High-school test scores across the country show that a large number of students are receiving failing grades in various subjects. This has been the pattern not only in subjects such as English, science and math. A number of Thai students are also receiving failing marks in their native language.

Although Chalongbhop is not the first person to have issued this warning, the long-standing problem has yet to be sufficiently addressed. Education reforms have unfortunately received scant attention from politicians, who prefer to highlight short-term populist policies, which are more effective in energising voters.

While the Thai Rak Thai Party is set to continue with its populist policies and the Democrat Party is drafting similar policies, which would also result in money being given away to voters, long-term education reforms have dropped off their radar screens.

At a recent symposium held by the Bank of Thailand, economists explored the weaknesses in the education system. First, the number of children enrolling in school is low due to a lack of financial support from their parents. Moreover, children in rural areas receive low-quality education, leaving a wide gap between children in rural areas and those in the city. Some schools are not held accountable for these disparities. Students in the North and Northeast are lagging behind those from central and southern parts of Thailand.

Despite human capital being a major source of growth and development, Thai politicians never address education reforms in their campaigns. In some developed countries, education has always been the answer.

US President George Bush won votes with his "no child left behind" policy, which sought to impose high standards and accountability for the nation's schools. Moreover, when Scandinavian countries faced unemployment in the 1980s, the governments of these countries sent their unemployed workers back to school. They returned better equipped once the economy recovered. The Thai government however has chosen to ignore similar measures to boost economic growth here.

The government-initiated student-loan programme was a good start to creating education opportunities for people. However, the government should also assist parents in sending their kids to school from an early age to encourage them to explore their abilities to their full potential and to build in them an immunity to other distractions that will come later.

The Bank of Thailand's research shows that the rate of return when it comes to investment in human capital is highest when the child is young, and decreases as the child ages. In short, parents should explore and invest in their children's future from an early age to assist them in achieving their full potential.

The investment needed to remedy a situation in which attention to a child's early development has been deficient turns out to be more costly. It is estimated, for example, that in 2004 it would have cost someone Bt19,670 to go through a drug-rehabilitation programme, Bt1,619 for mental-health rehabilitation and Bt33,722 to incarcerate someone and put them through inmate rehabilitation

On the other hand, if students were properly taken care of, the government would spend less on human capital. For instance, average spending per person this year for pre-primary education is Bt13,497, primary Bt15,753, lower-secondary Bt17,295, and Bt16,929 for upper secondary and vocational-level schooling.

Recent developments in our economic sector have exposed the weaknesses in our system. Thailand is losing out to neighbouring countries in attracting trade and investment. Thai exporters are losing their competitive edge to cheaper exports from Vietnam and China, while countries like Malaysia and Singapore have upgraded to a higher level.

Many parents have also decided to take their kids out of school at a young age because they are not financially able to support their children. Sadly, 59.4 per cent of Thailand's workforce has less than a secondary school level of education. Thai students' test scores are also low compared with other countries. For example, Thais scored 420 in literacy, 417 in math, and 429 in science compared to 534/542/538 in South Korea and 510/550/539 in Hong Kong respectively.

Another flaw in the system is the lack of coordination between schools, industry and the community. Many students pursue studies in fields for which there is no market demand, while teachers fail to update the curriculum to keep up with the country's social and economic development. The Education Ministry predicted that Thailand would face a labour shortage of nearly 600,000 workers in the next three to five years. An election campaign focused on education reforms may not energise voters, but changes to the education system require serious attention and immediate scrutiny. Otherwise, we will be the ones to blame if our children continue to receive failing grades.

 Jeerawat Na Thalang