WHILE the government says the Thailand 4.0 national development blueprint will form an integral part of ongoing national reconciliation and reform efforts that aim to reshape the country over the next 20 years, according the PM’s Office, but many sectors – notably education – do not appear to be keeping pace.

Thailand 4.0 has been detailed in multiple facets, with the education element of the policy meant to focus on digital literacy and innovation based on a new stage of scientific development.

However, most students appear to be stuck in the outdated era of 1.2, and the most common way for them to learn is through Internet searches.

Supot Hannongbua, a lecturer at the Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Science, said if the government wanted to reach the 4.0 era, it would have to integrate education into the plan by turning students into innovators.

But PM’s Office Minister Suvit Maesincee, who is in charge of implementing the strategy, told The Nation that before the Thailand 4.0 blueprint was activated the government had to put the reformist, reconciliatory and long-term development agendas into a unified vision for more practical measures that could be implemented simultaneously.

“The previous political conflict and divisiveness stemmed from social injustice and inequality in many areas, including economic inequality,” he said. “Over the past two years, the degree of this conflict and emotions have toned down.

“However, national reconciliation is not just about the two opposing political parties or an amnesty for their previous offences. There are at least 10 major issues that need to be focused on to achieve results. So Deputy Premier Prawit Wongsuwan will be holding sessions with all stakeholders, including political parties, to hear their opinions over the next three months.”

Suvit said following that process, the government planned to implement the new Thailand 4.0 blueprint.

He said it was hoped the blueprint was a “common ground” shared by the majority of Thais, as the country had to “legitimise a common ground” to work on achieving its goals over the next 20 years.

“It’s a holistic approach, as we believe the majority of Thai people want to have a good future in terms of economic well-being,” he said.

Recent polls suggested that people are somewhat satisfied with the more peaceful domestic political situation but are still unsatisfied about the economy.

Suvit said most people also wanted to see more social justice and equal opportunities for themselves and their children in terms of employment, healthcare, education and other public services.

“I think it’s a form of economic democratisation, as democracy is not just about political matters. On the economic front in this context, we hope to turn this new vision into actions that lead to the creation of new growth industries and enterprises, smart farmers, tech start-ups, etc,” he said.

“This should be a substitute for the traditional hand-outs or populist policies. In fact, if some people are too poor and lack access to certain public services, we should give them extra help.”

Suvit said if the country could achieve these development targets, national harmony would come naturally. He said initial results could be expected within the next two to three years, “if we can show the public that the efforts are transparent”.

He said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s leadership was also a crucial factor in supporting the implementation of the Thailand 4.0 vision.

“In my opinion, the Thai people, especially the poor, have excessively depended on politicians in terms of economic well-being, so we hope to help them to help themselves,” he said.

“After all, the road map for general elections for the return to democracy remains intact, but we want to start the actions now and hand over the task to the next government.”

Suvit said overall the Thailand 4.0 vision aimed to achieve a secure, wealthy and sustainable future for the country, as Thailand aspired to leapfrog from its current middle-income-country status to become a higher-income country.

He said the country needed to address social and economic inequalities and developmental imbalances, which result in environmental issues and other problems. In other words, he added, “we have a motto that no one should be left behind and the distribution of wealth should be widespread when the economic pie is bigger”.

He said the world had entered into the fourth industrial revolution in which digital, bio and other technologies had disrupted many industries. China has its “Made in China 2025” vision, while South Korea’s vision is the “Creative Korean Economy”.

“We also need to have a long-term vision to adapt to global changes. In fact, our last major national reform efforts happened during the reign of King Rama V, so we need to take this opportunity,” Suvit said.

“Due to many years of political conflict and chronic corruption, our annual economic growth rate, which has recovered to about 3 per cent per annum, remains significantly below our potential of 6-7 per cent growth.”