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Published on September 11, 2007

Published on September 11, 2007

 so that they focus on unique strengths - not blanket education to all as it is today - according to the secretary-general of the Higher Education Commission. Krisnapong Kiratikorn said that to accommodate learners-cum-workers, the master plan would also allow students to finish their study in more than four years, while those people today considered to be above university age should be allowed to enrol in universities to improve their knowledge and hence their productivity.

"Our goal is not to solve existing problems. While the first master plan focused on international excellence, this one focuses on the division of labour. We're looking forward to what kind of labour Thailand will need in the next 15 years," Krisnapong said.

To produce the most appropriate workforce in the future, universities - numbering 145 to date - must be categorised into four groups.

First, those that provide post-graduate education should focus on research to strengthen Thailand's competitiveness in the world. Second, specialised universities should produce specialised labour mainly for the IT and engineering fields.

Third are four-year colleges, where knowledge workers should be produced for all kinds of businesses. Fourth are community colleges, where students are educated on subjects to meet the demands of communities which are playing a more important role in the economy. The students are also supposed to be the "change agents", to introduce new ideas to their communities.

"Everybody must have a place to stand but we just can't stand in the same spots. There are so many universities which, although providing undergraduate to post-graduate education, their products are not the cream of the crop. We must find our strengths and go for it. Then we can excel in our respective areas," he said.

He referred to the fact that many Thai universities offer degrees, but some are in fields that do not fit the demand. As such, it is a waste for a country with limited resources.

The master plan, taking six months for completion, was drafted following more than 100 discussion sessions with all parties involved - real economic sectors, universities, local authorities, local and foreign experts, media, students, the National Economic and Social Development Board, politicians and state agencies.

Shaping it are seven main elements: demography, energy and environment, employment, decentralisation, conflicts and violence, post-industrialisation and post-modernisation, and sufficiency economy.

As the working population will shrink, expansion in university numbers should be stopped and the government must focus on quality, not the quantity of people with degrees. On energy and environment, there is an urgent need for support for research in this field as well as the creation of workers in the area.

"Importantly, the agricultural sector is shrinking. As in other countries, Thailand needs to prepare workers for the industrial and service sectors, while helping farmers increase their yields and become less dependent on labour. Eventually, services will be the largest economic sector," Krisnapong said.

Decentralisation means more budgets for local administrative bodies. At present, 25 per cent of the government budget goes to these bodies. Universities in the areas, which could benefit from extra funding from the administrative bodies, should play a role in educating the locals for the locals.

Students also need non-academic skills and career advice, and their lecturers should play a more important role in guiding these students towards the new world.

To achieve the goal, performance measurement must be exercised on universities, to know which fields they are good in. This would lead to the reduction of faculties or assimilation of their redundant courses, while some universities could share facilities and lecturers with others located in close proximity.

Income Contingent Loans are another engine for driving change. Rather than offering loans for any field, they should allocate funding to those who are studying in the fields which would be of future benefit to the country. The priority fields could be changed, for example, every five years.

"Students in high-demand fields must come first. Then these students will choose where they are going. Universities weak in the fields would then have to adjust their roles," Krisnapong said.

Last but not least, tax financing should be replaced with fee financing. In other words, students should finance their own studies, either from their own funds or from loans.

"Tax revenue is limited and it depends largely on economic growth," he said, adding that to excel, universities could no longer sit idly by waiting for government budgets."

To meet market demand and better handle university revenue, this requires changes in the administration as well.

To Krisnapong, university councils consisting of employees and executives with vested interests in any changes no longer work. He favours a set of rules to allow only qualified people to sit on the councils, in the same way as the securities authorities screen listed companies' directors.

This should improve governance practices and ensure that universities' policies improve the institutions, and not just benefit employees.

"It's time that the government used these mechanisms to press for changes. I know these could be far-reaching ideas, but we need a goal and we need to achieve it, or Thailand will lose out in the world market place," he added.

The master plan will soon go to the commission for approval, before being forwarded to the Cabinet. It is expected to be put into action early next year.

Achara Deboonme,

 Chularat Saengpassa

 The Nation