I CAME ACROSS a piece of news saying that the permanent secretary of Finance had explained to the National Economic and Social Development Board's (NESDB) advisory council that, in the coming year, about Bt1.06 trillion under the 'Thai Khemkhaeng' [Invest for Strength] budget would be invested in various areas that would benefit the Thai people nationwide.
He clearly indicated the implementation of this budget would result in: 1) an increase in arable land with proper irrigation by one million rai; 2) a reduction in logistics costs from 19-20 per cent to 16 per cent; 3) all public roads paved with asphalt; 4) the improvement of 2,900 substandard schools to the required standard and the reduced ratio of students to computers from 38:1 to 20:1; and 5) many more hospital beds for Thai people across the nation.
I found this was the most meaningful way to provide information about the Thai Khemkhaeng budget as it pointed to the concrete benefits of how Thai people would gain from this budget, which can be considered a measurable target.
From this good outset, I would request the ministry of Finance, be it by the minister or the permanent secretary, to provide additional details for clearer pictures which would make the public perceive the good intentions of this government.
At the same time, it would help create a proper method of informing the public on what can be expected from the government budget in a measurable form, easily followed by the general public and members of parliament (MPs).
Additional information I suggested should be provided includes: 1) where the additional one million rai with proper irrigation would be - exactly which districts or provinces, so people and MPs of these constituencies can follow up what is intended for them; 2) the reduction of logistics costs from 19-20 per cent to 16 per cent was quite difficult to comprehend and can easily be manipulated. Why not provide easier targets such as the length of dual track railroads to be constructed, facilities for waterway transportation and any other logistic projects that can be identified? 3) the whereabouts and the length of roads to be paved by asphalt, allowing people in each locality and their MPs to keep track; 4) the lifting of substandard schools to a desirable standard is quite subjective. It would be easier to understand if details were provided like the number of classrooms to be built, teaching equipment to be provided, and additional budgets for certain improvement work. The student to computer ratio is an example of a good target; 5) the number of beds to be increased should be announced as well as the number of buildings and medical equipment to be provided out of this budget.
This information is normally available in the process of budget preparation. The announcement of these details would assure the public that this government is doing things in a transparent manner. People and their MPs can then give a hand in monitoring the construction and the procurement of various items announced in the budget for their localities.
Among the five targets indicated by the permanent secretary of Finance, I believe : the increase of additional land with proper irrigation would likely be achieved, the asphalt pavement of all public roads could possibly be completed, the increase in hospital beds as planned would likely be successful, and the construction of a dual track railroad and other logistic projects would also be implemented as planned.
EDUCATION THE WEAK POINT
The very target I doubt as achievable is the uplift of about 2,900 substandard schools to standard ones.
The improvement of a school does not depend only upon the addition of buildings, classrooms, teaching equipment, and other physical facilities.
It also depends on the improvement of teaching talent and the textbooks used for each subject.
Among a large number of teachers countrywide, there are normally gaps in teaching talent.
Under the existing administrative system of the minister of Education, only teachers with higher ability are selected to teach in schools in Bangkok and urban areas while schools in remote areas are left with those of lower talent.
Such a gap in teaching talent between schools in big cities and those in remote areas is quite worrisome.
The Thai Khemkhaeng budget would provide more budgets for school buildings, classrooms, improvement of libraries, purchase of more computers and other needed educational equipment.
However, I have never heard of a project to effectively uplift the talent of school teachers in remote areas.
The normally offered training program to improve teaching skills does help, but it is not enough to close such a big gap among teaching talent. Some gurus who follow the movement in the ministry of Education told me the administration system measuring teachers' performance, the reward system, and the promotion system, including job rotation for teachers, have changed a lot from the good old days and gradually led to the widening talent gap between teachers in urban areas and remote areas. This may partly be true.
Those who know well the cause of this talent gap are the government officials now in the driving seat in the ministry of Education.
I would be grateful if the Minister of Education would take a lead in working with high ranking officials in the ministry to find proper solutions for narrowing the talent gap rapidly, as the situation now is almost beyond rescue.
Beside the teaching talent, another factor that affects the education standard is the textbook used for each subject.
Up until 1999, every school used the same principle textbook for each core subject as determined by the Ministry of Education. There was no difference between schools on this issue of textbook.
The 1999 Education Act introduced the free choice system for textbooks, under which teachers in each school area are allowed to choose textbooks and extract lessons from various books produced and published by various commercial firms.
However, as teachers' talent varies, those with high ability in Bangkok and urban area schools are able to choose the right textbooks and extract proper lessons from various textbooks to produce additional reading material for students. Teachers with limited talent in remote areas cannot do the same.
Worse is the fact that in various remote areas, teachers are not the ones who choose the textbooks.
Some schools still have to depend on the budget of the local administrative bodies and, in many cases, it is the administrator of such local bodies who selects the textbooks.
Many times, textbooks are chosen by the price criteria or even worse by the special relation with the selling companies.
As a consequence, many schools in remote areas are now using textbooks of inferior quality.
No one has ever seriously attempted to solve this problem. That is the main reason why I do not believe that an uplift of standard among the 2,900 substandard schools countrywide can be achieved.
Until next Monday.
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