More language classes on the way

BANGKOK, 25 October 2012: Ministry of Labour’s Department of Skill Development says additional foreign language training centres will be set up for Thai students and workers to prepare them for the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.

The ministry permanent secretary, Somkiart Chayasriwong, said the DSD is cooperating with educational institutes under the Ministry of Education to set up 27 language training centres at skill development institutes and centres nationwide.

“The Department acting general director, Nakorn Silpa-archa, was assigned to set up additional language centres to cover every province this year,” he said.

“The project is part of the Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s policy to improve language skills over the next three years,” he added.

The existing centres provide courses for several languages including English, Chinese, Korean and Burmese.

About 2,500 people attended language courses from July to September.

In addition, the Tourist Police responsible for tourist safety have been told to upgrade their language skills. In recent year they have relied heavily on volunteers mainly foreigners who assist officers to communicate with tourists who require assistance.

Royal Thai Police advisor, Police General Wut Liptapanlop, said earlier this month: “We need to increase English skills to be able to communicate with tourists fluently. This is a priority that must be achieved within six months.

After studying crime-prone locations, nationwide, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and national police chiefs have created a list of “safety zone” areas under the jurisdictions of 353 police stations in 56 provinces.

Police will protect tourists and reduce crimes in these safety zones. In Bangkok, safety zones will include Khao San Road, Royal City Avenue, Ratchadaphisek Road and Patpong Road. In other provinces, tourist hot spots such as Samui, Pattaya and Hat Yai are expected to be named safety zones.

He indicated: “High-level police, such as deputy commissioners of the Central Investigation Bureau, will be directly involved in the project. At the provincial level, the deputy commanders of each provincial force will be involved.”

He said foreign tourists currently face four types of problems in Thailand — crime, scams, disasters and degraded tourist attractions.

The number of checkpoints in the safety zones will be increased and residents will be asked to suggest their own solutions to beat crime in  districts where they reside, he added.

The Tourist Police Division is now campaigning to raise awareness and understanding of the project among the police, tourists, hotel operators and travel agencies.

Sourced: ttrweekly