Thursday, April 19, 2007
• education in Thailand
Thailand
The traditional system of education in Thailand was inspired by the Thai philosophy of life based on (1) dedication to Theravada Buddhism, with its emphasis on moral excellence, generosity, and moderation, (2) veneration for the king, and (3) loyalty to the family. The beginning of the present system of education can be traced to 1887, when King Chulalongkorn set up a department of education with foreign advisers, mostly English educationist. Gradually, temple schools were established. The process of westernization of education was strengthened with the establishment of a medical school in 1888, a law school in 1897, and a royal pages' school in 1902 for the general education of “the sons of the nobility.” It was converted into the Civil Service College in 1910.
The abolition of the absolute monarchy after the 1932 revolution stimulated the government to increase educational provisions at all levels, particularly for training specialists in higher-learning institutions. Beginning in 1962, the nation's series of five-year development plans assigned educational institutions a crucial role in manpower preparation. The government supervises all educational institutions, public and private. Financing education is primarily a government responsibility, supplemented by the private sector. Thai is the language of instruction at all levels, with English taught as a second language above grade four.
By the mid-1980s there were more than 7।3 million pupils (over 90 percent of the age group) enrolled in the compulsory six-year elementary schools, 2.2 million in the six years of secondary schooling, and 715,000 in the nation's 31 registered universities and colleges.
To cite this page: Encyclopedia Britannica