Thai students are dropping out of school in the middle of the academic year at quite a high rate, but the trend is likely to reverse soon, Education Minister Pol Gen Permpoon Chidchob said yesterday.
The latest data reveals there have been around 20,000 such students so far this year, he said.
Pol Gen Permpoon made the remarks after a meeting with Education Ministry executives and other officials, during which the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST) also provided an update on the improvements made by the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa).
Pisa is upgrading its courses, media, learning management models and assessment tools to make them suitable for students at all levels, he said, with more of a focus on critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and practical applications and research.
He said the IPST has also organised a training course on Pisa online testing targeting 21,985 officers at the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec), the Office of Private Education Commission (Opec), the Vocational Education Commission (VEC), the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), the Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Ministry, and the Department of Local Administration.
However, the results have not yet proven satisfactory. Pol Gen Permpoon said he has ordered that the target must be met this month.
The Department of Learning Encouragement (Dole) reported that 20,000 students have dropped out mid-year, mostly citing personal reasons and poor economic conditions.
Pol Gen Permpoon said he expects a smaller number to be reported on June 10 as several agencies are working on the problem.