Relevance of School Transfer Policy: A Reflection from Stakeholders

Abstract

School transfer from Ministry of Education to local administrative organizations (LAOs) is an educational decentralization policy mandated by the "Decentralization Act of 1999". Objectives of this research were: 1) to analyze the policy on transferring of schools from Ministry of Education to LAOs, 2) to analyze factors determining the success of policy implications, 3) to propose alternatives and strategies of educational decentralization most appropriate in the Thai context. The research procedures consisted of: 1) an analysis of related documents on decentralization policy and implications, i.e., laws, policy, plans, and research; 2) an in-depth interview of political and educational experts on decentralization; and 3) an opinion survey of the stakeholders at the practice level, i.e., LAO administrators, teachers and educational administrators, and local communities. Case studies were also conducted. The findings were: 1) at present, the legislative and political context in Thailand is not supportive for the implementation of decentralization policy by the devolution; 2) there has not been a consensus among the stakeholders at the policy as well as the practice levels on the school transfer policy; 3) readiness of the LAOs was determined by six criteria along with indicators, whereas readiness of schools was based mainly on the criteria standards set by the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment; 4) a system model "factors determining the success of school transfer" was identified, consisting of three sets of key factors, namely, readiness, stakeholders' needs, and relevance, all with weighted indicators; and 5) a set of seven strategies, together with appropriate measures, were proposed in order to achieve successful school transfer. Taken all factors into consideration, it was determined that the time is not right for Thailand to implement the educational decentralization policy by means of full-scale devolution. Devolution was perceived to be an ultimate goal of decentrtalization, provided that the readiness conditions are met. During the transition period, an integrated alternative of deconcentration and devolution should be most appropriate, building into a dual system. At the initial stage, it is strongly recommended that the deconcentration approach, as stipulated by the National Education Act of 1999, should be the main focus in order to fully support the on-going educational reform.