City Preps Pattaya Schoolkids For Hi-Tech Age

November 18, 2012

More than 1,200 first-grade children in Pattaya will soon be receiving tablet computers. The national educational policy has set a goal of “one tablet per child” in Thailand’s schools. A total of 1,282 tablets were presented to 10 Pattaya elementary schools at a City Hall ceremony.

PATTAYA – November 16, 2012 [PDN]; At Pattaya City Hall, more than 1,200 computer tablets were ceremoniously handed out to 10 elementary schools in the Tappaya room.

The Lord Mayor of Pattaya city, Mr. Ittipol Khunpluem, was the chairman of the ceremony, attended by directors of schools in Pattaya, led by Mrs. Jittana Mansurin, the director of the education support department and the acting director of the education office. Also in attendance were students in Pattaya city and their teachers.

The tablet giveaway carries out the policy of the Thai government, which sees the importance of promoting education for children to learn by using modern media to advance in the fast pace of the modern world, which has limitless potential on the Internet. The goal was thus set to provide 1 tablet per child in every school, otherwise known as OTPC (One Tablet Per Child).

Pattaya schools are beginning this ambitious project with the first-grade students from 10 schools. The breakdown for the tablet distribution is as follows; 106 tablets for Muang Pattaya school; 145 for Muang Pattaya 3 school; 82 for Muang Pattaya 4 school; 226 for Muang Pattaya 8 school; 171 for Muang Pattaya 9 school; and 29 tablets for Muang Pattaya 10 school.

The tablets are meant to improve the quality of life for the children, for uses such as calculating numbers, and also to make learning more fun with new styles of teaching from various sources. The tablets will also provide additional knowledge and skills for teachers from their additional teaching tool.

The tablets will have protective functions to prevent access to inappropriate Internet sites. The tablets should also be cared for and maintained correctly for long-lasting usage.

Besides the tablet giveaway, the ceremony also including the awarding of scholarship to students from low-income families with good grades and behavior. The 1,000 baht scholarships were awarded to 100 deserving students. The Mahakit Paisal foundation provided the 100,000 baht scholarship money.