Formal education services in Thailand are provided in
various formats for several target groups, including: (1) mainstream
education, in both general and vocational streams, provided for
general students in regular schools; (2) basic education for children
with special educational needs including special education for
gifted and talented students; special education for students
with disabilities provided by special schools, special centres
and inclusive schools; and welfare education for disadvantaged
students provided by Welfare Schools and Border Patrol Police
Schools; (3) education for ecclesiastics and educational provision
by several religious institutions; (4) specialised education provided
by specific agencies other than the Ministry of Education; and
(5) international education provided by using languages other than
Thai (generally English) as a medium of instruction.
This chapter covers only the first 2 types of formal education.
Three other types of formal education will be mentioned in Chapters
3 and 11 respectively.
1. Mainstream Education
Mainstream education is provided for general students
in regular schools in both general and vocational streams. Formal
general education is provided at all levels, from pre-primary to higher
education while the formal vocational education is provided only
at some levels, from upper secondary education to higher education.
In the academic year 2006, there are approximately 14 million
students in formal schooling at all levels of education.
At present, the teaching-learning activities of basic
education in the general stream follows the 2001 Curriculum for
Basic Education (Grades 1-12); and the 2003 Curriculum for
Pre-primary Education while the teaching-learning activities of basic
education in the vocational stream follows the 2002 Curriculum
for Vocational Education.
Organised for the 3-5 age group, the 2003 Curriculum
for Pre-primary Education focuses on preparing children in terms of
their physical, intellectual, emotional/mental and social readiness.