YALA : A so-called Yala-style programme has been launched aiming to solve a wide range of education problems in the province of Yala.
Intended to promote integration among local organisations to improve the quality of education and to reduce student drop-out rates, it was inaugurated on Sunday by Yala governor Detrat Simsiri.
Mr Detrat said violence that has plagued the deep South over several years was partly to blame for educational problems while other causes were poverty and a lack of educational awareness among parents.
As a result, southern students have received low marks in the standardised Ordinary National Education Test (Onet) over the past few years, putting the South's educational level almost bottom of the national rankings, Mr Detrat said.
"Education problems in Yala have yet to be solved completely," he said.
"So I would like to announce the Yala-style educational model which will be a tool for educational development on the province's agenda.
"The model will integrate the working of all 35 related local agencies to improve the school system and create education opportunities for our children together," he said.
He said local agencies in Yala are still failing to collaborate in education, adding that they solved some problems but ignored others.
However, the new model would encourage those local agencies to help solve all problems.
He said the province focuses on the promotion of early childhood education for children up to five years of age.
"Proper education must be provided at this age as this is a crucial time for them to learn to develop their full potential and establish strong foundations for future learning.
"The Education Ministry, meanwhile, is duty-bound to oversee 12-year compulsory education for children aged six and older," he said.
Kraison Sritrairat, rector of Yala Rajabhat University and chairman of the Yala Learning Development Committee, said the so-called Yala style educational model was improved under the principle that children up to 18 years old must be given more attention.
"When local educational agencies have more cooperation, they are required to help identify a group of underprivileged children, what kinds of care they need and which organisations should take care of them," he said.
Currently, there are about 167,000 children under the age of 15 and about 12,000 of them are considered underprivileged. They can be divided into 25 categories such as children living in poverty, children with learning disorders and disabilities, children with drug addictions and victims of violence, he said.
Among those 12,000 underprivileged children, about 6,000 have dropped out of school. Under the model, local staff must find them and bring them back to school. The province expects to bring no less than 90% of those students back to school by 2015, he said.
Mr Kraisorn said about 70% of primary students are studying in government schools and 30% in private religious schools. At the secondary level, 70% are studying at private religious schools and 30% at governmental schools.
"Some education and ethics should be instilled in young children before entering primary school. They can make friends and their different cultures can be easily linked," he said.
"The ministry should look at Yala as a good model to bring all concerned bodies together," said Quality Learning Foundation (QLF) academic adviser Amornwit Nakonthap. The QLF provides academic and financial support to Yala to run its educational agenda.
Orawan Ruanghirun, director of Ban Mai (Wan Khru 1960) School in Yala's Betong district, said children with disabilities were often left behind in education.
Following the Yala agenda for educational development, the governor announced the establishment of a learning centre for children with disabilities in all eight districts. The centre recently opened at Ban Mai (Wan Khru 1960) School is the fourth of its kind and takes care of 30 disabled children.
"Education must be properly provided not only to healthy students, but also to those with disabilities in order to help them take care of themselves in the future,' Ms Orawan said.