School exam flexibility given a boost
The Independent Committee for Education Reform (ICER) has decided to delete a section in the Early Childhood Development Bill requiring schools not to arrange an entrance examination for Prathom 1 students.
Daranee Utairatanakit, deputy chairperson of the committee, said yesterday the drafted section was removed because there should be some flexibility for each school to manage their own policies for selecting students.
Ms Daranee also said the definition of a young child was amended from a maximum age of eight to a maximum age of six.
She went on to say the definition has been changed from “a newborn baby including a foetus to an 8-year-old” to “a newborn baby to a 6-year-old”.
She said the committee will propose the new draft Early Childhood Development Bill to the cabinet for consideration next Tuesday.
Ms Daranee yesterday revealed the updated version of the draft bill after many people disagreed with the section that requires all schools not to arrange an entrance examination for Prathom 1 students because they see that this matter must depend on each school’s individual consideration whether to organise the entrance examination for Prathom 1 students or not.
According to the bill, there will be a committee to regulate policies, rules, conditions and methods for selecting primary school students.
She said the bill is currently published on the Independent Committee for Education Reform website so the public can express their opinions on it.
Ms Daranee said it covers many aspects of education, including guidelines on development and learning among young children.
She said the committee will also propose the Educational Innovation Zone Bill to the cabinet for consideration on the same day. If the cabinet agrees with the two bills, they will be forwarded to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) for consideration, she said.
Dr Jaras Suwanmala, chairman of the committee, said a national education bill will be reviewed by the Office of the Council of State on Dec 14. Dr Jaras added that the cabinet initially agreed to enact the bill. If the cabinet approves it, it will be forwarded to the NLA for consideration.