Meechai added that the panel should include outsiders with a deep understanding of educational affairs who enjoy widespread recognition and are open-minded.

“Members of the country’s educational sector have failed to step out of the old box. Without a fresh perspective, the sector will just be trapped with the same old problems,” he said during a meeting held by the Office of the Education Council.

The charter draft prepared by the CDC would require the Cabinet to set up an independent panel to give recommendations and prepare laws to reform the country’s educational sector, Meechai said.

The charter draft does not name the prime minister as the chairman of the panel.

“This independent panel must complete its work within two years after the new constitution takes effect,” he said.

Meechai recommended a holistic approach towards managing the country’s educational affairs.

“We need unity for all relevant units to head in the same direction. Don’t think there are separate scopes of work when it comes to educational reforms,” he said.

Meechai said relevant authorities should not work separately, as their specialised knowledge and expertise could be useful in other parts of the educational sector.

The charter draft prepared by the CDC and approved by voters in a public referendum last year states that education must develop students as good people with discipline and pride in the nation, he said.

He said the draft also required students to be equipped with expertise based on their respective aptitudes and for individuals to act responsibly towards the nation and their families, communities and society.

“In support of this goal, the charter draft requires that the state provide 12 years of free education from pre-school age,” Meechai said.