The Thai education system has been characterized as a ‘weapon of mass assimilation’
and linked to asymmetric development and decreased levels of human and social capital
in the southern region. According to Von Feigenblatt et al. (2010, p. 293), “what is at
stake is not only the content of history textbooks but the security of thousands of people
belonging to ethnic minorities, their incomes, the natural resources of the country, and
the economic opportunities of millions of people in the provinces. Thus, education is
linked to political and economic development.”