Photos courtesy of Bangkok Post
Thailand’s educational ranking has improved compared to that of last year, according to an educational development institute.
Read the following story from the Bangkok Post to learn more about the improvement.
Thailand's global education rank has moved up six notches since last year in the 2015 World Competitiveness Survey, says the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).
BETTER EDUCATION
The country now stands at 48th out of 61 countries, up from 54th last year, in the IMD survey. IMD is a global business school based in Switzerland and Singapore which ranks economies based on how favourable they are for businesses.
Suthasri Wongsaman, secretary general of the Education Council, said this year the government has boosted funding for secondary schools, while more women earned bachelor and master degrees. In addition, literacy rates for youths above the age of 15 rose. All these factors drove up Thailand's education ranking in this year's survey.
NEGATIVE FACTORS
Thailand failed to improve on three indicators — public participation in the development of the education system, matching studies with labour market needs, and boosting the international competitiveness of Thai education institutes. "We still need to do more work on these,'' Suthasri said.
TOP SPOT
Meanwhile, US education remains at the top of the table due to an efficient system with a strong grounding in business and finance, a drive for innovation and high quality infrastructure.
Hong Kong is in second place and Singapore third. Also in the top 10 are Switzerland, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Germany.
Exercises
Read the story. Then, decide whether each of the following statements is true or false.
1. Thailand was ranked eighth on the list.
……………….
2. According to the survey, Thailand failed to improve the international competitiveness of Thai education institutes.
……………….
3. IMD stands for the Institute of Management Development.
……………….
4. Suthasri Wongsaman is secretary general of the Education Council.
……………….
Vocabulary
- literacy (n): the ability to read and write
innovation (n): the introduction of new things, ideas or ways of doing something
infrastructure (n): the basic systems and services that are necessary for a country to run smoothly, for example buildings, transport and water and power supplies
