UNESCO praises Thai government’s tablet project for first-grade students

BANGKOK, September 10 (TNA) - The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has praised the Thai government’s tablet computer distribution project for first-grade students and recommended the further development of local teachers and digital contents. UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova lauded the Thai government at the opening session of the annual Asia-Pacific Ministerial Forum on ICT in Education (AMFIE) 2012 in Bangkok Monday morning, acknowledging that the United Nations has raised education as a global agenda themed “Education First”, and that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will also propose the agenda at the 2012 UN General Assembly in New York on September 26. Insisting that UNESCO sees the importance of information and communication technology (ICT) in education, the UNESCO chief praised the Thai government's tablet computer project for first-grade students nationwide as an educational revolution jointly supported by both the Thai public and private sectors. However, the UNESCO chief recommended at the September 9-11 AMFIE 2012, in which ministers and high-ranking officials concerned from 24 countries in the Asian Pacific participate, that Thailand further develop local teachers and digital media simultaneously. UNESCO Bangkok Director Dr. Gwang-Jo Kim then told the opening session that UNESCO will see whether the Thai government's tablet computer project can be applied in other countries. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Yuthasak Sasiprapa (ยุทธศักดิ์ ศศิประภา) noted that the Thai government plans to raise nationwide access to the Internet by local people to 80 per cent of Thailand's total population over the next three years and to 95 per cent by 2020, as ICT will narrow a educational gap in the country if it is promoted and improved in its content in parallel with the development of local personnel. (TNA)