Mahidol and Chulalongkorn medical schools have come out in support of a controversial plan by Srinakharinwirot University to offer an international medical programme.
He believes that 80 per cent of them would be Thais.
"We do not expect to make money from these 20-30 students, but to gain international recognition from providing such a course," he said.
International courses on other subjects have been widely available for a while but resistance arose only when it came to a medical curriculum, he said.
"I think the opposition has been based on a lack of understanding," he said.
Chulalongkorn's Faculty of Medicine would further push for this proposal, unless the government had a clear policy against it, he said.
Dr Pakit Witchayanont, dean of Mahidol University's Siriraj Medical School, said the same old curriculum was being taught in medical schools here for more than 100 years, and an international curriculum was needed to keep up with schools abroad.
"In ten years' time we will be lagging behind Malaysia and Burma if we don't start the international course project now," he added.
