Thai news in brief – January 14
One in three children Thailand, or 5 million children under the age of 15, belong to a risk group. They drop out of school, roam the streets, commit offences, become pregnant, use drugs, are stateless without rights, have learning difficulties, are disabled or are extremely poor. This is evident from figures from Child Watch.
The number of children who commit offenses increased from 34.211 in 2005 to 46.981 in 2009. The number of unmarried mothers increased from 42.434 to 67.958 during that period.
School dropout rates are high in rural areas. 89 percent of the students pass Prathom 6 (our group 8), 79 percent Mathayom 3 and 55 percent Mathayom 6. According to Child Watch, the schools in the most developed areas receive three times as much money as the least developed.
Today, Children's Day is celebrated with all kinds of festivities.
– Five rangers of national park Kaeng Krachan (Petchaburi) are suspected of poaching elephants. An arrest warrant has been issued against them. Five elephants were recently found in the park, shot and burned. The suspects are charged with tampering with evidence and conspiracy to sell the carcasses, among other charges.
– The cabinet will be busy during its two-day meeting in Chiang Mai, which starts today. Chiang Mai has made proposals for 37 projects, including a water management system, construction of a ring road and various public facilities. Chiang Mai University calls for a health center and a technology and creativity park. Lamphun wants to expand highway 106 and implement anti-flood measures for industrial areas. Finally, the Chambers of Commerce in the north are calling for the construction of a tunnel between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son.
– Floods and heavy rains continue to plague the extreme South. Many houses and rubber plantations were flooded yesterday when the Sai Buri River overflowed its banks. In some places in Narathiwat province, the water is starting to recede, but in Sukhirin district, 195 families are temporarily camping in army tents. The main river in the province, Sungai Kolok, is at risk of flooding. Another 30 cm and then the water flows over the banks.
In Phatthalung province, water from the mountains flooded two canals in Tamot district. Eight villages were flooded. In one village the water is 50 cm to 1 meter high. Rubber plantations – a total of 1.000 rai – have been destroyed in the Pa Bon district. New floods are expected in the province.
– A group of 26 academics from seven universities and institutes oppose any proposal to amend Article 112 (lese-majeste) of the Criminal Code. According to the group, changes could jeopardize the monarchy. According to one of the academics, the article is the target of a 'political dictatorial group that does not care about the population'. The group yesterday launched the Siam Pracha Piwat group, which aims to "heal the deteriorating Thai society."
– If it is up to the Minister of Defense, the next of kin of the 87 people who died in October 2004 in the mass slaughter in Tak Bai (Narathiwat) will also receive compensation. This week the cabinet decided to compensate all victims of political violence between 2005 and 2010. Relatives of fatal victims will receive 4,5 million baht, 3 million for the tragic loss and 250.000 baht for funeral expenses. The cabinet has allocated 2 billion baht for this.
Soldiers killed or injured during the disturbances are covered by an already existing private scheme, which provides for a life insurance payment and an amount of 25 times their wages. According to army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha, the government and the defense minister have promised to change the scheme and increase the compensation.
– The death of Khattiya Sawatdipol, better known as Seh Daeng, is being re-investigated because new information has become known. Khattiya, head of security for the red shirts last year, was shot dead by a sniper as he was talking to journalists.
– During his visit to the Ministry of Education on Monday, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will give a 20-minute English lesson to 100 children. The Ministry has declared 2012 the English Speaking Year.
– The President of the House has again thrown a ball about the location of the new parliament building. A golf course in Nonthaburi and a piece of land in Saraburi seem like suitable locations. The committee in charge of construction will meet on Tuesday to discuss whether the planned location on the banks of the Chao Praya will be exchanged for another. The Yothin Burana school is still located at that location. The school's application for a 600 million baht relocation allowance has not yet been approved by the cabinet.
– The Foundation for Consumers has gone to court because of the price increase of CNG and LPG on January 16. She has sued the Prime Minister, Cabinet, Energy Minister, National Energy Policy Committee and producer PTT Plc. According to the foundation, the price increase is against the law.
– The police in Sakon Nakhon have asked the court for an arrest warrant for a local politician, who is suspected of running an illegal dog meat trade. The police raided three dog kennels that he allegedly owned. In addition, 4.000 dogs were seized.
– There are two problems looming with the transfer of the interest payment on the government's FIDF debt to the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF), part of the Bank of Thailand (BoT). The government has authorized the FIDF to levy a 1 percent levy on commercial banks' deposits, including the 0,4 percent that banks already pay to the Deposit Protection Agency to insure their deposits.
But that 0,4 percent is already the highest in Asia, says BoT Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul. A second problem is that an increase would widen the gap between commercial banks and government banks, such as the Government Savings Bank and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, because they do not pay the levy.
FIDF debt consists of liabilities incurred during the 1997 financial crisis to support ailing banks and financial institutions. A debt of 1,14 trillion baht remains. The government wants to get rid of the annual interest payments of 45-50 million baht to create room in the budget for investments in water management.
www. dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post.
I was very shocked by the news about the children of Thailand.
I knew there were problems, but it wasn't that bad.
Where should that go? The children are the future of your country.
If you handle that so badly, you don't think about the future either.
Cor.
What surprises me is that I am now the only one with a reach about the children of Thailand. Where are all those people who are always so fond of this country and think that all very nice people live there or do you just come on holiday and don't know any better? I know better.
Cor.
Let me reassure Mr van Kampen. It seems like 1 in 3 children with problems, but take a look at the list of all those problems: no fewer than 9 types! This also includes issues such as learning problems (a quarter of all children have this), drugs, which also include alcohol consumption, and circumstances that the child cannot do much about themselves, such as statelessness (among the hill tribes), disabilities and extreme poverty. I am almost certain that if you were to add up all these problems in the Netherlands, you would end up with approximately the same number, as much as 20% of the Dutch youth are found to use excessive alcohol, for example.
Look at education. In 1975, Thai children received an average of 4 (four!!) years of education, now the average is 12 years and that improvement is still ongoing. (The quality has suffered but you can't do everything at once). And that increase in the number of violations and pregnancy is certainly also due to better reporting. In short, plenty of problems, but let's put these figures into perspective. There is something in between: how terrible it is all here and how wonderful it is. Let me put it this way: I see constant progress over the past 30 years, without wanting to gloss over the current problems.
Dear Tina,
Undoubtedly, the number of years of education per Thai child will have increased in recent years, but that children now receive an average of 12 years of education does not seem right to me. Just look at the school drop-out figures in rural areas. I don't know what the average is though.
Dear Dick,
Alain Mounier et al. , Education and Knowledge in Thailand, Silkworm Books, 2010, gives that number of average 12 years of education for Thai students on p. 33. (2007 figures). Of all children between the ages of 3 and 18, 80% attended some form of education. Don't forget that there are 2.5 million Thai students in higher education, which brings the average to 12 years, despite indeed many dropouts in primary and secondary education. Let me also mention the astonishing figures from the Netherlands: 25% drop-out rate in secondary education (some of which return to study later) and even 40% in secondary vocational education, one of the highest in Europe. It is always useful to compare figures from Thailand with those from other countries, as that puts things into perspective.
Dear Tina,
Thank you for referring to this book. I like responses that are properly reasoned and based on facts. I had the image of primary and secondary education in mind, but had forgotten that there is also such a thing as higher education.
It is indeed useful to compare figures, provided they are comparable. The dropout rate in FEB in the Netherlands is alarming. In my opinion, the old LTS plus further education should never have been killed.
I found what I read about the school system interesting:
Prathom 6 our group 8
Mathayom 3 and 6
How does the school system actually work?
Submit that question to the editor.
I only know that Prathom consists of six grades and Mathayom of grades 3 and 6. As far as I know, compulsory education is 9 years. Many children leave secondary school after 3 years. To be admitted to class 4, an exam must be taken. Students switch schools
Prior to Prathom, children go to kindergarten which I believe consists of 2 grades.
After Mathoyom 6, children can continue their studies at a College or University. A college offers pre-vocational education.
@Henk and Dick: the education system in Thailand is described very extensively on Wikipedia, in English, but very clear:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Thailand
Dear Tino, what are you talking about. Alcohol abuse of our youth.
I am now 67 years old. When I was 15 we already drank a beer.
Have you ever seen the program other times on TV? That was the last thing about the Provo time. What happened to our youth then was unbelievable.
They all turned out nicely. Many highly educated and famous writers have emerged from it. Despite that drink, I myself have never been unemployed and
eventually ended up as a manager of a large company.
I think you are one of the characters who do not live in Thailand yourself. Every day I see children walking on the street whose parents have no money to send them to school and later take jaba pills (which is slightly different from a butt of marijuana) and end up in the criminal environment. The poor areas in particular are having a hard time. The Netherlands is still far ahead in terms of education.
If you have ever delved into the education here (I taught here myself) that is
still very far from what it should be.
What Dick writes comes from the Thai newspaper itself. Your comment makes no sense.
Cor.
Dear Cornelius,
You have a matter-of-fact response and a very personal one, perhaps I should call it a personal attack, which often happens when arguments fall short.
Commercial. Thai education is definitely not where it should be in terms of quality, but it has made great progress in the past 40 years. The money was spent on increasing the number of pupils who could attend education and little was available for quality improvement. That'll come. As I wrote above, in the Netherlands there is no less than 15% dropout rate in all secondary education and 40% in secondary vocational education. I think you should not extend your local situation to the whole of Thailand. If you unleash Child Watch on the Netherlands, 1 in 3 students with problems will also come forward. I do not deny the problems, but I do want to put them into perspective, with arguments.
Personal. I have been living in Thailand for 12 years, living after my divorce, together with my 12 year old son who went to regular Thai education for 6 years (now half a year at an international school), I taught English at two secondary schools for 2 years, I speak and write Thai fluently and have a Thai high school diploma and have contacts in all walks of life in Thailand. So I am not “one of those people”, I know what I am talking about. I hate having to write all this down, it sounds so boastful, but you provoked it yourself and I won't let that get to me. By the way, we have one thing in common, I am also 67 years old!
Thank you Gringo and Dick.
Had done some magic myself but mainly struggled with the search term.
I had already edited my response above several times for publication because I was already struggling with the text there too.
I find it ridiculous that my answer to Tino Kuis has not been posted.
I defend myself and excuse my prejudgment that he may not have lived in Thailand. He is talking about my local situation, or that I have never been beyond my surroundings. That is also a judgment that he knows nothing about.
I didn't write the manager's story because I'm so great but me
wanted to indicate that it all turned out well with those old Provos.
Furthermore, I have also taught at Thai schools and know a thing or two
about education here. I also indicated that by embarrassment for the environment
sitting down does not exist and that a large part of the teachers did not require it
level (all just from the Bangkok post) to teach.
Then for dessert he also comes up with the story "I speak and write Thai fluently".
That is for others to judge. I have written that I myself would not
dare to say “while I taught English” that I am a master at it.
I don't even brag about my Dutch.
I've been blogging for a few years now.
Not allowed to defend me and without comment (not even an email) my reaction
places really disappointed me.
For me, life goes on without a Thai blog.
Cor.
Still forgotten. The text. I have contacts in all layers of the Thai population.
My pants off.
Cor.
@ Cor, read the rules of Thailandblog again. Breaking the rules means we won't post your comment.