Thailand Develops National Education Index Framework

The National Education Council held an academic conference on August 17 at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok to develop the Thailand National Education Index as an international database foundation. Assoc. Prof. Pravit Eraviruthwon, Secretary-General of the National Education Council, chaired the opening and explained that the Thailand National Education Index is a systematic tool to gather education-related data for policymaking, planning, monitoring, evaluation, and advancement to keep pace with global changes.

The index comprises key international education indicators from both statistical databases and survey data, reflecting the quality of Thailand's education system across five dimensions: access to education, student quality and outcomes, education delivery efficiency, relevance to life and work, and future readiness. Eraviruthwon said the index serves as a policy compass to set direction and targets, a management tool to track and evaluate progress, and a means to build international credibility and transparency.

The council plans to integrate the Thailand National Education Index into the OECD's Indicators of Education Systems (INES) for international comparison and analysis. Eraviruthwon emphasized that Thailand needs this index to drive and develop education efficiently, and that having comparable data is essential to identify Thailand's position relative to other nations. The meeting included representatives from the National Statistics Office, Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), and the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council, working toward unified data standards. The council is currently integrating data for the OECD's Education at a Glance report and the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) to prepare Thailand's education system for international standards and potential OECD membership.