An English class in Chiangrai, Thailand (Source: Chiangrai Times)
Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand is exerting every eff💙ort to deal with difficulties in education and training as eight percent of the country’s labour force were evaluated to have professional skills compared to 35 percent of Singapore and 20 percent of Malaysia.
According to the latest report of the Thai Ministry of Education, Thailand ranks 55th out of the 60 countries and territories in an English proficiency survey, the lowest ranking in Southeast Asia.
Thai students have to struggle with learning English though it is not a compulsory subject from primary to secondary schools, while around 10 percent of GDP is sourced from tourism.
It is worrisome that nearly 2 million Thai children who are at the age of going to school have yet to be able to read and write. Furthermore, the dropout rate is very high, which has been existing for nearly two decades and regarded as the main reason to the low labour quality.
Thailand is working to evaluate the quality of teachers via students’ academic performance and equip students with necessary analysing, computer and foreign language skills, as well as encourage youngsters to attend vocational training courses.
The efforts are essential as the country is getting engaged in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) which is due to set up later this year. Along with financial and technological capacity, the quality of human resources constitutes a crucial factor in competition among ASEAN member states.-VNA
The Thai Ministry of Labour has agreed with Vietnam’s proposal on establishing a joint working group to implement the recently-inked labour documents between the two countries.
The Thai Government announced the country’s political, social and economic achievements during the last year since Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha came to power at an event in Bangkok on December 23.
Thailand’s new Permanent Representative to the ASEAN Busadee Santipitaks presented credentials to Secretary General of ASEAN Le Luong Minh on December 23.
Vietnam ranks third in ASEAN in the labour force participation rate, but the quality of Vietnamese workers remains low, heard a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on December 24.
The Republic of Korea (RoK), China and Japan agreed on May 3 to reinforce the regional financial safety net, along with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), by launching a new financing facility programme meant to extend greater support in case of a financial crisis.
A technical issue combined with an extreme heatwave was blamed for a series of explosions at a military base that killed 20 soldiers and injured several others in Cambodia on April 27, the country’s Ministry of Defence said in a May 2 statement as reported by the Xinhua news agency.
The Customs Department of Thailand is scheduled to commence the collection of value-added tax (VAT) on imported goods sent via postal services, regardless of the goods value, starting in May.
A lecturer from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine has warned Thais to be more vigilant against COVID-19, saying infection rates appeare to be worsening with higher hospital admissions, deaths and severe cases.
Malaysia should harness the collective expertise and resources to drive sustainable growth and development of the halal industry, according to Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
Laos has officially restored the 10% value-added tax (VAT) rate starting May 1, in a bid to support the country’s budget revenue and socio-economic development.
The ASEAN Future Forum 2024 (AFF 2024) entered its second plenary session in Hanoi on the afternoon of April 23, discussing ways to ensure comprehensive security for the people-centred ASEAN Community.
The first session of the ASEAN Future Forum 2024 (AFF 2024) in Hanoi on April 23 focused on fast and sustainable growth for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) and the ASEAN Alliance on Carbon Markets (AACM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration and accelerate the implementation of carbon crediting programmes across Southeast Asia.
ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn reaffirmed ASEAN leaders' commitment to empowering the youth to unleash their full potential when he had a dialogue with ASEAN youth in Hanoi on April 22 on the sidelines of the ASEAN Future Forum (AF 2024).
The Thai Government is being urged to increase the proportion of renewable power generation to more than the target of 50% set in the power development plan (PDP).
The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) of Indonesia on April 21 lifted its tsunami advisory issued previously following the eruption of Mount Ruang in Sitaro district of North Sulawesi province.
Thailand expects to export about 1 million tonnes of durian, valued at an estimated 130 billion THB (3.53 billion USD) this year, with most of the shipments to China, according to Minister of Agriculture Thammanat Prompao.
The 72nd meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) and related meetings are being held by the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of Vietnam in the central city of Da Nang on April 22-26.
Enhancing regional food security and tackling the pressing challenges of climate change will be key agendas defining Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (lower house) Johari Abdul told the press on April 19.
An English class in Chiangrai, Thailand (Source: Chiangrai Times)
