Thailand?s Prime Minister went back to school yesterday in a nationally-televised bid to drive reform of an education system critics say lags behind its Asian neighbours.

Thailand boasts one of Asia?s fastest growing economies, but its workforce needs stronger skills in mathematics, science and foreign languages to compete better internationally, experts say.

?Learning maths is like laying bricks,? Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a former policeman with a doctorate in criminal justice, told 43 students at a Bangkok high school as the television cameras rolled.

?You need to lay bricks slowly, level by level, waiting for the cement to dry before you start laying the next level,? he said before giving them algebra problems to solve. Despite an enrolment rate of 82 per cent, one of the highest in Asia, the quality of Thailand?s secondary education remains below its main competitors, the Asian Development Bank said in its 2003 report last month.

It cited international studies showing Thai students scored lower in maths than Singapore, China, Hong Kong and South Korea, but better than the Philippines and Indonesia. The bank urged all Asian governments to spend more on education to ensure a high quality, more adaptable labour force.

In the election campaign that swept him to power two years ago, Thaksin promised to shake up the education system and provide 12 years of free compulsory schooling nationwide.