Overview of Education in Thailand

Thailand is one of few countries that was never colonized, which has important implications for Thai education. The roots of Thai education go back over seven centuries when King Ramkhamhaeng the Great created the Thai writing script in 1283. In the pre-modern era, monks were the teachers, and temples were the schools. Thailand has had four major educational reforms, namely, (1) those of King Rama V the Great to secularize and expand education at the end of the nineteenth century, (2) reforms after the student revolution of October 1973, to bring greater unity and equity to the system, (3) Sukavich’s 1995–1996 reforms and the subsequent National Education Act of 1999 to restructure the Ministry of Education and to foster student-centered learning, and (4) the current reform to prepare students for the new 4.0 digital economy. The main provider of basic education is the Ministry of Education, while the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MHESI) (established in 2019) is now responsible for coordinating higher education. Besides, there are other different ministries and entities which offer various genres of education. The Thai system of education has had noteworthy accomplishments primarily related to improved physical infrastructures and massification. Thailand is now striving to achieve new outcomes of education in accordance with the latest national education standards (2018), namely, to nurture life-long learners, innovative co-creators, and active citizens. But there are major problems related to quality, inequalities and disparities, and inadequate commitment to research and development. Thailand’s future greatly depends on improving the quality of its educational system and the productivity of its people.