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Education

Main article: Education in Thailand 

Primary school students in Thailand

Thailand enjoys a high level of literacy, and education is provided by a well-organized school

system of kindergartens, primary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools, numerous

vocational colleges, and universities. The private sector of education is well developed and

significantly contributes to the overall provision of education which the government would not be

able to meet through the public establishments. Education is compulsory up to and including age

group 14, and the government provides free education through to age group 17.

Chulalongkorn University, established in 1917 is the oldest university in Thailand.

Thailand has never been colonized, and its teaching relies heavily on rote rather than on student-

centred methodology.

The establishment of reliable and coherent curricula for its primary and secondary schools is

subject to such rapid changes that schools and their teachers are not always sure what they are

supposed to be teaching, and authors and publishers of textbooks are unable to write and print

new editions quickly enough to keep up with the volatile situation. The issue concerning university

entrance has therefore also been in constant upheaval for a number of years. Nevertheless,

education has seen its greatest progress in the years since 2001. Most of the present generation

of students are computer literate, and knowledge of English is on the increase at least in quantityif not in quality.

Extensive nationwide IQ tests were carried out in December 2010 to January 2011 on 72,780

Thai students. The average IQ was found to be at 98.59, which is higher than previous studies

have found. The IQ levels are not consistent throughout the country though, with the lowest

average of 88.07 found in the southern region of Narathiwat and the highest average of 108.91

reported in Nonthaburi province. The Thai Ministry of Public Health blames the discrepancies on

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iodine deficiency and steps are being taken to require that iodine be added to table salt, a

practice common in many Western countries.[50]

[edit]Science and technology

Main article: Science and technology in Thailand 

Eastern Water Public Company Limited headquarters in Bangkok.

14" telescope Astronomical Seeing Test project by theMinistry of Science & Technology.

The National Science and Technology Development Agency is an agency of the government of 

Thailand which supports research in science and technology and their application in the Thai

economy.

From the agency's website:

The National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) reflects the Thai

government's deep commitment to apply scientific and technological capabilities to promote and

sustain the nation's economic, social development and growth through the promotion of linkageand collaboration between the public and private sectors. Since its inception in 1991, NSTDA has

grown into an active organization with a diverse program focusing on cutting-edge S&T research,

design, development and engineering. NSTDA offers a full potential and opportunity for 

cooperative challenges and investment. Through such a convergence, the organization brings a

layered, multi-faceted approach to the scholarly and most practical description of scientific and

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technological discoveries and advancement to serve national needs and maintain a sustained

linkage with the international community.

The Synchrotron Light Research Institute (SLRI) is a Thai research institution on physics,

chemistry, material science and life sciences. It is located on the Suranaree University of 

Technology Campus (SUT), in Nakhorn Ratchaseema, about 300 km north east of Bangkok. TheInstitute, financed by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), houses the only large

scale synchrotron in South East Asia. It was originally built as the SORTEC synchrotron in Japan

and later moved to Thailand and modified for 1.2 GeV operation. It provides users with regularly

scheduled light.

Weather 

Thailand can best be described as tropical and humid for the majority of the

country during most of the year. The area of Thailand north of Bangkok has a

climate determined by three seasons whilst the southern peninsular region of 

Thailand has only two.

In northern Thailand the seasons are clearly defined. Between November and

May the weather is mostly dry, however this is broken up into the periods

November to February and March to May. The later of these two periods has the

higher relative temperatures as although the northeast monsoon does not directly 

effect the northern area of Thailand, it does cause cooling breezes from

November to February.

The other northern season is from May to November and is dominated by the

southwest monsoon, during which time rainfall in the north is at its heaviest.

The southern region of Thailand really has only two seasons -- the wet and the

dry. These seasons do not run at the same time on both the east and west side of the peninsular. On the west coast the southwest monsoon brings rain and often

heavy storms from April through to October, whilst on the east coast the most

rain falls between September and December.

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Overall the southern parts of Thailand get by far the most rain with around 2,400

millimetres every year, compared with the central and northern regions of 

Thailand, both of which get around 1,400 millimetres.