Law-makers don't seem to understand the reality of today's schools. This is probably because they have never taught students at this level. Western values vs. Eastern values Western values generally emphasise rights, liberties, democracy and freedom of expression. Justification for those values is based on the history, culture and traditions of western societies. But they are not global values.
Eastern countries have their own set of values.
Asian people place greater value on the family and on the needs and interests of the community than on the individual and his or her rights to absolute personal freedom, he wrote. According to Mahathir, Asian values must include respect for authority in order to guarantee the stability of society as a whole. Good authority is a reciprocal phenomenon involving responsibilities and obligations of both sides-leaders and followers. These Asian values also apply in Thai society. In school, the personal freedom of students and the individual's rights are restricted by the schools' rules and regulations.