Thailand

By Paul Bacsich

For entities in Thailand see Category:Thailand

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Thailand in a nutshell

(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thailand)

Thailand, in full the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย - Ratcha Anachak Thai) is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.

• The country's official name was Siam (Thai: สยาม RTGS: Sayam) until 1939 when it was changed to Thailand. It was renamed Siam from 1945 to 1949, after which it was again renamed Thailand. Also spelled Siem, Syâm or Syâma, it has been identified with the Sanskrit Śyâma (श्याम, meaning "dark" or "brown"). But the names Shan and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word, and Śyâma is possibly not its origin but a learned and artificial distortion.

Thailand is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.

Thailand is the world's 50th largest country in terms of total area (slightly smaller than Yemen and slightly larger than Spain), with a surface area of approximately 513,000 km2 (198,000 sq mi), and the 21st most-populous country, with approximately 63 million people.

The capital and largest city of Thailand is Bangkok. It is also the country's centre of political, commercial, industrial and cultural activities.

About 75% of the population is ethnically Thai, 14% is of Chinese origin, and 3% is ethnically Malay; the rest belong to minority groups including Mons, Khmers and various hill tribes. There are an estimated 2.2 million legal and illegal migrants in Thailand.[4] Thailand has also attracted a small number of expatriates from developed countries in the West. The country's official language is Thai.

Thailand is one of the most devoutly Buddhist countries in the world. The national religion is Theravada Buddhism which is practiced by more than 94.7% of all Thais. Muslims make up 4.6% of the population and 0.7% belong to other religions.[6] Culture and traditions in Thailand are significantly influenced by India, as are Burma, Laos and Cambodia.

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy with King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the ninth king of the House of Chakri, as the ruling monarch. The King has reigned for more than sixty-three years, making him the longest reigning Thai monarch and the longest reigning current monarch in the world. The King is recognized as the Head of State, the Head of the Armed Forces, the Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and Defender of the Faith. Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia that has never been colonized by a European power.

Thailand experienced rapid economic growth between 1985 and 1995 and today is a newly-industrialized country with an emphasis in exports and a flourishing tourism industry, thanks to various world-famous tourist destinations such as Pattaya, Bangkok, and Phuket.

Thailand is divided into 75 provinces (จังหวัด, changwat) , which are gathered into 5 groups of provinces by location. There are also 2 special governed districts: the capital Bangkok (Krung Thep Maha Nakhon) and Pattaya, of which Bangkok is at provincial level and thus often counted as a 76th province.

Each province is divided into districts and the districts are further divided into sub-districts (tambons). As of 2006 there are 877 districts (อำเภอ, amphoe) and the 50 districts of Bangkok (เขต, khet). Some parts of the provinces bordering Bangkok are also referred to as Greater Bangkok (ปริมณฑล, pari monthon). These provinces include Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan, Nakhon Pathom and Samut Sakhon. The name of each province's capital city (เมือง, mueang) is the same as that of the province: for example, the capital of Chiang Mai province (changwat Chiang Mai) is Mueang Chiang Mai or Chiang Mai.

Education in Thailand

Education is compulsory up to and including Grade 9, and the government provides free education through to Grade 12.

Schools in Thailand

(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thailand)

Thailand enjoys a high level of literacy, and education is provided by a well organized school system of kindergartens, primary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools, numerous vocational colleges, and universities. The private sector of education is well developed and significantly contributes to the overall provision of education which the government would not be able to meet through the public establishments. Thailand has never been colonized, and its teaching relies heavily on rote rather than on student centred methodology. Education in a modern sense is therefore relatively recent and still needs to overcome some major cultural hurdles in order to ensure further development and improvement to its standards.

The establishment of reliable and coherent curricula for its primary and secondary schools is subject to such rapid changes that schools and their teachers are not always sure what they are supposed to be teaching, and authors and publishers of textbooks are unable to write and print new editions quickly enough to keep up with the volatile situation.

The school structure is divided into four key stages: the first three years in elementary school, Prathom 1 - 3, are for age groups 6 to 8, the second level, Prathom 4 through 6 are for age groups 9 to 11, the third level, Matthayom 1 - 3, is for age groups 12 to 14. The upper secondary level of schooling consists of Matthayom 4 - 6, for age groups 15 to 17 and is divided into academic and vocational streams. There are also academic upper secondary schools, vocational upper secondary schools and comprehensive schools offering both academic and vocational tracks. Students who choose the academic stream usually intend to enter a university. Vocational schools offer programs that prepare students for employment or further studies.

Admission to an upper secondary school is through an entrance exam. On the completion of each level, students need to pass the NET (National Educational Test) to graduate. Children are required only to attend six years of elementary school and at least the first three years of high school. Those who graduate from the sixth year of high school are candidates for two decisive tests: O-NET (Ordinary National Educational Test) and A-NET (Advanced National Educational Test).

Public schools are administered by the government, and the private sector comprises schools run for profit and fee-paying non-profit schools which are often run by charitable organisations - especially by Catholic diocesan and religious orders that operate over 300 large primary/secondary schools throughout the country. Village and sub-district schools usually provide pre-school kindergarten (anuban) and elementary classes, while in the district towns, schools will serve their areas with comprehensive schools with all the classes from kindergarten to age 14, and separate secondary schools for ages 11 through 17.

Due to budgetary limitations, rural schools are generally less well equipped than the schools in the cities and the standard of instruction, particularly for the English language, is much lower, and many high school students will commute 60 - 80 kilometres to schools in the nearest city.

The school year in Thailand is divided into two semesters, and for primary and secondary schools generally begins on or around 15 May, to end in March, and from June to March for higher education. It has a two or three week break between the two terms in September. The long summer break coincides with the hottest part of the year and Songkran, the traditional Thai new year celebrations. Schools enjoy all public and Buddhist religious holidays and Christian and international schools usually close for the Christmas-New Year break.

The issue concerning university entrance has therefore also been in constant upheaval for a number of years. Nevertheless, education has seen its greatest progress in the years since 2001; most of the present generation of pupils and students are computer literate, and knowledge of English is on the increase at least in quantity if not in quality.

Vocational Education

Currently 412 colleges are governed by the Vocational Education Commission (VEC), of the Ministry of Education with more than a million students following the programs In 2004. Additionally, approximately 380,000 students were studying in 401 private vocational schools and colleges.

Technical and vocational education (TVE) begins at the senior high school grade where students are divided into either general or vocational education. At present, around 60 per cent of students follow the general education programmes. However, the government is endeavouring to achieve an equal balance between general and vocational education.

Three levels of TVE are offered: the Certificate in Vocational Education (Bor Wor Saw) which is taken during the upper secondary period; the Technical Diploma (Bor Wor Chor), taken after school-leaving age, and the Higher Diploma on which admission to university for a Bachelor degree programme may be granted. Vocational education is also provided by private institutions.

Dual Vocational Training (DVT)

Essential to DVT is the active participation of the private sector. In 1995, based primarily on the German model,[8] the Department of Vocational Education launched the initiative to introduce dual vocational training programmes which involve the students in hand-on training in suitably selected organisations in the private sector.

DVT is a regular element of the DoVE "Certificate" and "Diploma" program. The training is for a period of three years with more than half of the time devoted to practical training on-the-job, spread over two days a week, or for longer periods depending on the distance, throughout the semesters.

Two levels of DVT are offered: the three-year Certificate level for skilled workers where students and trainees are admitted at the age of 15 after completing Matthayom 3 (Grade 9); and the two-year Diploma technician level for students who have graduated with the Certificate of Vocational Education after 12 years of formal education.

In the scheme, vocational, unlike regular internships, where students may be assigned to work on unpaid irrelevant jobs, the cooperative education programme enables the students of the vocational schools to do field work while benefiting from an allowance to cover living expenses or free accommodation, and compensation for their contributions made towards the company's income and profits as temporary employees.

Schools collaborate directly with the private sector in drafting action plans and setting goals for students to meet. Generally, the company will offer permanent employment to the trainees on graduation and successful completion of the programme. Conversely, companies that recruit trainees from among young people who have completed a minimum of nine years at school may enroll their employees with a Technical or Vocational College where they are taught vocational subjects as the theoretical background to the occupational field in which they are being trained.

Higher education

The established public and private universities and colleges of higher education are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of University Affairs in both the government and private sectors. These offer excellent programmes especially in the fields of Medicine, the Arts, Humanities, and Information Technology, although many students prefer to pursue studies of law and business in Western faculties abroad or in those which have created local facilities in Thailand.

During the first years of the 21st century, the number of universities increased dramatically on a controversial move by the Thaksin government to rename many public institutes as universities.

Further and Higher Education

Universities in Thailand

For a full list see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Thailand

In the Times Higher Education Supplement World University Rankings 2004, Chulalongkorn University was ranked 46th in the world for social sciences and 60th for biomedicine. In September 2006, three universities in Thailand were ranked "Excellent" in both academic and research areas by Commission on Higher Education. Those universities are:

• Chiang Mai University
• Chulalongkorn University
• Mahidol University

Polytechnics in Thailand

Over half of the provinces have a government Rajabhat University, formerly Rajabhat Institute, traditionally a Teacher Training College.

ICT in education initiatives

Virtual initiatives in schools

Distance learning support by TV for school students

Established in 1996, DLTV currently broadcasts a total of 15 educational channels from Klaikangwon Palace School, Hua-Hin, providing educational benefits and equal opportunities to Thai students nationwide especially in the remote and far-reaching areas of the country where the lack of teachers is still a major challenge to the educational system. It broadcasts via the Ku-band beam on the THAICOM 5 satellite to more than 17,000 schools across the country and also to other viewers who subscribe to satellite providers of commercial television. In December 2008, the Thaicom Public Company Limited, Asia's leading commercial satellite operator and the operator of the IPSTAR satellite broadband system, announced it has renewed a 10-year contract with the Distance Learning Education via Satellite Foundation of Thailand (DLF) for three-quarters of one Ku-band transponder on the Thaicom 5 satellite to broadcast DLTV channels,

Virtual initiatives in post-secondary education

See the following:

• Thai Open University (STOU)
• Ramkhamhaeng University (public)
• Assumption University (private).

References

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