Critics on both sides of the debate are voicing strong opinions about the government’s recent plan to reduce the homework load on Thai students.
Though the Education Ministry has written new guidelines that reduce students’ homework loads, some critics have argued that this policy only serves to indulge Thai youngsters. Former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has even gone so far as to call the plan a “junior populist policy.”
The Nation is also reporting that Professor Sirichai Kanjanawasee, former dean of the faculty of education at Chulalongkorn University, has raised concerns about the plan, saying that it may reduce the effectiveness of Thai educators. He pointed to a similar plan that the government embarked on 10 years ago, which caused Thai students’ test scores to slip.
Proponents of the plan, however, are insisting that a reduced homework load, especially for upper-secondary school students, will allow students to undertake more after-school activities and make a more thorough survey of their reduced filed of study.
The Office of the Basic Education Commission says that from next academic year onward, teachers will have to coordinate their lessons in order to adhere to the reduced homework scheme.
