Professor Dr Pavich Tongroach, secretary-general of the Commission of Higher Education and chairman of the summit organising committee, said after the closing ceremony that the quality and true roles of higher education had become the main focus of the three-day summit.

The participants, comprising more than 1,000 education ministers, college presidents, rectors and other education officials from 88 countries, expressed their concern at the shift of the purpose of higher education from producing "intellectual capital" for society to producing certification, said Pavich.

Another hot issue was cross-border education, with developed countries wanting education to expand beyond their boundaries while developing countries were afraid that education would be a new form of colonisation.

Pavich said the Bangkok Declaration and other conclusions of all discussion topics would be submitted to the governments of all 88 participating countries, Unesco, the World Bank and the United Nations.