary options. Public preschools are under the control of the Ministry of Education or Interior and serves children aged three to five. Private preschools serving the same age group are under the supervision of the Private Education Commission. Public primary schools acco…
Preprimary education is neither required nor guaranteed by the government for all students. With the rapid growth of the Thai economy, though, the high level of female participation in the labor force, and intense competition for entry to quality primary schools, the demand for preschool education has grown steadily. In 1995, approximately 73.7 percent of the three to five age group was enrolled i…
Secondary education is divided into three years of lower secondary and three years of upper secondary education. To expand educational opportunities in remote rural areas, the Office of the National Primary Education Commission (ONPEC) has established extensive lower secondary programs around the country. Also, inspired by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the Ministry of Educati…
The Thai monarchy actively supports Thai higher education. Thailand's first and premier university was established on royal lands in 1916 by King Vajiravudh
(King Rama VI) and named in honor of his father, King Chulalongkorn. All students receive their university degrees personally from the Royal Family. His Majesty the King himself is an active scholar and researcher and his daughter, H…
As illustrated by the sweeping educational reforms introduced by the visionary monarch, King Chulalongkorn in the late 1800s, education has been strongly influenced by politics in Thailand. Until 1932, Siam had a system of absolute monarchy, which was transformed in a bloodless revolution into a constitutional monarchy in June 1932. From 1932 to 1973, the military dominated Thai politics for much …
Around 1978, the concept of "life-long education" was introduced and led to the expansion of nonformal education to cover all ages of the population. Under his brilliant leadership, the late Dr. Kowit Vorapipatana, "the father of nonformal education in Thailand," transformed a rather modest Division of Adult Education (established in 1938) into an important department o…
Teacher education in Thailand has a long tradition, dating back to 1892 when the first training school for elementary school teachers was founded as part of King Chulalongkorn's reforms. Relative to other countries at its early stage of development, Thailand has a well-educated teaching force. Eighty-six percent of primary school teachers hold a bachelor's degree. Contributing to thi…
During the past several decades Thailand has achieved impressive success in expanding its educational system quantitatively at all levels and improving its basic educational infrastructure. This success was facilitated by the extremely high economic growth experienced in the period, 1985-1995. The euphoria concerning such macroeconomic success tended to mask the important reality that, among lower…
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11 months ago
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