A committee on educational reform and human resource development has proposed the new constitution include education reform, pointing out that people currently suffer from unequal access to education and that the quality is declining.
Amornvit Nakornthap, spokesman for the National Reform Council committee, said on Wednesday that although the government was spending hundreds of billions of baht on education each year, people did not have equal access to educational services. The quality of education was also declining.
The committee proposed that the new constitution define education as the most important national policy, and the government change its role from education provider to supporter and superviser of participatory education
The government should support education institutions, which should take responsibility for the quality of the service they provide and function as life-long learning centres for communities.
The next constitution should also require the government to compulsory basic free education for people and introduce internationally recognised learning processes.
The government should also develop schools as public learning centres where general people can acquire basic knowledge in culture, arts, religion, science and morality.
The next constitution should require that education policies be continuous, transparent and free of vested interest and political influence.
The committee on educational reform and human resource development also proposed that education reform start immediately and a supervisory body be formed to oversee the process continuously for at least 10 years.