Saraburi school director criticized for making students prostrate themselves before h

[misskit]

The outgoing director of a well-known public school in Thailand’s central province of Saraburi has come under heavy criticism on social media for holding a farewell ceremony in which students were made to prostrate themselves in front of him.

The ceremony took place on November 8th at the Khaeng Khoi School during a send-off for its director Mr. Natthanan Danupitak, who has been appointed the director of Saraburi Wittayakhom School. Several pictures of the ceremony were posted on social media, drawing widespread criticism, before they were removed.

One picture shows Mr. Natthanan seated on a chair in front of the flag pole and a student representative is seen lying prostrate before him after presenting him with a garland. Another picture shows the director, accompanied by school executives, walking past lines of students, some holding flags and others holding trays of garlands, as if he is inspecting a guard of honour. The other picture shows students lying prostrate in the front yard of the school.

Mr. Amorn Amornrattananon, an advisor to Deputy Education Minister Khunying Kalaya Sophonpanich and an alumnus of the school, wrote in his Facebook Post today that the conduct of the school director was totally unacceptable.
He said that he will find out if such a farewell ceremony was the initiative of the director or the school staff, claiming that it was inappropriate.

Dr. Somkiat Osotsapha, former lecturer at the Faculty of Economics of Chulalongkorn University, wrote an angry post on his Facebook page today, questioning whether the director was thinking he was some sort of a lord, before whom other people had to kowtow.

He accused the director of ruining the reputation of the school. Instead of holding such a ceremony, he suggested that the new director should have reached out to the students by meeting them in their classrooms.

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/sarabur...es-before-him/

[harrybarracuda]

What a dick.

[Seekingasylum]

Wonderful metaphor for the reality that is medieval Thailand and its serfs.

[jabir]

I thought people only hit the deck for royalty and religion; if so he's bordering on blasphemy and or lese majeste.

[taxexile]

s.a.

Wonderful metaphor for the reality that is medieval Thailand and its serfs.

quite so, grovelling is the thais national pastime, inculcated from birth, and nobody should be surprised by the behaviour of the head teacher.

everyone, except a small number at the top of the tree, have to submit, surrender and stoop to someone or other in thailand. knowing ones status and rank is of prime importance and regulates the progress of each and every act of social and business intercourse, those that balk at this will soon find themselves knocked into line and humiliated. the teacher will be back at work next term and all will be forgotten.

even the falang, whose haughtiness is despised by the thai, and who may consider themselves above such feudal shenanigans, must bow and scrape when required by police or immigration officials.

[Neverna]

the teacher will be back at work next term and all will be forgotten.

He's a school director, not a teacher, and he's now working at his new school. No time lost at all.

sbw.ac.th

[HuangLao]

So very Thai [yet, not always in numerous instances].

Challenging or questioning faux authority is not hardwired.
Whatever.

[Farang Ky Ay]

That's what Thai schools are made for, producing sycophants...conformity is the aim of education systems in many parts of the world but it's particularly well enforced here. When being blindly obedient (and taking part in frivolous activities to prepare for festivities) has as much weight in the final grade as, let say, mathematics, Thai and English combined.