International Review of Education (2008) 54:763–771 DOI 10.1007/s11159-008-9106-z


Springer 2008

THAILAND’S PATH TO LITERACY SOMBAT SUWANPITAK

Literacy enjoys a high priority in Thailand as an essential prerequisite for national development and a key factor in determining the quality of life. This is not something new. In fact Thailand has a long history of promoting literacy, ranging from the Sukhothai period, when the Thai alphabets were invented, to the early period of Chakri Dynasty. However, formal and systematic efforts to tackle the illiteracy problem in Thailand started during the Second World War. Today the government tries hard to provide people with easy access to continuing lifelong learning to serve the main objectives of the National Education Act of Thailand. The history of literacy promotion in Thailand since the Second World War can essentially be divided into five periods.

The first period (1940–1947) In 1932, during the reign of the King Rama VII, the Kingdom of Thailand, which until then had been an absolute monarchy, changed into a constitutional monarchy with a peaceful revolution led by high-ranking military officers and civil servants, all of them commoners. After the revolution King Rama VII abdicated. The Revolutionary Party proclaimed the so-called Six Principles as guidelines for national development, one of which stated, ‘‘Education shall be provided fully for the people’’. According to the first national census conducted by the Ministry of Interior in 1937, out of the population of 14,464,105 there were 6,888,548 illiterate people, accounting for 47.63% of the total population. The new government saw the eradication of illiteracy as an urgent priority and an essential prerequisite for enabling the people of Thailand to become active democratic citizens. In 1940 the government declared that citizens had the duty to learn to read and write the Thai language and to assist others in becoming literate. From then on adult education played a vital role in eradicating illiteracy. As part of this effort, the Adult Education Division, attached to the Office of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, was established on 6 August, 1940 to further mass literacy as its main goal. A literacy campaign was then launched during the years 1940–1947, as the first systematic attempt of the government to tackle the illiteracy problem. The target clients were mostly adults. In this period, basic literacy was defined as the ability to read and write simple Thai sentences in adult language, as well as to understand the essential duties of the citizen in a

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democratic system. In addition, the government decided to embark on a nation-wide campaign to eradicate illiteracy by providing education for outof-school people. Adult education was thus formally introduced. The first literacy campaign was remarkably successful, enabling 1.4 million adults to read and write and reducing the number of adult illiterates in the age range 20–45 from 6.8 million to 5.4 million or about one in every five. Apart from this, in late 1943 a law was promulgated that all citizens aged between 20 and 45 who were still illiterate had to pay an annual education fee of 5 baht until they could prove themselves literate, based on the criteria specified by the Ministry of Education. The law was, however, never implemented because of the urgency of the war situation, and in 1945 it was repealed. The success in reducing the illiteracy rate was therefore not due to this law but rather to the government’s ceaseless campaign to encourage people to participate in the programme on a voluntary basis. The second period (1948–1960) While the country was recovering from the Second World War adult education in Thailand slowed down temporarily, but soon gathered momentum again. A very important factor in this was the support of UNESCO, which Thailand joined in 1945. UNESCO realized the importance of literacy in furthering better international understanding and promoting world peace and equality. The definition of literacy was defined more broadly than in the first period by adding numeracy as well as some knowledge and skills necessary for the improvement of everyday life. Also, adult education was no longer confined to the domain of literacy but expanded to include fundamental vocational skills training and education for community development. In 1960 the first National Scheme of Education was launched and compulsory education was expanded from 4 to 7 years. One of the reasons was that 4 years of schooling was deemed inadequate to prevent a relapse into illiteracy. The third period (1961–1976) This period saw significant developments in the concepts of literacy and nonformal education, including the introduction of the term ‘‘functional literacy’’. At an international conference sponsored by UNESCO in Teheran in 1965, the concept of ‘‘work-oriented functional literacy’’ was introduced. The conference participants agreed that literacy alone was not sufficient to improve the quality of life. Vocational skills also needed to be a part of basic education so that adult learners could acquire knowledge that would improve their standard of living. An integrated curriculum was then developed by the Ministry of Education, in which literacy was taught along with vocational skills. The Division of Adult Education developed its own curricula geared

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more specifically to adult learners. The Ministry also targeted illiterate adults aged 14 or more through its Functional Literacy Programme. These had either never been to school or had dropped out and could not read and write the Thai language even at a simple level. The Work-Oriented Functional Literacy Programme was launched in 1968 in Lampang province. Later on it became simply the Functional Literacy Programme. The emphasis was on developing problem-solving skills to assist the learners in identifying problems, studying their causes, analysing their personal beliefs and identity, examining their social and cultural environment, assessing the importance of new technical knowledge, and finding intelligent solutions to problems. This approach is known as khit-pen which literally means ‘‘able to think’’. In brief, the khit-pen philosophy, introduced by Dr. Kowit Vorapipatana on the international stage, is a new philosophical approach utilized to help the learners solve their problems by themselves by using three kinds of knowledge, namely academic knowledge, self knowledge and environmental knowledge. During the period 1971–1982, the Functional Literacy Programme was used to promote adult literacy though a course lasting 6 months or 200 hours. The course included issues of family planning and self-reliance and also incorporated the khit-pen philosophy into the learning–teaching process. In this period too the non-formal education educators began to pay more attention to andragogy – the science of teaching adults – and to apply it more systematically in courses for adult learners. Non-formal education educators and practitioners were trained to become more sensitive to the needs of diverse target groups. Later, specific approaches were developed for each region, based on the needs and problems of particular groups such as Buddhist monks, northern hill tribes, southern Thai Muslims etc.

The fourth period (1977–1997) The important policy in this period was a new national scheme of education which was promulgated in 1978, imposing six years of compulsory education throughout the country. This was the thing that helped promote equality of opportunity in basic education. Enrollment of children aged 7–12 rose to 83.3% in 1980. Equality between males and females with regard to literacy has been less of a problem in Thailand than in many other countries, owing to the fact that the country has made strenuous efforts to promote equal rights and opportunities among men and women. While the previous plans failed to set any clear goals with regard to illiteracy, the Fifth National Economic and Social Development Plan (1982–1986) was the first plan in which the government clearly and simply stipulated the target of reducing the rate of illiteracy from an estimated 14.5% in 1981 to 10.5% by the end of 1986 for the age group 14–50, with an emphasis on the

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rural population. Accordingly, the plan was to reach 1.5 million illiterates within 5 years. Adult education has over half a century contributed to liberation of the underprivileged masses through the reduction of illiteracy and the diffusion of knowledge and information to the rural poor, helping them to realize their own individual capacity to grow and to direct their own fate. It has contributed to post-school continuing education as a major part of lifelong education and has helped to bring the benefits of education to a broader spectrum of Thai society. The underlying conceptual framework was influenced by three important events, two of which took place in Thailand. The first was the Fourth World Assembly on Adult Education in Bangkok, hosted by International Council for Adult Education (ICAE), at which HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn made a keynote address inviting the participants to ‘‘join in making a literate world’’. The second was the World Conference on Education for All, held in Jomtien in 1990 and hosted by World Bank, UNICEF, UNESCO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The third was the Fifth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA V), held in Hamburg, Germany, in 1997 and coordinated by the UNESCO Institute for Education, precursor to the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL). After these landmark events, literacy and education for adults ceased to be seen as a privilege for few and came to be considered as belonging to the basic right of every Thai. Literacy was also identified as a key factor in the liberation of the individual from ignorance, as a foundation for broad-based democratic participation and as a vital tool for the development of society. The national policy makers and planners also showed a strong commitment to employing non-formal education (NFE) as a key approach for Thailand in the effort to achieve equal access to education for all and lifelong education, based on the World Declaration on Education for All (the ‘‘Jomtien Declaration’’), which was adopted by UNESCO and over 150 countries. Educators and practitioners around the globe became active in sharing successful examples of non-formal education and exchanging ideas on feasible modes of delivery. The scheme of adult education was changed to non-formal education and then was merged in the total plan of national education, based on a lifelong education concept, which has received high priority in consecutive national schemes of education since 1977. Later, in 1999, the Ministry of Education developed The National Education for All Plan of Action for Thailand (2002–2006).

The fifth period (1998-present) After almost 24 years of the aforementioned golden period in the development of non-formal education, Thailand faced a severe economic crisis from

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the end of the year 1997, resulting in a restructuring of the Ministry of Education and its administrative system. All tasks of the Department of Non-Formal Education were transferred to the Office of the Non-Formal Education Commission (ONFEC) on 7 July 2003, based on the 1999 National Education Act setting out educational reforms in line with the provisions in the Constitution of 1997. Meanwhile the Ministry of Education had tried to apply the principles of EFA in the development of the country’s guidelines for the EFA Plan of Action as follows: Principles The 1999 National Education Act included government policies that were in line with the 1997 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand. Section 43 states that ‘‘All Thai citizens shall enjoy their right to receive at least twelve years of a free, quality education provided by the government.’’ This provided the general framework for EFA in Thailand as follows: 1. All sectors of society shall participate in the educational provision. 2. In the provision of education, all individuals shall have equal rights and opportunities to receive basic education provided by the state for a duration of at least 12 years. Such education, provided on a nationwide basis, shall be of quality and free of charge. 3. Educational provision shall be life-long and available for all. 4. Educational provision shall be flexible and available in various forms. 5. Educational provision shall be in the form of a learning process based on a learner-centered approach. Objectives 1. The provision of EFA is aimed at the full development of the Thai people in all aspects – physical and mental health, intellect, knowledge, morality, ethics, culture and a desirable way of life – so as to enable them to live in harmony with other people, and to provide them with the ability and skills to earn a living and contribute to the good of society. 2. The provision of EFA is aimed at all target groups, including disadvantaged groups and special needs groups, such as for example: • People with physical, mental, intellectual and emotional disabilities and with difficulties in communication and learning. • Persons economically and socially disadvantaged, classified into the following 15 sub-categories: child labour, homeless children, street children, construction workers’ children, children in slums, unmarried and pregnant girls, abused children, children in prostitution, children in foster homes, children without citizenship and those of an ethnic minority, Hill Tribe children and Thai children with a cultural disadvantage, drug

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addicted children, those infected with HIV or AIDS and those at risk, children in difficult circumstances, and children in observation and protection centres. • Specially gifted persons. • People in the workforce older than 17 years old who have not completed a secondary education. • Parents, women and the elderly. In this period, since 2000, international involvement in literacy has revolved around the six Dakar goals and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), UNESCO being the lead agency for the United Nations Literacy Decade 2003–2012 and for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005–2014. It has become clear that illiteracy tends to prevail in low-income countries where severe poverty is widespread. The links between poverty and illiteracy can also be studied at the household level, where evidence from 30 developing countries indicates that literacy levels correlate strongly with wealth. Literacy skills are also considered fundamental to decision-making, personal empowerment, active and passive participation in local and global social community. The vast majority of the 771 million adults who lack minimal literacy skills live in three regions: South and West Asia; East Asia and the Pacific; and SubSaharan Africa. At the global level, the adult literacy rate increased from 56% in 1950 to 70% in 1980, 75% in 1990 and 82% in 2000–2004. It is expected to reach about 86% by 2015 (UNESCO, p. 23). For Thailand, the adult literacy rate in 2005 (15 years and above) was 93.5%. In the 21st century it has been widely accepted that literacy is the core of lifelong learning and is the significant factor in stimulating community participation. In addition, the general consensus from the South-South Policy Dialogue on Quality Education for Adults and Young People, partly hosted by UNESCO Institute For Lifelong Learning (UIL) in 2005 in Mexico city, was that governments must commit themselves to democratizing education systems and creating instruments that guarantee continuing education for all as a fundamental human right. Likewise, all agreed that literacy must be seen as a continuum, leading to continuing education and vocational skills acquisition, but especially to the improvement of learners’ quality of life and opportunities to work. UNESCO has defined literacy as the ability to read and write, with understanding, a short simple statement related to one’s daily life. In Thailand the definition of literacy varies somewhat according to the field of work and the government concerned. Some examples of definitions are as follows: • The ability of an individual aged 15 or above to read and write in any language (population and housing censuses conducted in 2000 and 2002 by the National Statistical Office).

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• The ability to read and write simple statements in the Thai language and the command of basic numeracy used in everyday life (Thai literacy promotion policy of the Office of the Non-Formal Education Commission). • The ability of any person between 15 and 60 who can read and write the Thai language and do simple calculations (minimum basic needs surveyed between 2007 and 2011 by the Community Development Department, Ministry of Interior). Currently, the Office of the Non-Formal Education Commission (ONFEC) is trying to expand the definition of literacy to include computer skills in literacy. Major projects and programmes for literacy promotion Hill area education programme A major group of the illiterate population consists of the tribes who live in the mountainous regions, including the areas along Thai-Laos and ThaiMyanmar borders and in north-east Thailand. The overall population of these peoples is around 900,000, spread over 20 provinces. The educational provision for these hill peoples involves several government organizations including the Office of the Basic Education Commission. It is implemented through various educational outlets, such as welfare schools, mobile classroom units, border patrol schools etc. In areas where communication conditions are particularly difficult, the Office of the Non-Formal Education Commission has taken full responsibility for providing the hill tribes with basic knowledge of the Thai language and mathematics as well as general knowledge necessary to daily life, job performance and communication. For more than 30 years now ONFEC has been helping the Thai government to enhance the quality of life of these indigenous hill peoples nationwide. Local community learning centres (CLCs) for hill peoples are called ‘‘Mae Fah Luang CLCs’’. The CLC, also known as the ‘‘Ashram’’, is a place that is used as a classroom, multi-media library and hostel for CLC facilitators. Mae Fah Luang CLCs are located within communities where the villagers can conveniently access the services. Highland non-formal education volunteer teachers are responsible for managing learning for the learners in approximately 800 CLCs in the north and the central parts of country. Literacy programme for Thai Muslim people in the south This programme promotes Thai literacy and basic numeracy among adult learners who are Muslims. The learners are expected to be able to use the Thai language at a simple level for daily communication and for finding essential information. The programme is intended for illiterates as well as people who are becoming literate or who have relapsed due to lack of

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opportunity to practice. It is implemented by CLC facilitators and local teachers.

Looking to the future A glance back over the periods outlined above shows the incessant efforts of Thailand to provide more opportunities and wider access to educational services in order to make Thailand into a knowledge-based society that can play its full role in the knowledge-oriented world of today. After many years of urging on the part of the ONFEC, the Non-Formal and Informal Education Promotion Act has recently been approved. This Act will be a key measure in the effort to bring about active participation of all segments of society by providing continuing lifelong learning for the general public across the country. It is hoped that this Act will lead to a wide range of educational opportunities, responsive to each individual’s needs, competencies and way of life. The Act will support the right and duty of every segment of society to participate in providing non-formal and informal education to the general public or at least to its own target groups. In this regard, it is clear that the state has to allocate much more resources if the Act is to accomplish its ultimate goal. ONFEC has now changed its name to the Office of Non-Formal and Informal Education (ONIE). Much important work remains to be done, for example in the area of data provision. ONIE is undertaking a major literacy survey in close collaboration with the National Statistical Office. The literacy assessment instrument for this survey has been developed, and the survey will be launched in the near future. It is expected to yield much richer literacy data than in the past, which will be of great benefit to ONIE in the ongoing effort to promote literacy in Thailand.

References Bureau of Policy and Strategy, Office of the Permanent Secretary for Education. 2004. The National Education for All Plan of Action for Thailand (2002–2016). Bangkok: Express Transportation Organization of Thailand. Department of Non-Formal Education. 1983. Literacy Situation in Thailand: A National Study. N.p. ——. 1987. Thailand’s Experiences in the Promotion of Literacy. Bangkok. Office of the Non-Formal Education Commission, Office of the Permanent Secretary for Education. N.d. Policy and Practice in Literacy and Non-Formal Education in Thailand. Mimeogaphed document. N.p. Sunanchai, Sunthorn. 1989. Fifty Years of Adult Education and Nonformal Education. Adult Education and Development 33: 7–26.

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Tunsiri, Vichai. 1989. Nonformal Education in Thailand: Philosophy, Concept and Practice. Adult Education And Development 33: 51–52. UNESCO. 2005. EFA Global Monitoring Report. Paris: UNESCO.

The author Sombat Suwanpitak is Inspector-General in the Office of the Permanent Secretary for Education, Ministry of Education, Bangkok. He holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand, a master’s in adult and community college education from North Carolina State University, USA, and a doctorate in curriculum research and development from Srinakharinwirot University. He has written a number of books and articles relating to non-formal education, literacy and prior learning assessment. Contact address: Bureau of Inspection, Monitoring and Evaluation, Office of the Permanent Secretary for Education, Ministry of Education, Bangkok 10300, Thailand. E-mail: [email protected]