The Ministry of Education plans to propose that UNESCO includes the Thai ceremony for paying respect to teachers, known as the “Wai Khru” ceremony, in the intangible cultural heritage list.
Education Minister Permpoon Chidchob said today that the ministry will take about six months to work out all the details to support the proposal, before its submission to UNESCO.
The “Wai Khru” ceremony has been held in Thailand since ancient times for students to show their gratitude and respect for their teachers. It is held annually on the second Thursday of June, which marks the opening of the first semester of the academic year.
The minister also said that he has been trying to improve the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) performance of Thai students and he believes that the grading of Thai students will be much better next year.
Two of the reasons contributing to Thai students’ poor performance in PISA tests are their lack of skill in completing the tests and the limitations of several schools in preparing the students for them, claimed the minister.
