Teachers
expressed general disapproval of politicians, viewing them as being selfish and
responsible for the disorder and problems in society, with an overwhelming 90%
saying they would never want to enter politicss, Suan Dusit Poll reported on
Wednesday.
Pollsters
at Suan Dusit Rajabhat University based the finding on a survey on “Teachers
and Thai Politics” conducted to coincide with National Teacher’s Day,
interviewing 1,102 teachers nationwide between Jan 10 and 15.
Asked
for their opinions on Thai politics, 42.75% of the respondents agreed it
was flooded with disorder and problems and this should be quickly
addressed and settled, Suan Dusit Poll reported.
A
total of 25.95% of the polled teachers agreed Thai politicians to have no sense
of unity and just keep on quarrelling and trying to win over each other, 22.9%
of them saw politicians as being corrupt and looking after their
own and their allies’ interests, and 8.40% agreed politicians had no
ethics and no sense of virtue and were not a good role model for youth or
society in general.
On
possible solutions to the current political conflict and social divisions,
38.12% said all sides should take one step back and actually listen to
each others' opinions, 29.28% said politicians must show unity and adhere to
principles of morality and virtue, 20.99% said politicians must help teach
children to be good people and to help each other, while 11.61% said people
must be consciously aware and impartial when assessing information they
are presented with.
Asked
what they expect of politicians, 39.56% of the polled teachers said they should
give priority to education development, 29.57% said honour teachers
and improve their career conditions, to be equal with people in other
occupations, 16.52% wanted politicians to be good people, a good model for
society, and refrain from involvement in corruption, while 14.35% said build up
moral support for teachers, raise their salaries and other welfare
benefits to a more suitable level.
Asked
whether they had any wish to become a politician, an overwhelming 90.86%
of the teachers responded with a resounding No. The said they wanted to
be a teacher, they liked the job and they wanted to teach children
to be good people and to help develop the country.
Only
9.14% of them said they would like to be a politician, given that they
wanted to see change for the better and development towards progress and
prosperity.
(bangkokpost.com)