Fix Thailand's education before it's too late

Thai children are falling behind, inequality is widening, and the system is not delivering skills for the future. Education reform is urgent for Thailand’s next generation.

Did you know that...

• Thai students are scoring far below global benchmarks, including some peers in some poorer countries. In PISA 2022, Thai 15-year-olds scored 394 in maths, below OECD’s average of 472. OECD scores are based on normative rather than universal standards, meaning Thailand is falling behind other nations (OECD Education GPS)
• Only one in three students reaches basic proficiency. Just 32% of students in Thailand reach baseline proficiency level in maths, compared to 69% across OECD countries (OECD).
• Students rarely excel. 1% of Thais are top performers in maths versus 9% across OECD, reducing their ability to be competitive and innovative (OECD).
• Too many adolescents aren’t in school - 15% of upper-secondary–aged students in Thailand aren’t in school (UNICEF). There are complex, multiple factors including poverty or growing up in a non-Thai speaking household (UNICEF)
• Thailand’s performance is declining, not improving. Between 2012 and 2022, PISA scores fell by roughly 30 points in maths and science and 60 points in reading (OECD).
• Inequality is stark. Learning gaps persist between urban vs rural rich vs poor, and Thai-speaking vs non-Thai speaking children: there is a risk of creating a permanent underclass of undereducated youth (UNESCO/UNICEF).

Fix Education Before Its Too Late

Thai children are learning less than 10 years ago, according to international ratings. COVID disruptions are a complicating factor, but in international tests Thailand’s 15-year-olds score below the OECD average in maths, reading and science. In PISA 2022, Thai students scored 394 in maths, 379 in reading and 409 in science, compared with OECD averages of 472, 476 and 485. Compared to 2012, the number of Thai students achieving basic proficiency has declined sharply. (OECD) Media and academics described the 2022 results as “alarming” proof of a 10-year downward trend, with Thailand falling behind Vietnam and, in some areas, Malaysia. Thai children are falling behind, while others pull ahead.

Thailand’s learning crisis is worsening, not improving. Over the last decade, Thailand’s PISA scores have fallen by 60 points in reading. If nothing is done, Thailand may lock a generation out of opportunity. This means reduced employment and earning opportunity, and persistence of inequality.

Education is deepening inequality, not fixing it. Education can be a great equalizer but in Thailand it entrenches inequality. While the richest 25% of Thai students perform comparably with top-performing countries most perform below global averages. There are huge gaps between urban/rural, large central/small remote schools, and Thai-speaking and non-Thai-speaking/minority children. In other words, where you are born in Thailand matters more than your ability when it comes to education.

The system is not preparing children for the future economy. OECD analysis of Thailand’s education finds that the skills produced don’t match what a fast-changing economy needs – problem solving, digital literacy, creativity, teamwork. Schools focus on rote learning and high-stakes exams over critical thinking, creativity, or socio-emotional skills. Children who “succeed” in school still struggle in labour markets.

Education is still the most powerful tool for growth and equality. Finishing secondary school increases earnings by at least 10 per cent, according to a World Bank study. Each baht invested in early learning delivers high economic returns.

Children are not failing—our system is failing them. We must demand better for every child.

Thailand can still turn this around—but only with bold action now. Smarter investment. Stronger early learning. High quality, highly trained teachers in every school. Real skills for real jobs. Safe, supportive, climate-resilient schools for every child. This is what we must demand now. We cannot accept the status quo. We have to hold politicians accountable and fix education like Thailand’s future depends on it – because it does.

Why Hasn’t Education Reform Worked?

Thailand has talked about education reform for over 20 years. Laws have been passed, commissions set up and new plans and strategies are launched regularly. Yet the learning crisis continues. Why?

1. Reforms focus on structure, not on what happens in the classroom

Many reforms focus on administrative structures – merging or re-labelling departments, creating new committees etc – rather than changing the daily experience in classrooms. Research conducted by UNESCO and OECD on Thai education notes that the system remains centralised, with the Ministry of Education holding most power over curriculum, budgets and personnel.  This means teachers face rigid curricula and heavy paperwork, school leaders have limited authority to adapt to local needs, and innovations often stall in pilot projects.

2. Money is spent, but not always where it matters most

Thailand spends a substantial share of its budget on education, but inefficiently. Research by World Bank shows outcomes are dragged down by how resources are distributed – especially the management of small rural schools with too few students, teachers and resources to offer quality education. This is visible to all: some schools have modern buildings, labs, etc, others don’t have enough teachers.

3. Teachers are asked to deliver modern education without modern support

Most reform plans recognise that teachers are the key – but actual support has often been weak or inconsistent. Analyses of the teacher system in Thailand highlight problems with recruitment, placement and career progression – many teachers are not positioned where they are most needed, and career incentives don’t always reward those who improve learning. New curricula and pedagogies (critical thinking, active learning) are introduced, but teachers often receive limited, one-off training, with little ongoing coaching. This means teachers are asked to produce world-class results, but are trapped in an outdated system, under pressure to “finish the textbook” instead of helping every child truly understand.

4. Politics changes faster than education can

Education reform requires consistent effort over many years. Thailand’s politics is more turbulent. Frequent changes in Governments and education ministers mean priorities keep shifting. What one minister launches, the next quietly drops. Reform becomes a political slogan – “Thailand 4.0”, “education reform”, “digital classrooms” – without clear, long-term implementation that survives political cycles. For students, this means: every few years there’s a “new” reform, but their actual school remains the same.

5. Inequality has not been treated as the central problem

Most reforms treat inequality as a side issue, not core. Yet evidence shows big gaps in learning between rich and poor, urban and rural, central and remote. COVID-19 exposed the digital divide: children without devices, internet, or parents able to support home learning fell further behind. If reform doesn’t start with the goal of lifting the bottom 40%, averages will keep sliding and inequality deepen.

6. Children’s voices – and parents’ voices – are rarely at the centre of decision-making

Decisions about education are made by adults in Bangkok: officials, politicians, experts. Students, parents, teachers and communities are often consulted late, or not at all. Reforms end up looking good on paper but don’t match classroom realities – and are resisted, ignored, or poorly implemented.

In Conclusion: The Big Picture

• Thailand does not suffer from a lack of studies, plans, or pilot projects.
• It suffers from a lack of commitment where it matters: in the classroom, with the child, with the teacher.

The crisis is not that Thai children cannot learn. The crisis is that the system:

• Protects structures instead of protecting children’s futures.
• Rewards compliance more than curiosity.
• Talks about reform, but rarely stays the course long enough to see real change.

Until reforms are judged not by how many committees are set up, but by whether a 10-year-old in a small rural school can read, think and dream as boldly as a 10-year-old in central Bangkok, the crisis will continue.

Originally published by UNICEF Thailand