Thailand—Education System | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Known as Siam until 1939 and between 1945 and 1948, Thailand has been ruled by absolute monarchs from the founding of the nation in 1238. In 1932, it became a constitutional monarchy, and it remains so today. The current ruler, H. Bhumipol Adulyadej (King Rama IX) (b. 1927), who has shown a great commitment to education, is the longest-reigning monarch in the world. The fact that Thailand was never colonized has had important implications for the evolution of its educational system, which for the most part uses the Thai language and script.

Traditionally, Thai education took place in Buddhist temples (wat), and monks were the learned members of the community and teachers. Even today, so-called temple schools located on temple grounds account for 20 percent of the nation's schools. Temple schools were the dominant source of organized education from the thirteenth to the mid-nineteenth century. Buddhist priests provided both moral training and the basics of a literary culture. But since only men can be ordained as monks, the system discriminated against women.

Siam generally had an open attitude toward missionaries, and they were free to establish churches, schools, and medical facilities. A few Catholic missionaries arrived in the seventeenth century, but it was not until the early nineteenth century that missionaries were allowed to enter in substantial numbers. The missionary with the most enduring influence on Siamese education was Dan Beach Bradley, who served from 1835 to 1873 and introduced a printing press to produce materials in the Siamese alphabet. Missionary schools such as Mater Dei and Wattana are among Thailand's most prestigious.

King Chulalongkorn (1868–1910) is Thailand's most beloved monarch and was Siam's great modernizer and visionary. He was deeply committed to improving education in Siam, and also introduced fellowships to allow Siamese to study in Europe. Under his successor,King Wachirawut (Rama VI), (1911–1925), a compulsory education act was passed in 1921. By the time of the fall of the absolute monarchy in 1932, approximately 80 percent of the country had access to primary school facilities.

During the four decades that followed the establishment of a constitutional monarchy, Thai politics were dominated by the military, primarily under the leadership of the field marshals Pibul Songgram (1897–1964), Sarit Thanarat (1909–1963), and Thanom Kittikachorn (b. 1911). During this period there was a great quantitative expansion in Thai education, with the goal of providing every village with a school. Also, there was a significant expansion in secondary and higher education. Despite such expansion, the most common level of education for most Thais remained only the completion of four years of primary schooling, hardly adequate for sustaining literacy in a complex written language such as Thai. During the first part of this period, Thailand had a 4-3-3-2 structure of education, with four years of lower primary schooling, three years of upper primary, three years of lower secondary, and two years of upper secondary. The 1960 National Scheme of Education brought in a 7-3-2 system, with seven years of primary schooling, three years of lower secondary education, and two years of upper secondary.

Also during this period, there was a serious lack of unity in education. The powerful Ministry of the Interior, responsible for local government, was in control of most primary schools, while the Ministry of Education was responsible for most secondary schools, and the University Bureau (later to become the Ministry of University Affairs) was responsible for higher education. Largely as the result of a close Cold War alliance with the United States, Thailand received substantial foreign aid, which enabled many Thais, particularly in the civil service, to receive fellowships for graduate study in the United States.

Since 1973, democratic rule has mostly prevailed, with only two successful military coups (October 1976 and February 1991). A student revolution on 6 October 1973 led to the overthrow of the military dictatorship of Thanom and ushered in a number of political and educational reforms. Curricula were liberalized to include a diversity of ideological material, particularly from the left, that previously had been banned. There were deep concerns about excessive educational disparities, inequalities, and administrative inefficiencies resulting from a lack of unity in education.

Two major changes emerging from this period were a new National Scheme of Education (approved in 1977), which established a 6-3-3 education structure. With six instead of seven years of primary education, universal primary education was more attainable. Under the previous seven-year primary system, many rural youth were completing only four years of education. The second change, approved in 1980, was the return of the control of primary education to the Ministry of Education from the Ministry of Interior. This period saw the continued expansion of education at all levels. By 1980, Thailand had more than three hundred colleges.

The 1980s and early 1990s saw Thailand achieve rapid macroeconomic growth led by rapid export expansion and industrialization. With an abundant supply of cheap labor, Thailand became an attractive site for offshore manufacturing, particularly from Japan. However, as wages rose in the mid-1990s, Thailand's international competitiveness declined. With its workforce's relatively low average level of education, Thailand's ability to raise its productivity was limited.

Thailand's economic crisis became globally known on 2 July 1997, when the government allowed the Thai baht to devalue. Thailand subsequently went into its worst economic recession since the end of World War II. However, as an important part of the response to the crisis, major political and economic reforms have been introduced. In the education area, a new National Education Law, mandated by the new 1997 constitution and promulgated in August 1999, makes nine years of education compulsory and requires that all Thai citizens be guaranteed twelve years of free education. The law also mandates the implementation of key education reforms. Two key elements of the reform are decentralization of education to Local Education Areas and school-based management and the reform of learning to a participative learner-center approach. To the extent that these reforms can become reality, Thailand's opportunities to be internationally competitive and improve its standard of living will be dramatically enhanced.

Gerald Fry

Amnuay Tapingkae and Louis J. Setti, eds. (1973) Education in Thailand: Some Thai Perspectives. Washington, DC: U.S. Office of Education, Institute of International Studies.

Bennett, Nicolas. (1975) Problems of Financing: The Thai Educational System during the 1960s and 1970s. Paris: UNESCO Press.

Buchmann, Claudia, and Dan Brakewood. (2000) "Labor Structures and School Enrollments in Developing Societies: Thailand and Kenya Compared." Comparative Education Review 44, 2: 175–204.

Fry, Gerald W., and Ken Kempner. (1996) "A Subnational Paradigm for Comparative Research: Education and Development in Northeast Brazil and Northeast Thailand." Comparative Education 32, 3: 333–360.

Knodel, John. (1997) "The Closing of the Gender Gap in Schooling: The Case of Thailand." Comparative Education 33, 1: 61–86.

Office of the National Education Commission (ONEC). (1999) National Education Act of B. E. 2542 (1999). Bangkok, Thailand: ONEC, Office of the Prime Minister.

——. (2001) Education in Thailand: 2001/2002. Bangkok, Thailand: ONEC, Office of the Prime Minister.

Sobsan Utakrit. (1999) "The Technical-Vocational Education and Training System in Thailand." International Journal of Sociology 29, 1: 42–65.

Suwanwela, C. (1996) "Academic Freedom and University Autonomy in Thailand." Higher Education Policy 9, 4: 277

Varaporn Bovornsiri, Pornlert Uampuang, and Gerald W. Fry. (1996) "Cultural Influences on Higher Education in Thailand." In Comparative Perspectives on the Social Role of Higher Education. New York: Garland, 55–77.

Watson, Keith. (1980) Educational Development in Thailand. Hong Kong: Heinemann Asia.

Witte, Joanna. (2000) "Education in Thailand after the Crisis: A Balancing Act between Globalization and National Self-contemplation." International Journal of Educational Development 20, 3: 223–246.

Wyatt, David. (1969) The Politics of Reform in Thailand: Education in the Reign of King Chulalongkorn. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

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