[Thailand] Education link-up with Cambridge must be genuine partnership (opinion)
With its students’ academic performance sinking in regional rankings, Thailand should grasp the lifeline held out by a world-renowned university. Based on months of consultation and analysis of Thailand’s core curriculum, teaching, school assessment and national examinations, involving Cambridge University, the Education Ministry recently announced a major reform initiative – applying the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). It also intends to introduce subjective testing to supplement multiple-choice exams.
However, introducing the CEFR for students and teachers will be an enormous shock because Thailand’s national exam system does not test writing and speaking. Nevertheless, applying the CEFR will finally force Thailand to address this issue, and by cracking the question of productive language skills, both teachers and students will have to start conversing throughout the grades in order to reach the higher CEFR bands.
Source: The Nation
