Learning
Thai Prime Minister Orders a “Reduction of Students Homework”
Boonrux said the prime minister had nudged the Education Ministry to draw up guidelines to reduce the homework burden.
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BANGKOK – Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has called on the Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec) for a reduction of students’ homework load.
Obec secretary-general Boonrux Yodpheth said on Wednesday that teachers who were in charge classes should plan together as to how to evaluate their students homework.
Boonrux also emphasized that home assignments should be appropriate to the students’ age.
“When giving homework, teachers should also take into account the time and resources required,” he said.
He said students in Prathom 1-3 levels should spend just 30 to 60 minutes on homework each day; those in Prathom 4-6 classes should spend 60 to 90 minutes a day, while Mathayom or secondary students should spend no more than two hours a day on homework.
Boonrux said the prime minister had nudged the Education Ministry to draw up guidelines to reduce the homework burden after hearing accounts of how children were weighed down by their work load.
“Social media are rife with comments on how the huge homework load has adversely affected children’s lives, causing stress, depriving them of time to develop other skills or to spend time with their family,” he said.
Boonrux believed the integrated homework approach should be easy to implement for teachers at small schools where there were just a few teachers in charge.
“At bigger schools, teachers should try to work together in implementing the homework-reduction guidelines introduced by Obec,” he said.
He added that his agency would monitor progress on how the guidelines were being followed.
Source: The Nation
