Call for more privatesector support for vocational students

Somwang is acting director of the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (Onesqa), a public organisation.

Only 30 per cent of vocational students have been in the hands of the Kingdom's 390 private institutes.

The remainder students, now totalling 554,809 students, are receiving vocational education at 415 governmentrun schools or colleges.

"This happens despite the fact the government has a policy to promote private operators in vocationaleducation services," Somwang said.

He said the government should seriously promote the private operators' role in the provision of vocationaleducation services because it does not have adequate budget to bring in all modern technologies to the sector.

"The sector requires a relatively high budget. So, the government had better give a greater role to the private sector," he said.

He added that to attract private operators to the sector, the government should introduce concrete measures such as imposing limits on the number of students the governmentrun institutes can recruit.

"Without concrete measures, the private sector won't be ready to make investments in the vocationaleducation services," Somwang said.

He insisted the government should operate vocational courses as models or only where the private sector could not do so.

In addition, Somwang suggested the government should give some assurances to vocational students that they will be able to get a job after their graduation.

Statistics show 61 per cent of holders of high vocational certificates have decided to further their education, which more often than not will encourage them to switch to a new field.

"The country has thus lost many human resources with vocational skills," Somwang said.

He urged the government to quickly develop Thai Vocational Qualifications and seriously partner with private companies to produce vocational graduates.

"Bilateral cooperation is not enough. It should be a real partnership," Somwang said.