At the Thai Development Research Institute (TDRI), we have found one fundamental problem in Thailand’s education system — a lack of accountability.
When Thai students are assessed as having poor learning performance, no one feels responsible. When teachers are unable to fulfill their role in providing the best possible teaching, no one in the education administration shows any concern. When the curriculum focuses on testing a student’s ability to memorise an answer rather than their understanding of a subject, again few seem to worry.
This lack of concern reflects a lack of accountability in the education system.
Neither teachers, school administrations, nor the government are accountable to the students and their parents. After all, their fates are not tied to students’ learning outcomes.
Teachers are still paid increasingly higher salaries and can be promoted to higher positions if they please school heads and those who evaluate them. School heads still keep their jobs even when most students fail tests.
Thailand needs a system of accountability.