Bangkok (AsiaNews) - Thailand's Catholic schools make an essential contribution to the development of a country where education levels are still below average. Education also falls within the development plans promoted by ASEAN, the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which Thailand wants to follow.
Former Education Minister Chinnaworn Boonyakiat said that Thai education has to prepare for the establishment of an ASEAN community by 2015 as part of a strategy based on 'one vision, one identity and one community' to develop "people, resources and the economy."
Development cannot occur without education. The latter plays a significant role in all other domains because it is "the foundation of development in all its dimensions."
A four-day seminar organised by the Pastoral Education Council was recently held in Cholburi province on the topic.
Starting with a paper titled 'Catholic schools in the context of the ASEAN community' by Mgr Louis Chamniern Santisukniran, president of the Bishops' Conference of Thailand, 465 participants from the country's various Catholic schools discussed ways to reform schools so that they contribute to the country's and the ASEAN community's development from a Christian perspective.
At a time when values are in crisis, Catholic schools must cope with an "educational emergency." in so doing, they can contribute to the ASEAN community as a source of capital, services and labour.
Starting from the principles laid down by Benedict XVI for the Year of Faith, Thailand's Catholic leaders know that the schools' mission is to be a beacon of 'light' to guide students in their journey.
Such a task also comes with a need to teach and learn how to relate to others on the basis of justice, equality and respect for human dignity irrespective of race, religion and culture.
Catholic schools are especially called upon to become a 'faith community' in which each member-administrators, teachers, parents and students-can grow from a common perspective of faith, hope and love.
Such a process of integration is based on the warmth of the Gospel enabling each student to become a beacon of light for others.
The aims of Catholic schools are being developed against a backdrop of a relatively backward educational system and low achievement levels.
A recent survey by the Department of Mental Health, conducted between December 2010 and January 2011, found that the average IQ level among 72,780 students in 76 provinces was 98.59, below the standard of 100.
Thailand's school dropout rate is also very high. In the past 10 years, some 5.7 million students quit school before graduation.