TEACHING SYSTEM

Known to be one of the few countries in the world that have never been colonized by European powers, Thailand developed its own education system in a mostly indigenous manner, following its own trajectory. The birth of the country’s formal education system is marked when the Thai alphabet was developed under King Rakhambaeng the Great during the late 13th century. People who were considered aristocrats were educated in Royal institutions of instruction while commoners receive their education at Buddhist monasteries.

Today, Thailand is making its own way towards an increased integration into the global education community, emphasizing the collaborations made with its regional partners, specifically ASEAN countries. Thus, taking part in this SEA-Teacher project heightens the possibility of extending linkages and developing an in-depth understanding of what each country needs and how the members of the ASEAN community contribute to the growing body of each country’s academic system and Asia as a whole. The number of collaborative programs between Thai and other foreign higher institutions is vividly rising with the support of its government which placed an emphasis on the internationalization of Thai education system in the current years.

Similar to my home country, the Philippines, not all education institutions in Thailand follow the same academic calendar. In 2014, the academic year which used to start in June and end in March was changed to August to May in order to coincide with the academic year that the rest of the ASEAN countries follow. Currently, VRU follows the June to March academic calendar. Other elementary and secondary schools still use the old academic year resulting to a mismatch between secondary schools and some universities that continue to use the ASEAN calendar.

The medium of instruction across education institutions is generally Thai, except for a small number of private institutions and international study programs that mainly use the English language for instruction.

Elementary Education

The compulsory education in Thailand refers to the first nine years of “basic education” which encompasses six years of elementary school and three years of lower secondary school. Thai children can only be enrolled in elementary school as soon as they reach the age of six and will attend for six years (Prathom 1 to Prathom 6). Some prestigious schools in some of the urban areas in Thailand used to require an entrance examination but generally the admission is free. Elementary schools hold classes not more than five hours a day, so as not to exceed the maximum learning time of 1,000 hours per year.

Lower and Upper Secondary Education

At the age of 12, the secondary education begins consisting of three years of lower secondary education called Matthayom 1 (Grade 7) to Matthayom 3 (Grade 9) and three years of upper secondary education namely Matthayom 4 (Grade 10) to Matthayom 6 (Grade 12). Compulsory education ends at Matthayom 3 (Grade 9), after which, the student can now decide whether to pursue upper secondary education through a general academic, university-preparatory track or continue one’s education in a more employment -geared vocational school programs.