On education, let's imitate Thailand

Sighs of relief were breathed all round this week when, following the intervention of the courts, the teachers' strike was called off. For those students preparing for exams this year, the pressure for 2015 just increased.

Starting the year at an already disadvantaged position cannot be comforting for public school goers.

Meanwhile, the two weeks gave us an insight into the system. Students, adamantly reporting to school even if it meant taking up the yoke of teaching and full public libraries were a refreshing glimpse into last ditch initiatives. In some rural areas, however, the media showed children taking up revenue generating activities, in the absence of classes.

That education is gathering importance by being a viable alternative to underage working in rural Kenya is encouraging. But the lack of facilities to go with schooling is disheartening.

It reminded me of the encounters I had with public libraries, growing up. At the time, there were only two such facilities within reach of where we lived. Back then, the Kenya National Library was a slightly depressing place, full of musty smells and foul smelling washrooms.

I hope that things have changed for the better. But still, it was a novel alternative to going to school for holiday tuition so I found a way to enjoy it.

Contrast this with an experience I had in Asia. In 2011, I was in Thailand for the holidays. In true tourist fashion, we frequented the shopping malls a fair bit. One afternoon, as we were having late lunch across a large bookshop, I noticed that there were sitting areas that had been set up in clusters on one of the floors.

At about 4PM, school going children of various ages filed in and proceeded to make themselves comfortable.

They started to do what I assumed was their homework for the next two hours, with some sitting through group discussions.

On inquiring, I was informed, albeit in halting English that this was quite a common occurrence. I think I would have liked school a lot more too if I had been allowed to lounge in a bookstore as I tackled my homework while I waited to be picked up by my folks.

But then again, Thailand is known for reinventing itself so I should not have been surprised. Did you know, for example, that it has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world?

It is currently reported at under one per cent. This is no mean feat, speaking as someone who lives in a country where unemployment statistics are touted at 40 to 50 per cent.

I think there are more than just a few lessons we can learn from this Asian country, given that we face similar challenges. A significant contributor to the low unemployment rate is the informal sector, which constitutes over half the labour force.

One characteristic that Kenya and Thailand share is that tourism is a major mainstay of the economy.

In Thailand, it contributes between 10 and 20 per cent to the country's GDP. And yet, if you went online or watched Asia news, you are likely to come across reports of deadly street protests, military coups and martial law.

The Red Shirts and Yellows, usually behind the coups and civil unrest, are bitterly divided camps behind most protests leading to the loss of lives and taking to the streets when they feel that either has the upper hand.

But still, even with this fierce and intractable struggle for power, Thailand has earned considerable goodwill among its investors, and they have proved willing to stick with the country through months of social and political trauma.

In Bangkok, you are likely to come across scores of small food vendors as well as walk in salons where you can get a neck, head or foot massage for a very reasonable fee.

It is the perfect intersection of big players in the industry, represented by the big hotels and beach resorts, as well as smaller entrepreneurs. This aspect of the informal sector contributes to the low unemployment rate.

And while in Kenya our medical fraternity down their tools and practitioners in the field continuous go to other counties in search of greener pastures, in Thailand medical tourism is gaining popularity and is a major income earner. Maybe it's time we rethought our own tourism industry.

Thailand's tourism industry is not just a case of taking advantage of and monetising naturally occurring resources. There is concerted effort to create an 'everything under one roof' attraction. I doubt there's any natural habitat that can accommodate polar bears, tigers, sea lions and orangutans in the same environment. Yes, the Thais, in true innovative fashion have duplicated the Arctic Circle, snow and ice included.

Thailand's tourism sector has suffered a couple of setbacks which for all intents and purposes should taint its image.