Pin Malakul - Work - Early Years

Early Years

Upon ML Pin's return from Europe in 1931, Public Instruction Minister Prince Dhani Nivat appointed him as a government official under Krom Vichakan, a department of the ministry. He also served the Prince in a somewhat unofficial capacity, assisting the Prince's work and observing the ministry's various goings-on. Under the Prince's directions, ML Pin became an instructor in Mathematics, Thai and English at Chulalongkorn University, in addition to the various duties he performed for the ministry. In 1934, he became head of the university's teacher-preparation programme and Headmaster of the Horwang Secondary School of Chulalongkorn University, which served as the country's first demonstration (teacher training) school. He began developing projects for the school, although few of them were realised at the time. One such project was the creation of the country's first school workshop.

In 1938, Plaek Pibulsonggram, as President of Chulalongkorn University, assigned ML Pin the duty of overseeing the establishment of Chulalongkorn's University Preparatory School according to the National Education Plan of BE 2479 (1936 CE). Although given a tight timeframe of only three months, the new school was created on the location of Horwang School, and gradually absorbed the older school, the entire staff merging within a few years. ML Pin became the first director of the school, which was the country's first coeducational, and is now known as Triam Udom Suksa School and widely regarded as one of the best schools in the country. During his term as director, which lasted until 1944, he developed and implemented a fixed class schedule system, along with a mechanical timetable used to assign teaching periods, which is still in use today.

As World War II reached Thailand in December 1941, Japanese troops raided and occupied the school, forcing teachers and students to evacuate and relocate to temporary locations around Bangkok, and later to various other provinces. At one point, ML Pin disguised himself as a janitor to smuggle important documents and cash out of the school.

In 1942, not long after the invasion, Prime Minister Pibulsonggram assumed the post of Education Minister himself, and appointed ML Pin as Director-General of the Department of General Education. Although resources were limited due to the war, ML Pin was able to manage the budget and personnel to allow a countrywide 12 baht salary for rural local schoolteachers. During his term, every province was provided with at least one upper-secondary school. He also became involved in frequent school migrations due to both the war and changing policy.

One issue with which ML Pin was deeply concerned was that of the country's teacher-training system, an issue he stressed during an audience with King Ananda Mahidol after the war in 1946, and would later address during his term as Permanent Secretary of Education.