The Minor Group Company and the Pizza Company have provided support to Thailand Knowledge Park (TK park) and become its partner in the “Read Thailand” project, which is a collaborative project that TK park, the Ministry
of Education and Thailand Health Promotion Fund initiated to celebrate the 60th birthday anniversary of HRH Princess
Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in 2015. As an avid reader, writer and teacher, HRH the Princess has been the guiding light of the Thai educational system. This project aims to inspire and encourage more interest in reading among Thai children, youth and adults as well as to advance Thailand into a “learning and reading” society.
Dr. Sirikorn Maneerin, President of Thailand Knowledge Park’s (TK park) sub-committee and an executive member of the Office of Knowledge Administration and Promotion, explained that the the tive Ministry of Education,Minor Group Company and the Pizza Company had provided a financial support of provided a financial a 1l system ,000,000 baht to the “Read Thailand” project for the purchase of books selected by a committee of experts. The selected books are divided into 3 categories: books written by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, books related to the required contents in different subjects in the school curricular, and books on riddles, poems and fictions, for example, the books of poems composed by King Rama II and Rama VI. The books purchased with this fund will be sent to various education districts across the country and rotated to different schools with insufficient number of books but are determined to promote the love of reading among their students. We would like to thank the Minor Group Company and the Pizza Company for their generous support to the project. Their contribution will help creating a new page in the history of reading for Thai students”.
Khun Patamawalai Rattanapol, President of the operation and human resources department of the Minor Group Company spoke of this collaboration: “the Minor Group Company has recognized the importance of instilling the love of reading among the Thai youth. The “Read Thailand” project provides financial support to procure useful and valuable books to schools in all parts of the country. It is a highly beneficial project and we are delighted to learn of its existence. The Pizza Company, through the Minor Group Company, has previously been involved in a reading promotion campaign for elementary school children for the past 11 years under the “The Pizza Company Inviting Kids to Read” program. Over 300,000 students from 600 schools had participated in the program. The Minor Group Company is very pleased to be part of this historic moment for the promotion of reading among Thai children”.
The “Read Thailand” project is set up as a qualitative and quantitative reading campaign for Grade 5 students in all schools across the country. Reading contest and reading promotion activities are effective incentives to involved students in the campaign.
The reading contests are divided into three categories: Small schools (fewer than 150 students), Medium schools (150-300 students), and Large schools (over 300 students). The project will be launched simultaneously countrywide in the first and second terms of the 2013 academic year. Schools enrolled in the project will submit the outcome of their students’ reading to the “Top Reading Schools” website in accordance with the contest rules.
The contests will be carried out on four levels: Local, Provincial, Regional educational supervisory zones and National levels. A total of 39 schools will be selected -- 13 from each category (large, medium and small schools). The reading outcome of all 39 schools will be exhibited at TK park and committee members, who are authorities in different fields, will scrutinize their works to identify the three “top reading schools” in each category. The first-prize winner schools in each category will be awarded the HRH Princess Maha Chakri’s trophy and an overseas study tour. The second-prize winner schools will be awarded the Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s trophy, and the third-prize winner schools will be awarded the Minister of Education’s trophy. All winner schools will also receive a certificate and plaque of recognition together with a cash prize.
The first 10 regional educational supervisory zones with the highest number or schools in the project will receive a certificate of recognition from the Minister of Education. Project’s details and application form can be downloaded fromwww.readthailand.com. The application will be closed on 15 June of this year.
