During the past few years, there has been a growing demand in the Thai society for a new radical reform in education. There have been continuous movements to push educational reforms by both public and private sectors. The first successful attempt was the inclusion of various provisions relating to education in the 1997 Constitution, also affectionately called the People's Charter. Among these provisions, two will have paramount impact on education in Thailand, namely: Equity for All in receiving at least 12-year basic education of the highest quality; and, the enactment of the National Education Act which will be the first in the history of Thai education and will allow educational improvements on all aspects. Since the promulgation of the new Constitution in October 1997, Thailand has started to look at the dawn of a new era of national education. Urgent steps have therefore been taken by agencies concerned to draft the National Education Bill since it must be passed into law and brought into force by 2002 in order to meet many requirements stated in various provisions, especially in the universalization of 12-year basic education. The National Education Bill drafted by the Office of the National Education Commission (ONEC) was approved by the Council of Ministers on June 23, 1998. It has to be deliberated by the Office of the Council of State and the Parliament before its promulgation.
In sum, education in Thailand has developed from traditional education offered in the temple, the palace and the family to modernized education for national development in accordance with the National Scheme of Education and the National Education Development Plan. From the year 1997 which is the beginning of the new era of Thailand's national education, the development of Thai education has started to move forward based on the provisions of the 1997 Constitution relating to education and the National Education Bill.
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