After a formal address at Government House Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont greets a group of students who have volunteered to work for an education development programme in the South. — APICHIT JINAKUL

Education's role in
building a richer Thailand

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) recently met in Singapore to discuss Asia's growing influence on the rest of the world.

Some politicians at the meeting raised concerns, however, about a possible economic meltdown in the region. This issue on the table, despite continuing robust growth by regional behemoths China and India, reflects deep concerns running back to the 1997 economic crisis.

Thai Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn, at the meeting held between June 24-25, called for leaders to be vigilant and warned it was possible that future economic problems in the region could manifest themselves in new ways. The previous crash of the Thai baht could be repeated without proper precautions, he said.

Asean Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong raised the point that all markets in this region are now interrelated, and echoed Chalongphob's concerns.

A ride on the subway! First stop politics

Meanwhile, far from the halls of Asean, local economics in Thailand are at work on the streets at a microeconomic level, with sometimes disturbing results. I was unnerved by two articles published in the Bangkok Post on June 19, concerning rallies against the Council for National Security (CNS).

I enjoyed the information concerning political jargon in the articles; the English equivalent has always fascinated me. However, the introduction to one article said funds were needed to pay protesters, especially from rural areas, to join the rallies.

I was shocked. My impression, apparently false, was always that people rallied because they felt strongly about a particular point of view. I had never considered that a protest against the government could be done solely for financial reward.

My feeling of confusion turned to exasperation when I next came across a letter to the newspaper's "Postbag" from Kenny Marshall. He pointed out that a previous report in the Bangkok Post explained that protesters were bussed in from villages to protest in exchange for a ticket on the subway operated by Bangkok Metro. The ticket was delivered after they participated in the protest.

Education is the answer

I cannot help but think after reflecting on the two situations above that education of people from walks of life is the solution. If quality education reached people from even the poorest classes of the nation it would have an effect on issues ranging from protesters-for-rent to Asean's concerns about another economic crash in Thailand.

Lessons from the financial debacle a decade ago should be learned and studied. If they are, Thailand could strengthen its financial position, in not only Asean, but the rest of the world.

It is the same as learning English. If you don't make mistakes and understand them, there is no way effective learning can take place.

One old adage says, "If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything."

People from poorer backgrounds cannot be blamed for accepting payments to attend rallies in Bangkok. I am of the opinion that the real culprits and manipulators are the people paying them. These people should reflect on the damage they are causing to society by their actions.

Sharing knowledge and responsibility

Knowledge is power, and there seems to be a tendency in Thailand for those with knowledge not to share it. This is especially disconcerting among teachers whose job it is to share information. Teachers often attend courses to better themselves, but do not share what they learned.

A teacher's learning is passed to students only through his willingness to teach, and this process fails if teachers return to their schools and decide to keep what they have learned to themselves. This sort of selfish learning interrupts the flow of information to those students that probably need it most.

Education breeds social responsibility, which in turn has an effect on economic performance. Additionally, I believe that education influences economic performance, and a country with an educated workforce will almost always outperform a less educated competitor.

But I also feel that a country that is performing well economically has a social responsibility to ensure all members of its communities are looked after.

The national government has that social responsibility and on a positive note should be commended for its recent plans, under the Ministry of Education, to build more secondary schools. This expansion follows a temporary solution adopted by the Basic Education Commission to increase class sizes at public secondary schools from 45 to 50 students.

The project was put forward to answer increasing demand in the suburban communities of Bangkok, and is a step towards providing better education for children.

In my opinion, what is needed now is a concerted effort by all parties to learn from past mistakes and take responsibility for our actions. Only then can we pave the way for education reform and for a bright economic future for all.

Steven Graham is an English language teacher at the Language Center, Udon Thani Rajabhat University in northeast Thailand. If there are any comments or areas for debate that you would like to discuss, you can contact Steve at: shed_chelsea@hotmail.co.uk .