Lucky draws for selecting pupils falling out of favour

General News : Monday December 10, 2007

EDUCATION

Lucky draws for selecting pupils falling out of favour.

SIRIKUL BUNNAG

Some secondary schools have decided to end lucky draws as a method for selecting students and to screen them solely by examinations.

The Basic Education Commission says public secondary schools can now require all new students to pass examinations, for the first time in 15 years.

Public secondary schools must reserve half their seats for students living in their immediate area.

Earlier, admission of local students was subject to draws. For the next school year, the commission says it will allow schools to apply either draws or examinations, or a combination of both methods to admit local students.

Three famous schools in Bangkok _ Debsirin, Satriwithaya and Samsen Wittayalai _ have decided to screen all students with examinations.

Satriwithaya principal Fuangfa Praditpoj said her school committee believed exams would encourage students to study hard and improve themselves rather than relying on luck.

Debsirin principal Prakasit Youngkong said exams on Thai language, mathematics, science and social subjects would gauge students' ability and allow his school to put them in appropriate classes.

''Through draws, students were admitted without being tested. When they learned together, some students could not keep up with smarter classmates, which caused problems,'' he said.

He believes draws encourage students to be lazy, and do harm to education as a whole.

He said parents understood the change and his school would look for seats in nearby schools for students who fail the examinations.

Samsen Wittayalai principal Wisarut Sonthichai said his school would help students who fail to enter by improving the teaching quality at nearby Wat Noi Noppakhun school, where seats are available.

Samsen Wittayalai is training teachers at Wat Noi Noppakhun school, and also lends it teachers to supplement its staff.

However, Bodindecha (Sing Singhaseni) school is keeping 25% of seats for draws. Principal Amornrat Pinngern said using examinations as the sole screening method would put too much pressure on parents.

The Basic Education Commission will meet on Dec 26 to decide whether to approve the admission changes planned by the schools.

Disagreeing with the change, Wilairat La-orwarakul, a 41-year-old mother, said famous schools should give poor students a chance to improve themselves by letting them enter via draws.

Society did not consist only of capable people, she said.

Sumon Pukpiboon, a 53-year-old father, said pupils should not be put under exam pressure and famous schools were taking the easy way out by simply admitting children who were academically bright.

He urged famous schools to prove their reputation by turning ordinary students into academically capable ones.

Prayong Benjaratananakhee, a 50-year-old mother, said the change was too abrupt and parents did not have a chance to prepare their children for exams. Both parents and children were facing great pressures, she said.

By : Bangkok Post