Innovate to educate

Due to a shortage of teachers in many important subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths; STEM), Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin has allowed graduates from the non-education field to apply for teaching positions. I wholeheartedly support both the education minister and PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s stance in preparing Thai students to be competitive in the workforce.

Thailand’s education is in crisis. Students’ academic results are appalling by international standards, as are the standards of teachers’ competency. The government is trying to address this, but faces fierce opposition from the Education Deans Council of Thailand (EDCT), whose very role should be promoting innovation in education.

Let me state the obvious: We would not have education crisis today if the education agencies had done their job properly. There is a teacher shortage, especially in STEM subjects plus English, biology, physics, and chemistry, precisely because these subjects are difficult to master. Hence, the need to recruit graduates from those fields.

To be sure, having the necessary knowledge and imparting it to students are different matters altogether. Some teachers can teach well, while others with indeed years of training in education don’t seem to perform well. What is the missing link? Passion. Teachers with a passion for their students’ learning and outcomes, who in later years are still in contact with their former students — are the ones deserving praise. Accordingly, although earning an education degree will entitle that person to a teaching licence, it in no way guarantees the passion needed to gain students’ attention and respect, as evidenced by the low academic achievement today.

I’ll go as far as to say that in Thailand’s case, what we need immediately in the education sector are people with STEMrelated degrees and English majors to enter the teaching profession more than education graduates. First, master that knowledge, then get some teaching experience and do training courses to be eligible for a permanent teaching licence. Exactly what the Education Ministry is attempting to do — opening up a second track for non-education major graduates to teach.

By the way, if it takes five years for students majoring in education to earn a degree, the programme curriculum needs to be revised. A bachelor’s of education from Melbourne University, ranked first in Australia and 33rd in the world in 2015, is a four-year full-time programme, with 80 days of supervised teaching practice.

It’s time to open up education to competition. EDWARD KITLERTSIRIVATANA