Education in Thailand
Updated: 12/11/2025, 8:41:50 AM Wikipedia source
Education in Thailand is provided mainly by the Thai government through the Ministry of Education from pre-school to senior high school. A free basic education to fifteen years is guaranteed by the Thai constitution. This basic education comprises six years of elementary school and three years of lower secondary school. In addition, three years of pre-school and three years of upper-secondary education is available free of charge, but are non-compulsory. Children aged 6–12 will go to elementary school (prathom (Thai: ประถม)). From the age of 12, they attend secondary school (matthayom (Thai: มัธยม)). While secondary school also lasts six years, only the first three years are mandatory. After grade 9 (Matthayom 3), pupils can pursue upper-secondary education in a university-preparatory track, or continue their studies in vocational school programs. Homeschooling is legal in Thailand. Thailand's constitution and education law explicitly recognize alternative education and considers the family to be an educational institution. A homeschool law passed in 2004, Ministerial Regulation No. 3 on the right to basic education by the family, governs homeschooling. Families must submit an application to homeschool and students are assessed annually. The Human Rights Measurement Initiative finds that Thailand fulfills 69.5% of what they should be able to fulfill for the right to education, based on their level of income.
Infobox
Minister of EducationMinister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation
Permpoon Chidchob Supamas Isarabhakdi
Budget
487,646.4 million baht
Primary languages
Thai English
System type
National
Formal establishment
1892
Total
13,157,103 (2010)
Primary
3,651,613 (2010)
Secondary
1,695,223 (2010)
Post secondary
663,150 (2010)
Tables
Stages in the Thai formal education system[12] · School system overview
3
3
Typical age
3
Stage
Basic education
Stage
Early childhood (Kindergarten)
Level/Grade
Variable (Typically Anuban 1–3)
4
4
Typical age
4
5
5
Typical age
5
6
6
Typical age
6
Stage
Elementary
Stage
Prathom 1
7
7
Typical age
7
Stage
Prathom 2
8
8
Typical age
8
Stage
Prathom 3
9
9
Typical age
9
Stage
Prathom 4
10
10
Typical age
10
Stage
Prathom 5
11
11
Typical age
11
Stage
Prathom 6
12
12
Typical age
12
Stage
Lower-secondary
Stage
Matthayom 1
13
13
Typical age
13
Stage
Matthayom 2
14
14
Typical age
14
Stage
Matthayom 3
15
15
Typical age
15
Stage
Matthayom 4
Stage
Vocational Certificate (3 years)
16
16
Typical age
16
Stage
Matthayom 5
17
17
Typical age
17
Stage
Matthayom 6
⋮
⋮
Typical age
⋮
Stage
Higher education
Stage
Variable
| Typical age | Stage | Level/Grade | Notes | ||
| 3 | Basic education | Early childhood (Kindergarten) | Variable (Typically Anuban 1–3) | ||
| 4 | |||||
| 5 | |||||
| 6 | Elementary | Prathom 1 | |||
| 7 | Prathom 2 | ||||
| 8 | Prathom 3 | ||||
| 9 | Prathom 4 | ||||
| 10 | Prathom 5 | ||||
| 11 | Prathom 6 | ||||
| 12 | Lower-secondary | Matthayom 1 | |||
| 13 | Matthayom 2 | ||||
| 14 | Matthayom 3 | ||||
| Upper-secondary | General | Vocational | |||
| 15 | Matthayom 4 | Vocational Certificate (3 years) | |||
| 16 | Matthayom 5 | ||||
| 17 | Matthayom 6 | ||||
| ⋮ | Higher education | Variable | |||
References
- Ministry of Education Thailand (MOE)https://web.archive.org/web/20200624163526/http://www.en.moe.go.th/enMoe2017/index.php/ministry-profile/executives-profile/office-of-the-minister-of-education
- UNICEFhttps://web.archive.org/web/20200726230216/https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/Thailand_statistics.html
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- World Education News + Reviews (WENR)https://wenr.wes.org/2018/02/education-in-thailand-2
- Kasetsart Journal of Social Scienceshttps://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.kjss.2017.08.003
- humanrightsmeasurement.orghttps://humanrightsmeasurement.org/
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- Issues and trends in Education for Sustainable Development
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- Bureau of the Budgethttp://www.bb.go.th/en/topic-detail.php?id=8562&mid=456&catID=0
- THAILAND'S BUDGET IN BRIEF FISCAL YEAR 2017https://web.archive.org/web/20171210071739/http://www.bb.go.th/budget_book/e-Book2560/FILEROOM/CABILIBRARY60/DRAWER01/GENERAL/DATA0000/00000502.PDF
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- International Journal of Multicultural Educationhttps://doi.org/10.18251%2Fijme.v14i1.537
- Office of the Vocational Education Commissionhttps://web.archive.org/web/20171222051932/http://www.vec.go.th/en-us/aboutvec/managementofvocationaleducation(en-us).aspx
- Kenan Foundation Asiahttps://web.archive.org/web/20200921125554/https://www.kenan-asia.org/kenan_news/countrys-first-technical-vocational-hub-opens/
- ERIC ED470850: Trends in Articulation Arrangements for Technical and Vocational Education in the South East Asian Regionhttps://archive.org/stream/ERIC_ED470850/ERIC_ED470850_djvu.txt
- International Labor Organization (ILO)http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/skills/hrdr/init/tha_1.htm
- National Statistical Office (NSO_http://statbbi.nso.go.th/staticreport/page/sector/en/03.aspx
- Bangkok Posthttps://www.bangkokpost.com/business/907056/japanese-fret-over-thai-labour-force
- Bangkok Posthttp://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1008477/unis-face-crisis-as-students-turn-away
- Bangkok Posthttps://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1480761/uni-rankings-wages-need-a-bigger-boost
- "Introduction to Chula"https://www.chula.ac.th/en/about/overview/introduction-to-chula/
- Thammasat Universityhttps://web.archive.org/web/20171203090952/http://www.tueng.tu.ac.th/index.php/academics/faculties-colleges-institutes
- Bangkok Posthttp://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1013185/sub-par-phd-courses-trigger-investigation
- myTCAShttps://assets.mytcas.com/d/TCAS65-manual-v7-21dec64.pdf
- www.admissionstesting.orghttps://www.admissionstesting.org/for-test-takers/bmat/bmat-november/
- www.mytcas.comhttps://web.archive.org/web/20220401041055/https://www.mytcas.com/news/announcement-118
- "International School List 2003"https://web.archive.org/web/20111028074958/http://www.moe.go.th/English/inter_school/index_eng.htm
- International Schools Thailandhttps://web.archive.org/web/20151009073313/http://internationalschoolsbangkokthailand.org/curriculum.html
- "มูลนิธิการศึกษาทางไกลผ่านดาวเทียม ในพระบรมราชูปถัมภ์ – Distance Learning Foundation"https://web.archive.org/web/20200130155056/https://www.dlf.ac.th/
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- The Nationhttps://www.nationthailand.com/detail/national/30269594
- Bangkok Posthttps://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/education-features/38353/teachers-fail-exams-on-own-subjects
- Bangkok Posthttps://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1541218/school-admin-staff-to-start-work-next-month
- nationthailandhttps://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40034993
- Bangkok Posthttps://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2728042/teacher-assault-prompts-call-for-return-of-janitors
- Asian Correspondenthttps://web.archive.org/web/20150703071240/http://asiancorrespondent.com/78647/thai-education-failures-part-4-dismal-english-language-education/
- Pratchatai Englishhttp://www.prachatai.com/english/node/5480
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- The Nationhttps://www.nationthailand.com/detail/national/30195966
- Global Education Monitoring Report, 2017/8; Accountability in education: Meeting our commitmentshttp://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0025/002593/259338e.pdf
- The Isaan Recordhttp://isaanrecord.com/2011/12/12/op-ed-solving-isaans-education-problem
- The Isaan Recordhttp://isaanrecord.com/2014/02/21/pisa-thailand-regional-breakdown-shows-inequalities-between-bangkok-and-upper-north-with-the-rest-of-thailand
- The Nationhttps://web.archive.org/web/20141217104025/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Schools-will-face-action-over-student-brawls-30163128.html
- "Prayuth warns brawling students to behave - the Nation"https://web.archive.org/web/20141217104019/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/homePrayuth-warns-brawling-students-to-behave-30238936.html
- Prachatai Englishhttp://www.prachatai.com/english/node/6750
- Bangkok Posthttp://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-news/339506/teen-pregancy-growing-problem-in-thailand
- Student Uniform Act, BE 2551 (2008)https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Student_Uniform_Act,_BE_2551_(2008)
- Pratchatai Englishhttps://prachatai.com/english/node/7570
- Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Healthhttps://doi.org/10.1177%2F1010539520903540