Big plans for small schools

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Big plans for small schools

Supinda na Mahachai
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Office of the Basic Education Commission will help small schools across the nation to create appropriate development plans and will also encourage its 400,000 teachers to study dharma so they can develop selfdiscipline and cope with their debt problems, Obec secretarygeneral Chinnapat Bhumirat said yesterday.

He explained that these two moves were part of the six projects built in response to the Education Ministry's new policies. Chinnapat said schools with 60 students or fewer would be allowed to create their own development and management plans with help from the Obec office that supervises them. The ministry will also provide them with other means of support, such as school buses.

He said teachers would be encouraged to attend dharma classes so they can apply the Buddha's teachings in their daily lives. Chinnapat added that Obec was currently drafting the project.

Moreover, Obec will seek more English, Chinese and Japanese native speakers to improve foreignlanguage lessons at its schools.

As for the tabletdistribution policy, Obec will provide details of the device's specifications to relevant committees for consideration once it learns what schools participating in the pilot programme need.

Obec will also update its database of students to activate its "smart card" project, which is part of the policy of 15year free compulsory education. It will also create an educational management plan for the South.