Education Official Say’s 32,000 Sixth Graders Are Illiterate

A student uses a tablet at Ban San Kong school in Mae Chan

 

BANGKOK – The Ministry of Education is to renew a drive against illiteracy after national test results revealed the embarrassing fact that tens of thousands of Thai school pupils somehow cannot read or write, according to an official.

Dr. Chinnapat Bhumirat, Secretary General of Office of the Basic Education Commission of Thailand, said approximately 64,000 Prathomsuksa 3 and 32,000 Prathomsuksa 6 students in Thailand are illiterate. The number amounts to 8% and 4% of the overall students number in their range, respectively.

The official said that the commission will tackle the issue with innovations to draw interests from these illiterate children. He added that the method, which complies with the policy of the Education Ministry, is expected to be adopted in November 2013 – February 2014 and will be evaluated on a monthly basis.

“Students of peripheral and ethnic backgrounds who suffer difficulty in communicating in Thai are also the main group that we must follow closely” said Dr. Chinnapat, who are also formerly appointed as Permanent Secretary for Education of Thailand by the UNESCO in 2008.

He continued, “So far, we are planning to use innovations to help those children undergoing problems of understanding Thai language through bilingual lessons.” – Khaosod Online