Thai Education Minister: All grade 1 students will receive tablet computers

BANGKOK, July 19 (TNA) – Thai Education Minister Suchart Thada-Thamrongvech said on Thursday grade 1 students of every school will receive tablet computers within this school term. His assurance was made while he presided over a seminar entitled how tablet computers could answer problems to Thai education, held at Darakam School in Bangkok’s Khlong Toey area. Also, his assurance came just one day after the government held a ceremony marking the delivery of the first batch of 55,000 tablet computers to grade 1 students. Suchart said he noticed that students were not shy to speak English after hearing the native speaker speaking on tablet computers while teachers also tried to gain more knowledge for teaching their students. He said tablet computer will help “revolutionize” teaching as students will gain access to information speedily as they never received before. Every school in Thailand will have table computers for use in the next three to five years, Suchart said. Chinnapat Bhumirat, secretary-general of Office of the Basic Education Commission, said even though Darakam School is situated in community area, its students could use tablet computers for their benefits. On reports that some schools have announced that they would not accept tablet computers from the government, Chinnapat said the government’s policy is that every school must accept them and his office expects delivery of the devices would complete within this school term. (TNA)