The first formal comprehensive education plan was introduced
in 1932. This plan highlighted four years of elementary education
and eight years of secondary schooling. This system was further refined
in 1936, when five levels of education were featured; preprimary or
kindergarten, primary, secondary, pre-university, and higher education.
The educational plan of 1951 was noteworthy in that it facilitated special
and adult education.
As part of the emphasis on national development since 1960, a major
goal of the educational system has been to harmonize and comply with economic
and political plans. The government faced the challenge of widespread illiteracy,
as well as the massive task of training young men and women for the dynamic
development process in the shortest time possible. Recently, it has had to
modify instruction to include the specialized skills required by industries
such as computer science and environmental engineering, together with new branches
of medicine.
The most recent changes were brought about by the educational plan of 1977,
which called for six years of compulsory primary schooling, three years of lower
secondary education for those who plan to enter special occupations and three years
of upper secondary education for those who wish or enter higher education or a university.
This system was launched in May 1978, beginning with the first grade at both the
primary and secondary levels, and continued until the cycle of six grades at both
levels was fully implemented in 1983.
The current system of formal education consists of four levels of education:
one or two years of pre-school education; six years of compulsory primary education;
six years of secondary education: three years at the lower secondary level and
three years at the upper secondary level and higher education.
Efforts to raise the overall educational standards of the nation to meet the
development needs in technology and advanced agricultural methods result n the
expansion of basic education from six to nine years, covering six years of primary
education and three years of lower-secondary education, in rural areas to form a
broader basis for future training and employment.
Classroom atmosphere
 |
|
H.R.H. Pricess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has always paid
special attention to education for young people.
Girl-guides and crippled boyscouts stand hand in hand during
their gathering.
UNESCO also provided assistance to the Department of
General Education in its production of AIDS educational
materials and its training of teachers.
The Science School; Mahidol Witthayanuson, is a secondary school
that promotes mathematics and science teaching learning at the
upper secondary level. It is located in the group of Mahidol
University on Salaya Campus in Nakhon Pathom Province.
|
