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out of new policies and handouts – from free 12-year education and uniforms to electronic tablets. Yet the measures of Thai education have been in steady decline.Even officials at the Ministry of Education admit the situation is worrying.“We see problems at all levels, from basic education to higher education to the labour market,” said Dr Pumsaran Tongliemnak, a policy analyst at the Bureau of Policy and Strategy at the Ministry of Education.He was speaking at “Education in Thailand: What’s New? What’s Still the Same? Could the New Budget Turn the Education System Around?” – a panel discussion at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand in November. Other participants included Joshua Russo, a US educator; Mueanmas Boonngork, senior student at Thammasat University; and Nattanan Warintarawet, high school student at the prestigious Triam Udom Suksa school and co-founder of the Education for Liberation of Siam (ELS), a student activist group.According to Dr Pumsaran, the problems of Thai education are structural and chronic. “Problems stem from the political economy as well as organizational culture, inefficient use of resources and lack of accountability at many levels. In practice, the education system in Thailand is still far too centralized.”The problem is not about budget. Over the past decade the Ministry of Education has received the largest share of the budget, including 496 billion baht, or almost 20% of the 2.58 trillion baht budget, for fiscal 2015. This is more than the Public Health Ministry or Defence Ministry. Yet the international ratings for Thai education and universities are embar- rassing.The 2014 Pearson’s LearningThe problem is not about budget. Over the past decade the Ministry of Education has received the largest share of the budget, including 496 billion baht, or almost 20% of the 2.58 trillion baht budget, for fiscal 2015Curve Report ranks Thailand’s education system 35th out of 40 countries. Only one Thai university, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, lies in the top 500 of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2014– 2015. The English Proficiency Index by English First ranks Thailand 55th out of 60 countries.Are Thai students simply poorin terms of intelligence? Are teachers low in quality? Many critics point to the Ministry of Education, including in a recent jibe by respected social critic Sulak Sivaraksa, who branded ministry officials as “unwise people” responsible for harming Thai education.Dr Pumsaran, who received a doctorate in the economics of education at Stanford University and aElite+ 25