UNESCO. General Conference; 30th; Records ... - unesdoc - Unesco

16.6 As my final comments on the Draft Programme and Budget, I would like to stress the importance of the
promotion of freedom of expression and the free flow of ideas in the field of communication. I would also like to
stress the need for relevant activities to follow up the declarations and action plans prepared at major
international conferences.
16.7 Mr President, if the twenty-first century is to be a brilliant one, the issue of education is of great
importance. I believe that this perception is widely shared by Member States. In my country, the government has
always placed emphasis on education in its overall policy. In Japan there is an old saying that “education affects
the future of the nation for a hundred years”. On the eve of the twenty-first century, to cope with various
educational problems, the present government has decided to set up an advisory body, tentatively named the
“National Congress for Educational Reform”. This body will carefully consider various basic problems and
issues in education. At the Cologne Summit held last July, education was one of the main items on the agenda for
the first time at a G-8 summit meeting. The Cologne Charter, adopted at the summit meeting, indicated the
necessity of promoting teacher training, the international exchange of students and teachers, and foreign language
education, with due regard to the importance of cooperating with developing countries. In this connection, my
government is now considering the possibility of launching a new international cooperation programme through
UNESCO. Now that we are approaching the twenty-first century, let us reaffirm the spirit of the Constitution of
UNESCO and make concerted efforts to create a hopeful and bright international community for future
generations. Thank you very much.
(Ms Moserová resumes the Chair)
17. The PRESIDENT:
I should like to thank His Excellency Mr Hirofumi Nakasone, Minister for Education, Science, Sport
and Culture of Japan. I appreciate the fact that when he stressed the importance of education he included
vocational education, distance education and environmental education. I now call His Excellency Mr Somsak
Prisananuntagul, Minister of Education of Thailand. You have the floor, Sir.
18.1 Mr PRISANANUNTAGUL (Thailand) (Statement delivered in Thai; English text provided by the
delegation):
Madam President, Mr Chairperson of the Executive Board, Mr Director-General, distinguished
delegates and observers, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the delegation of Thailand, may I extend to you,
Madam President, our warmest congratulations on your election to the presidency of the Conference. We trust in
your leadership, and you may rest assured that you will receive our full support so that this General Conference,
which is the last to be held in this century, will be steered to a successful conclusion.
18.2 Madam President, as we are all well aware, Thailand had the privilege of hosting the World Conference
on Education for All in 1990. I would therefore like to assure you that the Thai Government has honoured its
commitment to provide education for all. This resolve is clearly reflected in the 1997 Constitution of the
Kingdom of Thailand, which extends compulsory education for all to nine years. It also stipulates that the State
shall provide, free of charge, a basic education of quality to all people for not less than 12 years. In addition, the
government has accorded high priority to education for the disabled by proclaiming 1999 Year of Education for
the Disabled. The activities concerned will provide the disabled with the same access to education as those more
fortunate than themselves. This will be one way of strengthening the provision of basic education for all in the
future. High priority has also been given to literacy in order to cater for those unreached by the formal education
system and to prevent relapse into illiteracy. Learning centres have been established in communities in various
parts of the country.
18.3 Like other countries we are strongly determined to carry out educational reform so that the system of
education at all levels will be able effectively to meet the new challenges of the twenty-first century. In 1999
Thailand promulgated the National Education Act, its first national education law. This Act provides guidance
for the organization of educational structures and administration for the attainment of unity. Provision will be
made to decentralize authority to education service areas and local communities, with emphasis on the
participation of communities and support for education for all. Educational reform is indeed an enormous task, as
people’s habits of thinking and working will have to be changed, using various techniques to achieve the desired
results. For Member States of UNESCO interested in education reform, the exchange of knowledge and methods
could ensure the success of the reform.
18.4 It is evident that the present rapid economic and social changes have required corresponding changes in
our way of life. The family is indeed the primary social institution for the inculcation of desirable characteristics
and values in the minds of children and youth. Unfortunately, many of our children and young people find
themselves in broken homes, deprived of love and warmth, unacceptably abused, and their labour is inexorably
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