Education Minister says High School Dropout Rate a Big Issue

The urgent task of the ministry and the OBEC is to find a way to reduce the number of students dropping out of school as these students will not be able to have a proper career

 

CHIANG RAI – The Education Minister says the problem of students dropping out of school is a big issue that needs to be dealt with immediately. He urges the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) to place less emphasis on per-head subsidies from the government.

During a seminar held on the 10th anniversary of the OBEC, Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang says that the OBEC has been playing an important role in the Thai education system, placing its emphasis on developing the quality of Thai youths who will grow to be the future of Thailand. Looking to the future, he suggested the OBEC should focus more on English study programs as the ASEAN Community is approaching in less than 3 years. He added that the national education system needs to be reformed in accordance with the world’s progress. He said not only students need to keep abreast of developments, but teachers also have to adjust themselves to the changing world and technology.

The minister said as of now, the urgent task of the ministry and the OBEC is to find a way to reduce the number of students dropping out of school as these students will not be able to have a proper career. Minister Chaturon urged the OBEC not to place too much effort on keeping the number of students in the general education system to maintain per-head subsidies from the government. He said such an effort has prevented students from joining vocational fields they are skilled in. It has also derailed the Ministry-stipulated proportion between vocational students and general education students at 50:50.