51681 Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP THE WORLD BANK GROUP Table of Contents Table of Contents ii Acknowledgments iv Abbreviations v Executive Summary vii Chapter 1 - Why Invest in Higher Education? 1 Introduction 1 WhyInvestinHigherEducation? 2 HigherEducation,Globalization,Trade,andTechnologicalDevelopment 6 Chapter 2 - An Overview of Higher Education in Thailand 16 StructureoftheThaiHigherEducationSystem 17 TheOrganizationoftheThaiHigherEducationSystem 24 HigherEducationLegislationandReforms 26 Chapter 3 - Access to Higher Education 31 StudentParticipation 31 EquityinAccesstoHigherEducation 36 InternationalStudentsinThailand 39 ThaiStudentsOverseas 41 StudentAcademicChoices 42 Chapter 4 - Quality and Relevance of Higher Education 45 InternationalComparisons 45 InstitutionalQualityMeasures 48 QualityAssurancePractices 56 EmploymentandtheLaborMarket 58 ii Table of Contents Chapter 5 - Financing, Governance, and Institutional 67 Management of Higher Education PublicExpenditureinHigherEducation 67 InstitutionalandPrivateExpenditures 71 FinancialAid 75 ManagementandAccountabilitySystem 82 Chapter 6 - Conclusions, Challenges, and Policy Implications 87 The "Bigger Picture" Challenge 97 TheWayForward 100 References 108 Table of Contents Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy iii THE WORLD BANK GROUP ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TheThailandSocialMonitorserieswasconceivedasatooltoreflectoncurrent situations and about selected issues inThailand's health, education and social protection sectors.ThefirstSocialMonitor,Challenge for Social Reform,waslaunchedin1999inresponse tothe1997economiccrisis.Todate,sevenSocialMonitorshavebeenissued. ThisSocialMonitorwaspreparedbyLuisBenvenisteandOmpornRegelunderthe overallguidanceofAnnetteDixon(CountryDirector),EduardoVelezBustillo(SectorManager), andEmmanuelJimenez(SectorDirector).ThetaskteamwishestoespeciallythankDr.Sumate Yamnoon(SecretaryGeneral,CommissiononHigherEducation),Dr.ChantavitSujatanond (DeputySecretaryGeneral,CommissiononHigherEducation)andtheMinistryofEducation stafffortheirinputsandinvaluablecomments.RonaldKim,RobertaMaleeBassett,Tsuyoshi Fukao,AchariyaKohtbantau(TheAsiaFoundation),TatianaMelguizo(UniversityofSouthern California)andPiriyaPholphirulprovidedextensivecontributionstothepreparationofthis report.The task team benefited from background papers prepared by RubkwanTharm- mapornphilas(ColumbiaUniversity)andRonaldKim.Theteamwouldalsoliketoextendits appreciationtoJamilSalmiforhiscontinuoussupportandpeerreviewers,ChristopherThomas andSusanHirshbergfortheirinsightsandrecommendationstostrengthenthisstudy.Vachra- ras Pasuksuwan, Joan Morgan-Nicholson, and Chutima Lowattanakarn provided excellent administrativeassistance. iv ABBREVIATIONS AIT AsianInstituteofTechnology AW AsiaWeek BTF BasicStandardTuitionandFeeCosts CHE CommissiononHigherEducation CUAS CentralUniversityAdmissionsSystem EQA ExternalQualityAssurance GER GrossEnrollmentRate GMS GreaterMekongSub-region GPA GradePointAverage GPI GenderParityIndex HE HigherEducation HEP HigherEducationPlan Abbreviations ICL IncomeContingentLoan IMF InternationalMonetaryFund IQA InternalQualityAssurance ISCED InternationalStandardClassificationofEducation MOE MinistryofEducation MUA MinistryofUniversityAffairs NB NationalBudget NEA NationalEducationActof1999(Amendedin2002) NIDA NationalInstituteforDevelopmentandAdministration NIETS NationalInstituteofEducationalTestingService NSO NationalStatisticsOffice NSTDA NationalScienceandTechnologyDevelopmentAgency OECD OfficeofEconomicCooperationandDevelopment ONESQA NationalEducationStandardsandQualityAssessment OPEC OfficeofthePrivateEducationCommission Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy v THE WORLD BANK GROUP ABBREVIATIONS R&D ResearchandDevelopment RTG RoyalThaiGovernment S&E ScienceandEngineering S&T ScienceandTechnology SCI ScienceCitationIndex SJTU China'sShanghaiJiaoTongUniversity SLS StudentLoanScheme SME SmallandMediumEnterprises THB ThaiBaht THES TimeHigherEducationSupplement TICAL ThailandIncomeContingentandAllowanceLoan UILs University-IndustryLinkages UNCTAD UnitedNationsConferenceonTradeandDevelopment UNESCO UnitedNationsEducationalScientificandCulturalOrganization WEI WorldEducationIndex vi Executive Summary Theglobaleconomyhasbecomeincreasinglycomplexandcompetitive.Many countrieshaveturnedtoknowledge-basedgrowthtotransitionfromlabor-intensivesectors tonewandemergingeconomicactivitiesthatrequirehigherskillsandintellectualcapital.In Thailand,highereducationincreasinglyplaysanessentialroleinenablinggreateropportunities foreconomicgrowthandattractivenesstoforeigninvestment.ThisSocialMonitorprovides asnapshotofthecurrentstateofthehighereducationsectorinThailandbyexaminingits keycharacteristics,latestdevelopments,strengths,andweaknesses.Italsofocusesonthe extremely important relationships between higher education, research and development, innovationpolicies,andtheprivatesector. Chapter 1 addressesthequestionofwhyhighereducationmattersingeneralandex- ploresthefundamentallinkbetweengainsinhighereducationandoverallreturnstosociety, Executive Summary includinghigherwages,enhancedproductivity,andsocialmobility.Internationalevidence suggeststhatmaturehighereducationsystemsprovideanenablingenvironmenttopromote theskillsandcapacitiesthatenhancelaborproductivityandfosterresearchandtechnologi- calinnovation.Humancapitalaccumulationasittranslatesintotechnologydevelopment isrecognizedasakeypathwayforeconomicexpansion.Inordertogeneratetechnological changes,acountrymustinvestinpreparinghighlycreativeandskilledindividualsaswellas inprovidingtheresourcesandadequateenvironmenttofostertechnologicaldevelopments. ThereisalsoevidencethatThailandhasnotbeenabletoliveuptoitsfullpotentialinthis arenaandthatthereiscertainlyscopeforimprovement. Chapter 2 providesanoverviewofThailand'shighereducationsystembyexaminingthe differentdegreestreams,typesofpost-secondaryeducationinstitutions,universityadmissions procedures, and the organizational structure andpublic agencies that govern the system. Thailandhasbeengraduallyincreasingoverallaccesstohighereducation,providingsome universities with greater autonomy, nurturing excellence within specific academic institu- tions,facilitatingthegrowthoflinkagesbetweenindustryanduniversities,anddeveloping itsSecond15-YearLongRangePlanforHigherEducationthatincludesinnovativereforms. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy vii THE WORLD BANK GROUP Executive Summary Chapter 3 focusesonaccesstohighereducationanddelvesintotheissuesofstudent enrollment,equity(e.g.,gender,socio-economicdistribution,regional,parentaleducation), international students,Thai students overseas, and student academic choices. Access to highereducationinThailandhasexperiencedapositivetrendovertime,butseriousproblems remainintermsofequity.Despiterealincreasesinthesupplyofpostsecondaryinstitutions toaccommodatethegrowingdemand,enrollmentratesbylower-incomestudentsremain verylow.Menarealsosignificantlyunder-represented. Chapter 4 analyzesthequalityandrelevanceofthecountry'shighereducationsystem. HowdoThailand'suniversitiesrankcomparedtouniversitiesaroundtheworld?Whatdowe knowaboutthequalityofteachingandlearning?Whattypesofqualityassurancepractices areinplace?Dograduateshavetheskillsneededforthelabormarket?Anumberofcriticisms havebeenmadeaboutthequalityofeducationandrelevanceofThaiuniversitygraduatesand theirlackofcomprehensiveknowledgeandskills.Universitiestypicallyoffernarrowly-speci- fiedfieldsofstudy,equippingstudentswithlimitedskillsandmakingthemunabletoadapt orrelatetheirknowledgetobroadercontexts.ItisalsoclearthatThailandhasanoversupply ofsocialsciencegraduateswhilelackinggraduatesinthefieldsofscience,engineering,and healthsciences,withasignificantmismatchbetweenthetrainingprovidedinhighereduca- tioninstitutionsandtheskillsneededinthelabormarket. Chapter 5 discusseshighereducationfinancing,governanceandinstitutionalmanage- mentwithaspecificfocusonpublicandprivatesexpenditures,financialaidtostudents(grants, scholarships,loans,incomediversification,cost-sharing),andrecenteffortstodecentralize managementandaccountability.Thecurrentfinancingstructureremainsaformidableob- stacletowardreformingthestructureofthehighereducationsystemsincethevastmajority ofpublicinstitutionsreceiveabout80percentoftheirbudgetsfromthecentralGovernment. Also,publicuniversityemployeesarecurrentlycivilservants,whichimposehighercostsand lessflexibilityintermsofhiringhigh-performancestaffandfiringunder-performingemploy- ees.Thecurrentadministrativestructureofthemajorityofpublicandprivateinstitutions inThailand is highly centralized with the Commission on Higher Education either directly supervisingorregulatingnearlyalluniversities.Therealityisthattheoverwhelmingmajor- viii Executive Summary ityofThaiuniversitiesarenotautonomous.Increasedautonomyforuniversitiesacrossthe Thaihighereducationlandscapeisimperativeforgeneratingacademicenvironmentsthat areresponsiveandeffectivebothforstudenteducationandbuildinghigh-qualityresearch capabilities. Chapter 6 summarizes key findings, reemphasizes ongoing challenges discussed in previouschapters,andofferssomepolicyorientations.Nocountrycanaffordtobecompla- centintoday'sglobaleconomyandThailandisnoexception.Weaknessesinitseducation system,especiallyinhighereducation,arecontributingtogrowingchallengesatthemacro levelasevidencedbyrecentstatistics.Severalinsightsformovingforwardandaddressing thechallengesinclude:acquiringasenseofurgency,especiallyinthecontextofThailand's competitiveneighbors;improvingthequalityandrelevanceofuniversitieswithafocuson Executive Summary strengtheninglinkagestotheprivatesector;learningfromhowothercountriesarereforming theirhighereducationsystems,learningfromThailand'sownstrengthsandexperiences;and strengtheningtheoverallinnovationsysteminwhichhighereducationoccupiesacentral role. Inshort,Thailandcanrightfullypointtomajorachievementsinthedevelopment ofitshighereducationsystem,includingtheestablishmentofautonomousuniversitiesand increasingaccessthroughinnovativeopenuniversitiessuchasRajabhatandRajamangala. However,thehighereducationsystemfacesmanychallengesintheareasofgovernance, financing,quality,access,anditsrelationshiptotheprivatesector.Withoutsignificantchanges inbothpoliciesandattitudesintheseareas,Thailand'sfuturevisionasaknowledge-based economy relying on highly skilled labor and technological advances to drive growth and productivitywillbeextremelydifficulttoachieve. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy ix Chapter 1 Why Invest in Higher Education? THE WORLD BANK GROUP Why Invest In Higher Education ? INTRODUCTION A strong higher education system is a foundation for sustainable growth and development.Highereducationplaysanimportantroleingeneratingnewknowledgeand preparingitsgraduatesforanincreasinglyglobaleconomywhereknowledgehasbecomea criticaldriverforeconomicgrowthandsocialdevelopment.Technicalinnovationscanleadto higherproductivity.Progressintheagriculture,healthandenvironmentsectors,forinstance, hasheavilydependedontheapplicationofbasicandappliedresearchundertakeninhigher educationinstitutions.Abetterskilledlaborforceisalsoabletoharnessnewtechnologies, further enhancing productivity gains. Furthermore, higher education can promote social cohesion,trustinsocialinstitutions,andcivilparticipation. Why Invest in Higher Education ? Inthelast30years,Thailandhasinvestedheavilyinimprovingprimaryandsecond- aryeducationandprovidingthebasiclevelsofeducationtoallitscitizens.Educationhasbeen aprioritysincethecountrychangedtoaconstitutionalmonarchyin1932,thoughfocused attentiontohighereducationhaswaxedandwanedoverthedecadessincethen.Thetertiary educationsysteminThailandfacesnewanddiversechallenges,intermsofaccess,equity, andquality.Grossenrollmentrateshaveshownimpressivegrowth,jumpingfrom19percent intheearly1990sto50percentin2007(Edstats,2009).Educationalqualityimprovements, however, have lagged behind despite relatively high levels of public investment--greater than20percentoftheGovernmenteducationsectorbudget.Furthermore,highereduca- tionspendingisnotequitable.Publicexpendituresinthissubsectortendtobenefithigher incomegroupsdisproportionately,asthewealthiest20percentofthepopulationcaptures approximately53percentoftertiaryeducationspending. Thestrongemphasisonexpandingaccessatlowerlevelsoftheeducationalladder mirroredtheeconomicmodelpursuedbyThailandinthelatterpartofthe20thcentury.During thedecadesfollowingWorldWarII,likemanyothernationsofsimilareconomicdevelopment, Thailandtookadvantageoftherelativelylowcostofitshumancapitaltostimulateeconomic growththroughforeigninvestmentinlabor-intensiveproductivesectors.Thismodelwas successfuluntilthefinancialcrisisof1997,signalinganeedforchange. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 1 THE WORLD BANK GROUP Asglobalmarketconditionshaveshifted,highereducationisnowrequiredboth totrainhigherskilledworkerstooperateinaknowledge-basedeconomyandpromotere- searchanddevelopment.Highereducationisinstrumentaltothecreationoftheintellectual capacityonwhichknowledgeproductionandutilizationdependaswellastothepromo- tionoflifelong-learningpracticesnecessarytoupdateindividualknowledgeandotherskills (WorldBank,2002b).Thischapterpresentsabriefdescriptionoftheeconomictheoriesthat illustratehowinvestmentinhumancapitaltranslatesintohigherproductivity,technological development,andeconomicgrowth.Thefollowingchapterswillexploreingreaterdepth the characteristics of the higher education system inThailand and conclude with a series of recommendations to enhance the quality, efficiency and equity of higher education provision. Why Invest In Higher Education ? In the early 1960s, economists began to realize that the traditional factors of production--landandcapital--werenotsufficienttoexplainhigheconomicgrowthrates inthepost-warUnitedStates.Thisledtoanexplorationofalternativefactorstoexplaineco- nomicgrowth.NobelPrizewinnerGaryBecker(1967)conceptualizedhumancapitaltheory andpositedthatthe"additionalgrowth"wasexplainedmainlybytheincreaseintheyearsof educationandproductivityofthelaborforce. Thereissubstantialinternationalevidenceaboutthelinkagesbetweeneducation andeconomicgrowthfordifferentcountriesandatdifferentpointsintime.Figure1.1illus- tratesthepositiverelationshipbetweenyearsofeducationandeconomicgrowthbetween 1960and2000.ThisfigureillustrateshowThailanddoubleditsGDPduringthisperiodafter heavilyinvestinginlowerlevelsofeducation.Inthe1960s,Thailand'spopulationbetween theagesof15and64averagedfewerthanthreeyearsofschoolinganditsGDP,measured inconstant1995UnitedStatesDollars,wasbelowUSD2,500percapita.In2000,thecountry morethandoubledtheaveragenumberofyearsofeducationtosevenyears,whileGDPgrew toapproximatelyUSD5,000percapita(WorldBank,2000;CohenandSoto,2001). Investmentsinhumancapitalhavepositivereturnsbothforindividualsandsoci- ety,aslongasthelocaleconomyispositionedtomaximizeitsoutputs--particularlyhighly trained,highlyskilledworkers.Individualbenefitsaremeasuredbyprivateratesofreturns whilesocietalbenefitsaremeasuredbysocialratesofreturn. FIGURE 1-1: YEARS OF SCHOOLING AND GDP PER CAPITA IN AGE GROUP 15-64, 1960-2000 Why Invest in Higher Education ? Accordingtohumancapitaltheory,additionalyearsofeducationincreaseindi- vidualproductivityaswellaslifetimeearnings.Thereissubstantialevidencefromindividuals indifferentcountriesandacrosstimethatearningsforcollegegraduateworkersexceedthat ofhighschoolworkers(Becker,1992;Murphy&Welch,1992;Paulsen,1998).IntheUnited Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP States,themedianannualincomeofhighschoolgraduatesinthe1960swasoverUSD30,000 (2004constantUSD)comparedtoaroundUSD45,000forcollegedegreeholders.By2003, thisdifferencehadincreasedbyoverUSD5,000.Themedianannualincomeofhighschool graduatesremainedconstantwhereasearningsofcollegedegreeholdersincreasedtoover USD50,000(Mortenson,2006).SimilartrendscanbeobservedinThailand.Table1-1illustrates howthelabormarketrewardsadditionalyearsofeducationforahighereducationgraduate compared to someone who has only finished secondary education.The average monthly wageforindividualswithtertiaryeducationismorethanfourtimeslargerthantheaverage monthlywageofindividualswithlesseducation,andalmostthreetimeslargerthanthose withsecondaryeducation.Morespecifically,theaveragemonthlywageofindividualswith primaryeducationorlowerislessthanBaht4,400.ThisisaboutBaht200perworkingday, slightlyabovetheBaht191perdayminimumwageinBangkok.Forsecondaryandhigher educationworkers,averagemonthlywagesweremuchhigher,at6,772and17,680Bahtre- spectively. TABLE 1-1: AVERAGE MONTHLY WAGE BY EDUCATIONAL LEVEL, 2005 Source: Labor Force Survey, 2005 Q4 Inaddition,thereisevidencethatthisgaptendstogrowwiderasworkersincrease theirlaborforceexperience.Attheageof25,workerswithtertiaryeducationearnabout Baht5,000morepermonththanworkerswitheitherprimaryorsecondaryeducation.The differenceincreasesovertimeandbytheageofretirement,workerswithtertiaryeducation receiveaboutBaht40,000comparedtoBaht25,000forthosewithasecondaryeducation andBaht5,000forthosewithprimaryeducation.Figure1-2showsthattherewasalmostno growthinearningsovertimeforworkerswithonlyprimaryeducation. FIGURE 1-2: AGE-EARNING PROFILE FOR WORKERS BETWEEN 25-60 YEARS, 2005 Why Invest in Higher Education ? Source: Labor Force Survey, 2005 Q4 Mean hourly wages inThailand increase substantially with additional years of education completed. Evidence from firm surveys suggests thatThai employers are willing to pay a significant premium for workers with more years of educational training than employersinothercountriesintheregion(WorldBank,2006b).Whereastheincreaseinmean hourlywagesforaThaiworkerwhocompleted10yearsofeducationis10percentmorethan someonewhocompleted9years,individualswhocompletedmorethan16yearsofeducation earned110percentmorethanthosewhocompletedonlybasiceducation.Theincreasein meanhourlywagesforaMalaysianworkerwhocompletedmorethan16yearsofeducation wasjustabove60percentgreaterthananotherworkerwith9yearsofeducation. FIGURE 1-3: MEAN LOG HOURLY WAGE BY YEARS OF FORMAL EDUCATION Source: World Bank, 2006b Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP Investmentsineducationleadnotonlytoprivatebutalsotosocialratesofreturn. Economistshaveestimatedthattherearesubstantialsocialbenefitsofadditionalyearsof education.Besideseconomicormonetaryreturns,non-monetaryprivatereturnsmaycomein theformofimprovedhealthconditionsofindividuals,increasedefficiencyinmakingpersonal choices,expandedabilitytolearnnewtechnologyorbetteropportunitiestopursuehigher levelsofeducation.Highereducationallevelsarealsoassociatedwithreducedcrimerates. Forfemalestudents,longerparticipationineducationislinkedtoareductioninfertilityrates andeventuallynetpopulationgrowth,whichinturnareassociatedwithreducedpoverty. MoreyearsofschoolingarealsoassociatedwithgreaterawarenessaboutHIV/AIDStransmis- sion and protection, an epidemic of great concern inThailand and the region as a whole (WorldBank,2002a).Insomepoorercountries,itcantranslateintoreducedwaterpollution, relativelymoreskill-intensiveexportsand,eventually,betterprotectionoftheenvironment (McMahon,1997).Oneexampleofasocialreturntoeducationisabettereducatedmother whoheadsafamilythatishealthconsciousandisbetternourished. Astudyontheimpactoffemaleeducationontheuseofmaternalandchildhealth services byThai women during pregnancy revealed that the use of delivery assistance is morelikelyforthosewhohavecompletedatleastsecondaryschooling(Raghupathy,1996). A recent epidemiologicalsurvey inThailandrevealed that inequalities in specific reported diseases(suchasmalaria,goiterandtuberculosis)arestatisticallyassociatedwithloweduca- tionlevels(Yiengprugsawanetal.,2009).Highereducationlevelsalsotendtohaveimportant inter-generationaleffects.Childrenofhighlyeducatedparentsaremorelikelytoattendschool, attainhigherlevelsofeducationandhavethepotentialforgreatersocialmobility. HIGHER EDUCATION, GLOBALIZATION, TRADE, AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT Thereisstrongtheoreticalevidencesuggestingarelationshipbetweentechno- logicalchangeandeconomicgrowth(Solow,1956).Investmentsincapitalandtechnology are associated with technical changes and increases in productivity (Romer, 1990). Thus, humancapitalaccumulationasittranslatesintotechnologydevelopmentisrecognizedas anessentialpathwayforeconomicexpansion(Krueger&Lindahl,2001;Lucas,1993).Inorder togeneratetechnologicalchanges,acountrymustinvestinpreparinghighlycreativeand skilledindividualsaswellasinprovidingtheresourcesandadequateenvironmenttofoster technologicaldevelopments.GillandKharas(2007)expressedtheimportanceofideasand humancapitaltoinnovationandeconomicgrowthintheirbook,AnEast Asia Renaissance, inthefollowingterms: Humancapitalaccumulationisalwaysdesirable,nomatterwhatformittakes.Ineconomies wherenewideasandinnovationsarekey,highereducationtakesonaspecialdimension. Greaterquantityandhigherqualityinknowledgeworkers--principally,butnotonly,scientists andengineers--willhelpcountriesabsorbnewideasmorerapidlyandgrowmorequickly. Giventhelikelyexternalitiesandthebenefitsofearlyentryintogrowthindustries,countries facing scarce supplies of skilled labor are also well advised to open their doors to immigration.Singaporehasalreadytakenthisdecisionwithitscommitmenttoattracting Why Invest in Higher Education ? globaltalent(p.37). Aglobalizedeconomypresentsbothopportunitiesandchallengesforeconomic gainsfrominnovation.Knowledgemaybetransferredatlowcostandsharedwithmanypeople simultaneously.Theincreaseinreturnstotechnologicaldevelopmentsprovidesincentivesfor firmstoinvestinnewtechnologies.Tosurvivestrongglobalcompetition,firmsarerequiredto investinresearchanddevelopment(R&D)inordertomaintaintheircompetitiveadvantage. Theexpansionofinternationalcapitalmarketsprovidesopportunitiesforcountriestoaccess foreigninvestment.Theconnectionbetweenlocalandforeignfirmsininternationaltrade enhancesexternalbenefitsfrominnovationsforallpartiesinvolved.Countriescanbenefit greatly from cooperation with trade partners as they take advantage of new knowledge partnershipsandcollaboration.Globalizationalsoencourageslabormovementsbetween countries.Thismeansthattheworkforcenowfacescompetitionfromboththelocaland internationallabormarkets. Astheworldmovestowardsaknowledge-basedeconomy,thedemandsforhighly skilledworkerswilllikelycontinuetoincrease.Participationinaknowledge-basedeconomy requiresanewskillsprofile--inareassuchasproblemsolving,communication,foreignlan- guageproficiencyorteamwork--andstrongerqualificationsintechnicalfields--including science,technologyandmathematics.Therealitiesofashrinkingworldandanexpanding globaleconomysuggestthatifcountrieswanttofollowapathofgrowthandcompetitive- ness,theymustinvestinhighereducationallevelsfortheirpopulation. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP Highereducationinstitutionsplayanimportantrolenotonlyinpreparingtheindi- vidualsfortheworkforce,butalsoasenginesofresearchandtechnologicaldevelopment.New productdevelopment,innovationandtechnologyhavebeenconceivedandgeneratedfrom highereducationinstitutions.Sincethe1997financialcrisis,Thailandhasembracedashiftin strategytowardsgreaterinvestmentsinhumancapitalaswellasinR&Dcapacity.Thedevelop- mentdirectionofthecountryinthepastemphasizedexport-driveneconomicgrowth,using itscomparativeadvantageintermsofabundantnaturalresourcesandrelativelyinexpensive labor.Facingincreasedcompetitionfromneighboringcountriesforforeigninvestmentand humancapital,theNationalEconomicandSocialDevelopmentPlan1997-2002highlighteda pressingneedforenhancingtechnologicalcompetenceinordertomoveuptheproduction valuechain. In2003,Thailandinvested0.3percentofitsGDPinR&D(UNESCO,2007).Thisis wellbelowthetargetof0.75percentestablishedinthe8thNationalEconomicandSocial DevelopmentPlanandsubstantiallylessthancountriessuchasSingaporeandMalaysia.Itis estimatedthatThailandhasapproximately287researchersper1millioninhabitants. IfwelookattheThaihighereducationsystemcontributionstoresearchanddevel- opmentasashareofexpenditures,weobservethatuniversitiesaccountedfor15percentof grossdomesticexpenditureonR&D(Figure1-4).Governmentandbusinesssectorspending combinedamountedtoapproximately80percentoftotalexpenditures.Thailand'sperfor- manceisatparwiththeOECDcountries' average;however,Figure1-5illustratesthatthere is significant variability across non-OECD countries in relation to the magnitude of higher educationexpendituresinR&D. FIGURE 1-4: DISTRIBUTION OF GROSS DOMESTIC EXPENDITURE ON R&D BY SOURCE OF FUNDS, 2003 Source: UNESCO, 2007 FIGURE 1-5: INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE R&D PERCENTAGES BY PERFORMING SECTOR, 2005 Why Invest in Higher Education ? Source: OECD, R&D database, 2007: http://www.oecd.org/sti/scoreboard Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP Importanthumanresourceandfinancialconstraintsforresearchanddevelopment havenotbeenconducivetowideningthefoundationsofThailand'sknowledgeeconomy engine. Porter & Stern (2004) have developed a National Innovative Capacity Index as an instrumenttoassesstheeconomicapplicationofnewtechnologies.Itisameasureofthe fundamentalconditionsthatcatalyzecommerciallyrelevantinnovation,suchastechnologi- calsophisticationandthesizeofthescientific/technicalworkforceaswellasgovernment incentivesforresearchorpoliciesforindustry.Figure1-6showstherelationshipbetweenthe InnovativeCapacityIndexandeconomicgrowthmeasuredbyGDPpercapita.Theupward slopesuggestsapositivecorrelationbetweeninnovativecapacityandGDPpercapita.Indus- trializedcountrieswithhighGDPpercapitaareclusteredintheupperrightcornerindicating anenvironmentpropitiousforinnovation.In2003,Thailandranked47outof78countries, suggestingthatthereissignificantscopetoenhancetechnologicalinnovationopportunities. Furthermore,Thailandperformedintheinnovativecapacityindexwellbelowthepredicted valueforitslevelofeconomicdevelopment. FIGURE 1-6: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE INNOVATIVE CAPACITY INDEX AND GDP PER CAPITA Source: Porter & Stern, 2004, p. 18 1 A low proportion of scientists and engineers per capita is one of several key bindingconstraints,whereThailandunderperformsvis-à-visitsEastAsiancounterparts.Higher educationinstitutionsarenotpreparingspecialistsintechnicalfieldsinsufficientnumbers (Table1-2).Asurveyofastratifiedrandomsampleofover1,000Thaiprivatesectorfirms involvedinR&Drevealsthatmanpowershortagesintechnical-scientificareasisanotable constraintforinnovation.However,firmsthatreportedusingpublicservicesespeciallyvalued Government-sponsoredtechnicaltrainingsavailableaswellasuniversitylaboratoryservices (BrookerGroup,2001). TABLE 1-2: NATIONAL INNOVATIVE CAPACITY, SELECTED COUNTRY RANKINGS Why Invest in Higher Education ? Source: Porter and Stern, 2004, p. 3 University-IndustryLinkages(UILs)canalsoplayanimportantroleinmeetingnew technologicalchallengesthrough:(i)trainingandeducation-relatedactivities;(ii)provision ofservicesandconsultingactivities;and(iii)research-relatedactivities.Box1-1providesthe exampleofSeagateasasuccessfulpartnershipbetweenaninternationaltechnologyenter- priseandtheuniversitysector.However,todate,UILsinThailandarescarce,whilethosein placearegenerallyweakandfragmented(BrimbleandDonor,2007). Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 11 THE WORLD BANK GROUP First,theselinkagestendtoinvolverelativelylowlevelsoftechnology.Nearly100 percentofallThaiprivatecompaniesin2007weresmallandmediumenterprises(SMEs)with lessthan200employees(NSO,2007).TheseSMEsdonotrequiresophisticatedresearchbut ratherbasicconsultingandtechnicalservices.Ontheotherhand,foreign-ownedcompanies havereliedoncorporateheadquartersfortechnicaladviceandinputs,insteadofrelyingon supportfromlocaluniversities. Second, UILs are largely operated on a short duration basis through individual consultingservices.Thesearrangementsaretransitoryinnatureandtendnottobeconceived asinstitutionalpartnerships.Thus,theyleavenolong-termbenefitstoparticipatinginstitu- tions.Finally,althoughtheThaigovernmenthasbeensupportiveofUILs,therearenoclear guidelinesforstructuringthesecollaborations,particularlyinrelationtointellectualproperty rightsforresearchoutcomes(Nezu,2005). ThailandcouldpositionitselftoexpanditsR&Dcapabilitiesmoreaggressively,for instance,bytappingoncurrenttrendsoftechnologyoutsourcing.AccordingtoOECD(2006), multinationalfirmshavemarkedlyexpandedtheirinvestmentsonR&Doverseasinsearchof newglobaltechnologysolutionsthattapintolocalknowledgenetworks.WhileOECDcountries maintainprimacyasfocalpointsofresearchanddevelopmentefforts,developingcountries thatcanmobilizetrainedresearchersatmoreaffordablecostshavecommandedincreasing attentionandresourcing.ChinaandIndiahavebeennotableexamples.Itisestimatedthat 750foreignR&DcenterswereestablishedinChinabetween2001and2004.Inarecentsurvey fromUNCTADofthelargestR&Dspenders,about3percentofrespondentsindicatedthat Thailandwasanattractivedestination.ThisiswellbehindChina,IndiaandtheUnitedStates, butatparwithotherAsianeconomies,suchasMalaysiaandKorea. 1 FIGURE 1-7: MOST ATTRACTIVE FOREIGN R&D LOCATIONS Why Invest in Higher Education ? Source: OECD, 2007, p. 23 BOX 1-1: SEAGATE PARTNERSHIP WITH THAI HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS Seagate,aleadingelectroniccompanyproducingharddiskdrives,hasbuiltalongtermrelationshipwith highereducationinstitutesinThailandthroughuniversity-industrylinkinitiatives.Itestablishedatrainingconsortium offiveuniversitiestoprovidecustomizedcourses.ThisenablesSeagatetoemployengineerswhoarefamiliarand proficientinmanagingSeagate'sproductionandhightechnologyequipment.Universitiesprovidefacilitiesand teachingresourceswhileSeagateprovidestrainersandassistanceincurriculumdevelopment.Alargenumberof Seagate'sengineersattendthisprogramandreportremarkableaccomplishments. Seagatealsoparticipatesinagovernment-sponsoredcooperativeeducationexchangeprogram.Twenty tofortyuniversitygraduatesworkinSeagate'sbusinesseachyearaspartoftheircourserequirement.Moststudents come from Suranaree University ofTechnology located near Seagate.The program is considered a success and benefitsbothuniversitiesandindustry.Besidestraining,SeagatehavesetjointR&DcenterswithKhonKaenUniversity andSuranareeUniversityofTechnology. Source: Yusuf and Nabeshima, 2007 Asnotedabove,highereducationcanplayanimportantroleinenablinggreater opportunitiesforeconomicgrowthandattractivenesstoforeigninvestmentinThailand.Inter- nationalevidencesuggestsmaturehighereducationsystemsprovideanenablingenvironment topromotetheskillsandcapacitiesthatenhancelaborproductivityandfosterresearchand technologicalinnovation.ThereisalsoevidencethatThailandhasnotbeenabletoliveupto Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 1 THE WORLD BANK GROUP itsfullpotentialinthisarenaandthereiscertainlyscopeforimprovement.ThisSocialMonitor exploresthecharacteristicsofthehighereducationsubsectorinThailand.Chapter2provides abriefoverviewofhighereducation.Chapter3focusesonaccesstohighereducation,while Chapter4analyzesqualityandrelevanceissues.Chapter5discusseshighereducationfinanc- ing,governanceandinstitutionalmanagement.Thefinalchaptersummarizeskeyfindings, presentsongoingchallengesandsuggestsselectedpolicyimplicationstoovercomethese. 1 Chapter An Overview Of Higher Education In Thailand THE WORLD BANK GROUP THE WORLD BANK GROUP An Overview Of Higher Education In Thailand Thailandhasalonghistoryofhighereducationdevelopment.Duringthereign of Rama IV (1851-1868) it became clear that public education was inadequate to prepare highcalibergovernmentofficialstoservethecountry.Withthisneedinmind,theKinglaid thefoundationsestablishinganofficialeducationsystemwhichpersiststotoday.Education reformcontinuedunderKingRamaV,withthecreationofthefirstformalschool.In1887, theDepartmentofEducationwasestablishedtooverseeschoolingandreligiousaffairs.The Department then had under its jurisdiction 34 schools in the metropolitan and provincial areas,4advanced/specializedschools,81teachersand1,994students. Highereducationwasviewedasanavenuetomodernizeandprofessionalizethe civilservice.Thailand'sfirstuniversity,ChulalongkornUniversity,wasestablishedin1916,with fourdepartments:medicine,lawandpoliticalscience,engineering,andliteratureandscience. In1934,twoyearsafterThailand'stransitionfromanabsolutemonarchytoaconstitutional monarchy,theseconduniversity,ThammasatUniversity,wasestablishedwiththemissionto trainfutureprofessionalsandcivilservantsinthesocialsciences(law,politicalscienceand liberalarts).Threeotheruniversitieswerefoundedafewyearslater:KasetsartUniversity(1943), specializinginagriculturaleducation;SilpakornUniversity(1943),specializinginFineArts;and MahidolUniversity(1969),specializinginmedicine. In this early period of university development, all higher education institutions werelocatedinBangkok.Bythe1960s,newcomprehensiveuniversitieswereestablishedin severalprovinces:ChiangMaiUniversityinthenorth,KhonKaenUniversityinthenortheast andPrinceofSongklaUniversityinthesouth.Thenumberofinstitutionsgrewsteadilyin the1960sand1970s,withnewcentersofhigherlearningestablished:theNationalInstitute forDevelopmentandAdministration(NIDA),theAsianInstituteofTechnology(AIT)--special- izinginscienceandengineeringprograms--andKingMongkut'sInstituteofTechnology.Two openadmissionuniversities,RamkhamhaengUniversityandSukhothaiThammathiratOpen University,wereestablishedtopromotegreateraccessforsecondaryschoolgraduatesand thosealreadyemployed. TheenactmentoftheHigherEducationInstitutionActin1981,toreplacetheformer PrivateCollegeAct(1971),intensifiedthedevelopmentofprivateinstitutionsinresponseto 1 highpublicdemandfortertiaryeducation.Thisledtorapidgrowthinthenumberofboth publicandprivateinstitutions--from5in1967to166in2008. STRUCTURE OF THE THAI HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM Therearetwomainstreamsofhighereducation:diplomaanddegree.Thediploma levelisattainedprimarilybystudentswhohavepursuedavocationalpathinhighschool.It takesbetweenoneandfouryearstocomplete.Diplomacoursesareaimedatdeveloping An Overview Of Higher Education In Thailand basicskillsrequiredtosatisfyimmediatesemi-skilledlabormarketdemands.Diplomahold- ershaveanoptionofpursuingtwoadditionalyearsofcoursestoattainaBachelor'sdegree, enablingstudentstocrossoverfromdiplomatodegreestreams. The degree level consists of undergraduate and graduate coursework. Most undergraduatedegreesfocusondevelopinggeneralskillsandprovidingbroaderknowledge. Studentswhoattainadegreeareexpectedtoapplytheoriestopracticeintheirownaswell asacrossdisciplines.Themajorityofthesedegreesareofferedinfouryears,butthosewho pursuedegreesinmedicineandarchitecturenormallytakelonger.Graduatelevelcoursework providesstudentswithin-depthknowledgeintheirspecificfieldofstudy.Thailandcurrently suffersfromasevereimbalancebetweenundergraduateandgraduateeducation.Asmall numberofstudentsenrollinMaster'sdegreeprogramsandevenfewerindoctoraldegree programs.Today,thenumberofdoctoralgraduatesisinadequatetoreplaceretiringprofessors sinceonlyafractionofthesegraduateschooseteachingasaprofession.Itisexpectedthat thesituationislikelytodeteriorateoverthenextfiveyearsasthenumberoffacultymembers expectedtoretirewillincreasetoaround800peryear(WorldBank,2007). Inanefforttoraisethequalificationofuniversitylecturers,theCommissiononHigher Education(CHE)istargetingaratioof50:50betweenMaster'sandDoctoraldegreesbytheend ofthe10thNationalEconomicandSocialDevelopmentPlan(2007­2011).Currently,only24 percentofthefacultymembersholdDoctoraldegreesinpublichighereducationinstitutions. AtprivatehighereducationinstitutionsandRajabhatuniversities,thecorrespondingfigurefor facultymembersthatholddoctoraldegreesisonly13percentand7percent,respectively. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 1 THE WORLD BANK GROUP FIGURE 2-1: STRUCTURE OF THE THAI EDUCATION SYSTEM Source: Office of Education Council, 2004 Thailand'shighereducationsystemiscomprisedof166postsecondaryinstitutions andtwoautonomousBuddhistUniversities(Table2-1).Publicinstitutionscanbeclassified into:(a)limitedadmissionsuniversities,(b)openadmissionsuniversities,(c)autonomousuni- versitiesand(d)communitycolleges.Privateinstitutionsaregroupedintotwocategories: (a)universitiesand(b)colleges.Duringthepastdecade,weobservesignificantgrowthin thehighereducationsector.Between2003and2008,46newhighereducationinstitutions wereinaugurated,including19communitycolleges.Althoughroughlyequivalentintermsof 1 numbers(78publicversus69privateinstitutions),publicuniversitiesenrollabout80percent ofstudents(Figure2-2). TABLE 2-1: NUMBER OF UNIVERSITIES/INSTITUTIONS CLASSIFIED BY TYPES OF INSTITUTION An Overview Of Higher Education In Thailand *Excludes two autonomous Buddhist Universities Source: Commission on Higher Education, 2009 FIGURE 2-2: SHARE OF TOTAL STUDENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS, 1971 - 2006 Source: Ministry of Education, 2007 Studentenrollmentinhighereducationinstitutions,includingthoseattendingOpen AdmissionsUniversities,increasedfrom1,872,000in2001to2,430,600in2006.Thisgrowth patterninhighereducationislikelytocontinueasitisestimatedthathighschoolgraduates willincreasefrom0.7millionin2000to1.8millionin2016,anincreaseof150percentin15 years(MinistryofEducation,2007). Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 1 THE WORLD BANK GROUP Almost50percentofThailandhighereducationinstitutionsarelocatedinBangkok where10percentofthepopulationresides.Whiletherehasbeenarecentexpansionofhigher educationaccessatprovinciallevel,theeastregionhasonlyasmallnumberofinstitutions (Figure2-3).Manyprovincialinstitutionsalsofaceacademicstaffshortagesand,asaresult, manyqualifiedstudents,migratetoBangkokandotherbigcitieslookingforqualityhigher education. FIGURE 2-3: NUMBER OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS BY REGION Source: Commission on Higher Education, 2008 PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS Asmentionedabove,therearefourdesignatedtypesofpublicinstitutions:lim- ited admission, open admission, autonomous, and community colleges. Collectively, this institutionaldiversityservesastudentpopulationwithdifferingmotivations,expectations, andqualifications.Fromhighlyselectiveresearchuniversitiestoopenenrollmentdistance education providers,Thai highereducation has evolved in a manner that provides a wide breadthofopportunitiestomaximizehumancapitalpotential. Limited Admission Universities Themajorityofpublichighereducationinstitutions(63of78)havelimitedadmis- sions.Overthepast40years,togainadmissiontotheseinstitutions,highschoolstudents needtopassahighlycompetitivenationalentranceexamination.However,thegovernment recentlyissuedapolicytoexpandtheadmissioncriteriatoincludestudents'highschoolgrades. TheoldnationalentranceexaminationhasalsobeenreplacedbyanewCentralUniversity Admissions System (CUAS) (Box 2-1) and a quota system is in place for each university to guaranteeenrollmenttospecificgroupsofstudentsfromotherregions,athletes,andstudents withspecialinterestsintheartsandmusic. ThecreationoftheRajabhatUniversitiesintroducedaninnovationinThaihigher education. These limited admission universities emerged in 2004 from the integration of 36teachertrainingcolleges--thenknownastheRajabhatInstitutes.TheseInstituteswere upgradedtogainuniversitystatus.In2008,the41RajabhatUniversitiescountrywidecon- An Overview Of Higher Education In Thailand tinuedtofollowtheirmissioninteacherpreparationaswellascareersinthesocialsciences. TheRajamangalaUniversitywasestablishedthroughasimilarprocess,bymergingseveral technicalandcommercialcolleges.TheRajamangalacampusesnotonlyfocusonscienceand technologyeducation,butalsoofferdegreesinbusinessandsocialsciences.Together,these twomulti-campusteachinguniversitiesdramaticallyexpandednationwidetheeducational opportunitiesforThaistudentsseekinguniversitydegrees. BOX 2-1: CENTRAL UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS SYSTEM (CUAS) In2001,theCouncilofUniversityPresidentssuggestedthattheMinistryofUniversityAffairs(MUA)improve theadmissionprocessinaccordancewiththeeducationalreformpolicyhighlightedintheNationalEducational Act (NEA) of 1999. The university entrance would be based on applicants' upper secondary school academic performanceandthenationaleducationaltestscoresadministeredbytheNationalInstituteofEducationalTesting Service(NIETS).Thenewsystemwasinitiallyplannedtobeimplementedinthe2004academicyear.However,the actualimplementationtookplacein2006duetologisticaldifficulties.Duringthepastthreeyears,Governmenthas beenadaptingtheproposedformulaforassessingstudentstobalanceoverallschoolinggrades,nationalperformance achievementtestsandspecializedsubjectareatests. GPAX = Cumulativegradepointaverageforeverysubjectinuppersecondaryschooling. GPA = Gradepointaverageinthesubjectsrelevanttothefieldofuniversitystudy. O-NET = National standardized test in important subjects. The primary purpose of O-NET is systemic quality assurance.Itservesasaperformanceindicatortowardsproficiencyinsubjectareastandards.Inacademic year2008,studentshadtositforO-NETexamsin8subjects,butonlysomeofthesearetakeninto considerationforuniversityadmission. A-NET = Nationalstandardizedtestinspecializedsubjects.ThenumberofA-NETsubjectrequirementsmayvary byuniversityanddepartment. Source: National Institute of Educational Testing Service, 2005 Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 1 THE WORLD BANK GROUP Open Admissions Universities Unlikelimitedadmissionuniversities,thetwoopenadmissionsuniversities(Ram- khamhaengandSukhothaiThammathiratUniversities)donotrequireanationalexamination butselectstudentsbasedontheirownentryrequirements.Theseuniversitiesgenerallycater tostudentswhocannotgainaccesstolimitedadmissionuniversitiesorthosewhoarealready inthelabormarket.In2005,thesetwouniversitiesenrolledabout40percentofthetotal numberofhighereducationstudentsinpublicinstitutions. Ramkhamhaeng University offers both regular on-campus classes and distance learning, while SukhothaiThammathirat University offers only distance education courses. Along with less rigid admission requirements, these universities flexible distance mode of instructioncontributedirectlytotheirhighenrollmentratesasstudentsacrossthecountry cantakecourseswithouthavingtorelocate. OpenadmissionuniversitiesareplayinganimportantroleintheexpansionofThai highereducation.Ontheotherhand,qualityofinstructionisgenerallyconceivedaspoor andremainsaconcern.Moreover,graduationratestendtobelowintheseinstitutions. Autonomous Universities Inrecentyears,CHEhaspromotedregulationconcerningtheadministrationof bothpublicandprivatehighereducationinstitutions.Thislegalframeworkaimstoincrease bothinstitutionalautonomyandflexibilityandencourageself-managementunderthesuper- visionofuniversitycouncils.Withintheframeworkofthelaw,eachpublichighereducation institutioncanestablishitsowninternalorganization. So far, seven universities have received autonomous status recently--Burapha University, Chaing Mai University, Chulalongkorn University, Mahidol University,Thaksin University,KingMongkut'sUniversityofTechnologyLadkrabangandKingMongkut'sUniversity ofTechnologyNorthBangkokaswellasfourtraditionalautonomousuniversitiesestablished earlier.1Atpresent,thegovernmenthaspromulgated13actstosafeguardtheoperation 1 Four traditional autonomous universities including: Suranaree University of Technology (1990), Walailak University (1992), Mae Fah Luang University (1998) and King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (1998). ofautonomousuniversities.Theyhavebeengrantedfullstatustooperateasindependent governmentagencies,receivingfundingthroughblockgrantsfromthenationalbudgetand havefullautonomytoestablishtheiradministrativestructuresorformulaterulesandregula- tionsrelatingtopersonnelandstaffing. Inadditiontothese11autonomousuniversitiesmentionedabove,therearealso two Buddhist autonomous universities. These Buddhist universities were established by An Overview Of Higher Education In Thailand KingRamaVtotrainstudentsintheteachingsoftheBuddhaandinthePalilanguage.These universitiesprovideeducationtomonks,novices,andlaypeople.Theyofferundergraduate and graduate degree level programs, emphasizing Buddhism and subjects relevant to Buddhism. Community Colleges In2001,Thailandestablishedcommunitycollegesacrossthenationasaresponse togrowingprovincialdemandforhighereducation.Thetraditionalobstaclestohigheredu- cationaccesssuchashighcost,distanceandworkobligationsareaddressedaspartofthe communitycollegemission.Attheseinstitutions,skillsupgradingisalsoavailableforthose alreadyinthelabormarket. Feeschargedtendtobelowandcourseofferingsinclude2-yearassociatedegree programs and short-course trainings catering to local economic and social development needs.Thecurriculaforassociatedegreesinclude:EarlyChildhoodEducation,Community Development,LocalGovernment,TourismIndustry,GeneralManagement,Accounting,Com- puter,BusinessComputing,BusinessElectronics,TechnologyProgramsinLivestockProduction, AgricultureIndustry,Electricity,andAuto-Mechanics. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS The Private College Act of 1969 enabled private higher education providers to establishandrunpostsecondaryinstitutions.In2008,therewere34privateuniversities,30 privatecollegesand5privateinstitutes--anaverageoftwonewinstitutionsopenedeach yearoverthelastfortyyears.Fortheseinstitutionstoofferdiplomaanddegreeprograms, governmentapprovalsarerequired.TheCHEalsoplaysanimportantroleinensuringqual- ityandstandardsofferedbytheseinstitutions.However,theinstitutionsareindependentin termsofadministration,finance,andpersonnel. Privatehighereducationishistoricallyrootedinreligiousorganizations,primar- ilyCatholic.Overtime,privateinstructionhasexpandedtoencompassgreaterdiversityof sponsoringorganizations,includingbusinessesandchambersofcommerce.Amorerecent trendemerginginthe1990shasbeentheemergenceof"demand-absorbing"privatein- stitutionsthatprovideacademicservicesinhigh-demandfields.Theseinstitutionsarelikely tobeprofit-making,smallinsize,specializeintechnological-relatedsubjectareasandhave relativelyeasyentryrequirements(Praphamontripong,2008). THE ORGANIZATION OF THE THAI HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM MINISTRY OF EDUCATION The majority of higher education institutions are under the jurisdiction of the MinistryofEducation(MOE).Otherministriesarealsoinvolvedinfulfillingtheneedtotrain humanresourcesinspecificfieldsandmanageinstitutionsofhigherlearning.Theyinclude: theMinistryofTourismandSports,theMinistryofDefenseandtheMinistryofPublicHealth (Figure 2-4). However, MOE accommodates 98 percent of student enrollment and plays the lead role in regulating higher education institutions and students enrollment. Within MOE,threeagenciesaredirectlyresponsibleforhighereducationserviceandprovision:the CommissiononHigherEducation,theOfficeoftheVocationalEducationCommission,and theOfficeofthePrivateEducationCommission. FIGURE 2-4: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION GOVERNANCE IN THAILAND An Overview Of Higher Education In Thailand Source: Ministry of Education, 2008 TABLE 2-2: HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS IN THE FORMAL SCHOOL SYSTEM, BY JURISDICTION, 2006 (Diploma and Undergraduate Degree Levels) Source: Ministry of Education, 2007 Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION UndertheMinistryofEducationRegulatoryAct(2003),theMinistryofUniversity AffairswasmergedwiththeMOE,andtheCommissiononHigherEducation(CHE)emerged asthenewagencyinchargeofhighereducation.CHEadministersallpublichighereduca- tioninstitutionsandoverseestheperformanceofprivatehighereducationinstitutions.The Commission is governed by a Board with diverse membership, including individuals from academia,thepublicandprivatesector,andlocaladministrations.TheBoardhastheauthor- itytoformulatepoliciesandissueregulationsinaccordancewiththeNationalEconomicand SocialDevelopmentPlan,andtheNationalEducationPlan.KeyresponsibilitiesoftheCom- missionincludeprovisionofresourcesandsupport,promotionofequityinhighereducation, andmonitoringeducationaloutcomes.ThemainfunctionsoftheCommissionincludepolicy setting,licensingofnewprivateinstitutions,resourceallocationforpublicinstitutions,financial aid,andmonitoring/evaluation. OFFICE OF PRIVATE EDUCATION COMMISSION TheOfficeofthePrivateEducationCommission(OPEC)wasestablishedin1972. ItfunctionsundertheOfficeofthePermanentSecretary,MinistryofEducation.Underthe authorizationofthePrivateSchoolActof1982,OPECprovidesvarioustypesofsupportto private schools and universities. Specifically, these include: (a) formulation of policies and rules/regulationsrelatingtoprivateeducationmatters,concomitantwiththemodificationof existingrulesandregulationstoensureflexibilityinfavorofprivateeducationdevelopment; (b) carrying research to enhance private education development; and (c) promotion and encouragementofgreaterprivatesectorinvolvementthroughvariousmodesofsupport. HIGHER EDUCATION LEGISLATION AND REFORMS Thailandfirstattempttoengageincomprehensivehighereducationreformwas intheendof1980swhentheMinistryofUniversityAffairspreparedthefirst15-yearHigher EducationPlan,covering1990-2004.Theatmosphereatthattimewasoneofeconomic buoyancyandinternationalcompetitiveness.Butduringthisperiod,theeconomyunderwent adeeprecessionfollowedbyalongrecoveryperiod.Theglobalandregionalmarketplaces alsosufferedadramatictransformationduringthisperiod.Thailandfacesincreasingeconomic competitionfromitsneighbors. AnewConstitutionwaspromulgatedin1997andthefirstNationalEducationAct (NEA)wasenactedin1999.TheNEAisconsideredtobethecountry'smasterlegislationon educationandprovidesacomprehensivevisionforeducationreform.2Butdespiteseveral effortsoverthelasttenyears,reforminthehighereducationhasbeenlargelypiecemeal. Twodecadeslater,astrongmessagehasre-emergedabouttheneedtooverhaulThaihigher education and shift its direction to promote higher quality, efficiency and effectiveness, if thecountryistomoveforwardwithrenewedconfidence,toevolveintoaknowledge-based An Overview Of Higher Education In Thailand economyandtoenhancenationalcompetitivenessintheregionalandglobalarenas. Over the course of last year, Government has conducted a comprehensive ret- rospective of higher education performance and has laid out a new vision ensconced in theSecond15-YearLongRangePlanforHigherEducation(2008-2022).Thisplanforhigher educationtransformationcoversallkeyaspectsofhighereducationmanagement,including administrative systems, teaching and learning, research promotion and higher education finance.Itsmainaimisprovidingcitizenswiththeskillsandcapabilitiesnecessarytoraise nationalcompetitiveness. 2 The NEA highlights: unity in policy and diversity in implementing education reform; decentralization of authority to educational service areas, educational institutions and local administration organizations; setting system-wide educa- tional and implementation standards of quality assurance for all levels of education; raising the professional standards of teachers, faculty staff and educational personnel through continuous professional development; and greater resource mobilization for education. It also promotes partnerships with individuals, families, communities, community organiza- tions, local administration organizations, private persons, private organizations, professional bodies, religious institutions, enterprises, and other social institutions. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP TheSecond15-YearPlanconsistsoftwomajorparts: The first part covers macro scenarios and the global/local socioeconomic environment impactingThai society and theThai higher education system. Its areas of exploration include: labor market trends in the local economic structure, globalization, information technology development, political decentralization, concerns over conflict management/resolution,thechangingroleofyouthinapostmodern-postindustrialization worldandHisMajestytheKing'sphilosophyon"sufficiency economy." The second part of the plan deals specifically with issues related to the higher educationsystem:thearticulationwithsecondaryandvocationaleducation,managingthe proliferationofhighereducationinstitutes,changinguniversitygovernanceandadministra- tion,enhancingnationalcompetitiveness,adequatelyfinancinghighereducation,staffand personneldevelopment,strengtheninguniversitynetworks,respondingtosocialconflictsin SouthernThailandandhighereducationinfrastructuredevelopment. The current reform goals focus on expanded access and improvements in qualityandrelevancethroughatieredservice-deliverysystem.Highereducationinstitutions havebeencategorizedinto4groups,eachwithdistinctmissionsandgoals:(a)Community Colleges, (b) Liberal Arts Universities, (c) Specialized/Comprehensive Universities, and (d) Research/GraduateUniversities(Table2-3).Highereducationinstitutionsareencouragedto conductaself-assessmentbasedonkeyperformanceindicatorsandclassifythemselvesunder oneofthesefourcategories.Thisclassificationsystemwillallowhighereducationestablish- ments,atleastinprinciple,toembraceaclearlydefinedmissionthatcanbetterservetheir students.Moreover,thisapproachcouldfosteramoreharmoniousgrowthinthesubsector that responds to diverse national economic growth and social development needs more efficientlythroughspecialization.Governmentfinancingwillbeallocatedonthebasisofa fundingformulaspecifictoeachinstitutionaltier. TABLE 2-3: CATEGORIES OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE LONG-RANGE PLAN An Overview Of Higher Education In Thailand Source: Ministry of Education, 2007 TheSecond15-YearPlanisononehandanchoredontheprincipleofinstitutional autonomy,inordertofosterinstitutionstodevelopefficientplanningandmanagementsystems thatareresponsivetosocietalandindividualdemandsandexpectations.Thedirectivesand measuresspecifiedintheSecond15-YearPlanarenowbeingtranslatedintoinstitutionallong termdevelopmentplansandyearlyactionplans.Ontheotherhand,systemicperformance willbeenhancedthroughbettergovernancestructures,effectivefinancinginstruments,well- articulatedstandardsandefficientuniversitynetworking. This two-pronged approach is a significant innovation in higher education ad- ministration.Itsambitionisto(a)expandaccesstoanewgenerationofstudentsandsteer themtocareersthatfulfilltheirindividualgoalsandnationalneeds,(b)promoteexcellence inhighereducationservicedeliverythatisrelevanttolabormarketdemands,(c)fostermore efficientandmoreequitableresourceallocationmechanisms,and(d)createaninstitutional environment where higher education institutions are empowered to pursue their vision, withinaqualityassuranceandaccreditationframeworkthatsetshighstandardsandholds institutionsaccountableforresults.Thethreechaptersthatfollowprovideanaccountofthe currentstateofaffairsalongthesedimensions. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy Chapter Access To Higher Education THE WORLD BANK GROUP Access To Higher Education WhoattendshighereducationinThailand?Thischapterillustrateskeyaspectsof thecurrentstateofhighereducationinThailandthroughthelensofthestudentexperience. Whoisadmitted?Andtowhattypeofinstitutions?Thischapterpresentsanexplorationof studentaccessissues--enrollmentrates,distributionalequity,anddemographicdifferences. Accessconcernsunderpinthehumanresourcepotentialofanynation,andThailandisno exception. STUDENT PARTICIPATION Therehasbeenasteadyandsubstantialincreaseinstudentparticipationatalllevels ofeducationinThailandoverthelasttwentyyears.Thisistheresultofexplicitpoliciesand practicessetbyGovernment.The1999NEAestablishedgoalsintermsofachievinguniversal Access To Higher Education lowersecondaryeducationby2006anduniversaluppersecondaryeducationby2015. Thailandsteadilyandimpressivelyincreasedgrossenrollmentrates3(GER)inlower secondary(from76percenttoover100percent),uppersecondary(from58percentto65 percent),andhighereducation(from39percentto50percent)between2001and2007(Fig- ure3.1).Studentparticipationhadbeenincreasingsteadilyalreadyinthe1990s,butstalled duetothefinancialcrisisof1997.Inthenewcentury,studentenrollmentgrowthrecovered andcontinued,albeitataslowerpace.Despitehighgrossenrollmentrates,whenlooking at enrollment by age group, it is noteworthy that higher education participation by the appropriateagecohort(18to21yearsold)isonly25percent(MakishimaandSukisiriserekul, 2003),indicatingthatthehighereducationsystemissignificantlypopulatedbyover-aged students. 3 The GER is the number of pupils enrolled in a given level of education regardless of the age expressed as a percentage of the population in the theoretical age group for that level of education. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 1 THE WORLD BANK GROUP FIGURE 3-1: GROSS ENROLLMENT RATES BY EDUCATIONAL LEVEL, 1987-2005 Source: Ministry of Education, 2007 Thailand'shighereducationGERof50percentin2007issimilartoothersimilar EastAsianeconomies,withtheexceptionofSouthKoreawhichisslightlyhigher.Figure3-2 presentsenrollmentratesinprimary,secondaryandtertiaryeducationintheearly1990sand early2000forThailand,SouthKorea,MalaysiaandPhilippines.Thecomparativedatashow thatThailandhasdonearemarkablejobtoincreaseaccesstosecondaryeducation.Thailand startedwithmuchlowerstudentparticipationlevelsthanalltheothercountriesintheregion andinjustadecadenearlycaughtupwithSouthKorea.Thailandalsoshowedsubstantial progressbothintermsofsecondaryandhighereducationGERincomparisontoMalaysia andthePhilippines.Ontheotherhand,ThailandstilllagsbehindOECDcountriesintertiary educationenrollmentratios(Figure3-3). FIGURE 3-2: COMPARATIVE REGIONAL ENROLLMENTS Source: Edstats, 2009 FIGURE 3-3: TERTIARY GROSS ENROLLMENT RATE IN OECD COUNTRIES AND THAILAND, 2004 Access To Higher Education Lusembourg Finland Korea NewZealand Sweden USA Norway Greece Denmark Australia Iceland Spain Italy Belgium Poland UK Hungary Netherlands Ireland Portugal France Japan Austria Switzerland CzecRepublic Thailand SlovakRepublic Turkey Mexico Source: Edstats, 2009 Thailand'spopulationpyramidrevealsthatthenewgenerationsofThaiyouthand youngadultsarebettertrainedandhavehigherlevelsofeducationthanearliergenerations. Between1995and2003,theshareofindividualsbetween35and44yearsoldthathadcom- pletedprimary,secondaryandtertiaryeducationincreasednotably.Thenumberof15to19 yearoldswhogainedaccesstosecondaryeducationrosefrom3to4millionsin2003asa resultofgovernmentinitiativestoachieveuniversalbasiceducation(Figure3-4). Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP FIGURE 3-4: ENROLLMENT IN THAILAND BY AGE GROUP, 1995-2003 Source: OECD, 2005, p. 18 Thenumberofstudentsenrolledinhighereducationhasexpandedsteadilyand dramaticallysincethe1970s,andparticularlyoverthelasttenyears(Figure3-5).Thetotal numberoftertiarystudentsincreasedfrom78,000in1971toover2millionin2005.Thegreat- estjumpinenrollmentstookplaceatthebeginningofthe1990s,asaresultoftheincreasing demandforhigh-skilledworkers. FIGURE 3-5: TOTAL NUMBER OF TERTIARY STUDENTS Source: Ministry of Education, 2008 Enrollments in Government institutions doubled from an initial level of around 800,000in1998tomorethan1,600,000in2005(CommissiononHigherEducation,2008).By 2005,86percentofenrolledstudentsinpubliccentersofhigherlearningwerepursuinga B.A.,10percentwerestudyingingraduateprograms,andabout4percentwerepursuinga diploma.Whilebachelorprogramsremainthepredominanttypeofdegreesoughtafter,the shareofdiplomaandgraduatelevelstudentshasgrowngraduallyduringthisperiod. Thepopularityofdifferenttypesofpublicinstitutionshasalsoshiftedovertime. In less than a decade, the proportion of students attending limited admission institutions increasedfrom30percentto61percent,whereastheshareofstudentsinopenuniversities droppedfrom68percentto37percent.Giventhatlimitedadmissionuniversitieshavemaxi- Access To Higher Education mumparticipationrequirementsandaregenerallyperceivedashigherqualityinstitutions, thistrendsuggeststhatnewergenerationsofhighereducationgraduatesarebetterskilled. TABLE 3-1: HIGHER EDUCATION ENROLLMENTS Source: Commission on Higher Education, 2008 Anotherinterestingtrendisthattheenrollmentshareofprivatesectorinstitutions hasactuallydecreasedovertime,from19percentin1998to13percentin2005.Giventhe high demand for higher education amongstThai youth, there is significant scope for the privatesectortoexpandeducationalopportunitiesacrossalltypesofdegreeprograms. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP EQUITY IN ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION GENDER Likeothermiddle-andhigh-incomecountries,Thailandhasexperiencedareversal intheeducationgendergap,asmorefemalethanmalestudentsareenrollinginhighereduca- tion(Figure3-6).In1997,thegrossenrollmentratesoffemalesenrolledinhighereducation was27percentofthefemaleagecohort,comparedto23percentformales.Thegendergap hasworsenedovertime.By2007theenrollmentratesinhighereducationforfemalesreached 55percentcomparedto44percentformales.Lowermaleparticipationinhighereducation islinkedtolowerenrollmentratesofmalesatthesecondarylevel,duetohighersecondary schooldropoutratesandgreaterparticipationinthelabormarket.Thesefindingssuggest thatGovernmentshouldcontinuetomonitorcloselyenrollmenttrendsinordertomanage thewideningofthegendergap. FIGURE 3-6: GROSS ENROLLMENT IN TERTIARY EDUCATION BY SEX, 1992-2007 Source: Edstats, 2009 SOCIO-ECONOMIC DISTRIBUTION As noted in previous chapters,Thailand experiences substantial inequalities in termsofaccesstohighereducationbyhouseholdincome.TheresultsinFigure3-7captures thesharpparticipationratedifferencesinhighereducationbysocioeconomiclevel(Q1is thepoorestandQ5istherichest).Whereasalmost50percentofstudentsfromthehighest incomequintileparticipateinhighereducation,lessthan5percentofstudentsinthelow- estquintileareenrolled.Thethreelowestincomequintilescombinedrepresentabout20 percentofhighereducationenrollments.Whilethetoptwoincomequintilesrepresentthe vastmajorityofenrollments,thereisnonethelessavastchasminparticipationrateseven betweenQ4andQ5. FIGURE 3-7: HIGHER EDUCATION PARTICIPATION RATE (AGES 20 AND OVER) Access To Higher Education Source: Socio-Economic Survey, 2006 Theseglaringinequalitiesinhighereducationmanifestearlyintheeducational livesofThaichildren.Figure3-8illustratesthesurvivalcurveforstudents(ages6to22)from primarythroughtertiaryeducation.Whereassurvivalratesareconstantforstudentsfromthe highestincomequintile,theyareconstantlydecreasingforstudentsfromlow-incomefamilies. Survivalratesofwealthierstudentsarealmost100percentcomparedtobarely60percent forstudentsfromthepoorestbackgrounds.Ateachlevelofeducation,lowincomestudents aremorelikelytodropoutuponcompletion.Thedropoutrateincreasesfromprimaryto secondaryandfromsecondarytohighereducation. FIGURE 3-8: SURVIVAL CURVE ESTIMATES FOR AGE 6 TO 22 IN THAILAND Source: Socio-Economic Survey, 2006 Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP PARENTAL EDUCATION Highereducationenrollmentincreaseswithhigherlevelsofeducationalattainment oftheheadofthehousehold(Table3-2).Theparticipationrateofyouthages18to25with aparentwhosehighesteducationallevelachievedwasprimaryeducationwas13percent, comparedto18percentforthosewithparentswhocompletedsecondaryeducationand 34percentforthosewithtertiaryeducationeducatedparents.Parentaleducationincreases youthopportunitiestoenrollinhighereducation,clearlyillustratingtheinter-generational benefitsofeducation.Thispositiverelationshipisproductofboththefinancialandemotional supportthatmoreeducatedparentscanprovidetotheirchildrentogainentryandnavigate acomplexeducationsystem. TABLE 3-2: HIGHER EDUCATION PARTICIPATION RATE BY HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD EDUCATION Source: Labor Force Survey, 2005 REGIONAL ACCESS Therearesubstantialdifferencesintermsofhighereducationparticipationratesby regionandlocalityinThailand(Table3-3).Bangkokhasthehighestparticipationrateinhigher educationfollowedbythecentralandsouthernregions.Theregionwiththeleastaccessto highereducationisthenortheast,wherelowincomefamiliesarehighlyconcentrated.Even thoughtherehasbeensomeincreaseintheparticipationratesinhighereducationbetween 2001and2005,inequalitiesinregionalparticipationpersist.Theseinequalitiespartiallystem fromthefactthatmosthighereducationinstitutionsarelocatedinurbanareas,providing easieraccesstothosewholivenearby.Theparticipationrateofpersonslivinginmunicipal areasismorethan3timeshigherthanthatofpeoplelivinginnon-municipalareas.Theen- rollmentgapbetweenurbanandruralstudentshasgrownwiderfrom15percentagepoints in2001to17percentagepointsin2005. TABLE 3-3: HIGHER EDUCATION PARTICIPATION RATE BY REGION AND LOCALITY (AGES 20 AND OVER) Access To Higher Education Source: Labor Force Survey 2001, 2003, 2005 INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN THAILAND In 2006, the Commission on Higher Education conducted a survey on foreign studentsinhighereducationinstitutionsinThailand.Currently,thereareabout16,000in- ternationalstudentsenrolledinThaihighereducationinstitutions--lessthan0.01percentof thestudentbody(Table3-4).AlmosthalfofallforeignenrollmentsarefromChina.Thailand's neighborsrepresentonequarterofallforeignenrollments. TABLE 3-4: INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS BY NATIONALITY Source: Commission on Higher Education, 2008 Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP TABLE 3-5: INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS BY INSTITUTION Source: Commission on Higher Education, 2008 Internationalstudentsbringanimportantaspectofdiversitytotheclassroomand the university campus, givingThai students access to global perspectives without leaving Thailand.AnotherbenefitofforeignstudentparticipationinThaiuniversitiesisanadditional revenuestreamtofinancehighereducation.Mostinternationalstudentsareself-funded(Table 3-6).In2003,itwasestimatedthatforeignstudentenrollmentscontributedBaht2.5billion (aroundUSD75millionorUSD15,000perstudentonaverage)intothesubsector(Chang, nodate).Atmanyinstitutions,tuitioncontributionsandfeepaymentsfornon-Thaistudents arenearlydoublethosechargedforThaistudents.Themostpopularfieldsofstudyamong foreign students are business administration, marketing, business English,Thai language, generalmanagementandinternationalbusinessmanagement. TABLE 3-6: NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS BY SOURCE OF FUNDS Source: Commission on Higher Education, 2008 ForeignenrollmentsinThailandarealsoencouragedbybranchcampusesofseveral foreignhighereducationinstitutions,suchasWebsterUniversityandStamfordInternational University.Franchiseuniversitiesareatpresentalimitedsegmentoftheexistinghigheredu- cationmarket.Asnotedabove,greaterparticipationfromtheprivateinternationalsector couldbeagrowthfactorinthesupplyoftertiaryeducationalservices. THAI STUDENTS OVERSEAS In2005,therewere23,714Thaistudentsstudyingatuniversitiesoverseas.Thisis equivalentto1.2percentofthedomestichighereducationpopulation.Moststudentswho travelabroadtostudyarefrommiddle-tohigh-incomefamiliesthatcanaffordthecostsof educationinforeigncountries.Theinfluenceofglobalizationandtheeaseoftravelandcom- Access To Higher Education municationtechnologieshavefacilitatedtheflowofstudentsaroundtheworld.TheUnited States,AustraliaandtheUnitedKingdomarethethreemostpopulardestinationsforThai students(Table3-7). TABLE 3-7: THAI STUDENTS STUDYING ABROAD, 2005 Source: UIS, 2007 SincetheperiodofKingRamaV,theRoyalGovernmentofThailandhaspromoted studentexchangesoverseas.Originally,themainpurposeoftheseexchangeswastounder- standforeignpolitics,economy,andculturetoenableThailandtostrategizehowtoresist efforts(military,religiousorotherwise)to"colonize"thecountry.Atpresent,thereareseveral overseasGovernmentscholarshipschemes.TheKing'sScholarshipisaprestigiousawardfor internationalstudy,yearlymanagedbytheOfficeoftheCivilServiceCommission.Approxi- matelynineKing'sScholarshipsareawardedannually. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 1 THE WORLD BANK GROUP TABLE 3-8: NUMBER OF GOVERNMENT-FUNDED THAI STUDENTS STUDYING ABROAD, 2005 Source: Office of the Civil Service Commission, UIS, 2007 STUDENT ACADEMIC CHOICES ThereislimiteddatacompiledonstudentacademicchoicesinThailand.Asnotedin Chapter1,scienceandtechnologyarefieldsofincreasingdemandandimportanceworldwide duetotheirpotentialcontributionstoeconomicdevelopment.Asianuniversitiesaccounted foralmost1.5millionofscienceandengineeringdegreesworldwidein2002(NationalScience Foundation,2006).Drawingfromdatacollectedin1995,Thailandlaggedbehinditsregional neighborsinthepercentageofstudentsobtainingdegreesinscienceandengineering(Table 3-9).Whileapproximatelyonefifthofallstudentspursuedacareerinscienceandengineer- inginThailand,aboutonethirdofstudentsdidsoinotherAsiancountries.Theseestimates, however,oughttobeinterpretedwithsomecautionduetothesignificantchangesthatthe highereducationlandscapeinThailandhasundergoneduringthelastdecade. TABLE 3-9: SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING DEGREES SHARE, BY COUNTRY Source: National Science Foundation, Science and Engineering Indicators, 2006. Access to higher education inThailand has experienced a continuous positive trendovertime,butseriousproblemsremainintermsofequity.Despiterealincreasesinthe supply of postsecondary institutions to accommodate growing demand, enrollment rates inhighereducationbylower-incomestudentsremainverylow.Menarealsosignificantly under-represented. Furthermore, enrollment in subjects deemed of high national priority tobenefittheThaieconomyareunder-subscribed.Thailandisnotpreparingscientistsand engineersinsufficientnumbers,especiallyincomparisonwithcountrieslikeSouthKorea. ThetransformationoftheformerRajabhatandRajamangalainstitutionsintouniver- sities,andthecreationofcommunitycollegesinrecentyearshavebeenawelcomedresponse tobegintoaddressregionalandsocioeconomicinequalitiestopromoteexpandedaccess touniversityeducationacrossdemographicareas,includingageandsocioeconomicgroups. Thereislimiteddataavailabletoassesstheimpactofthesereformstodate,butGovernment Access To Higher Education mustcontinuetomonitortheincidenceofbenefitsacrossdifferentsocialgroupstoevaluate whetherthepromiseofthesereformsintermsofequalityofaccesshasbeenrealized. AswillbenotedinChapter5,arevampingofthefinancialaidsystemwillalsobe acriticalandnecessarysteptoaddressfinancialconstraintstohighereducationfromlower socioeconomic groups and make higher education truly affordable to all able and willing students. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy Chapter Quality And Relevance Of Higher Education THE WORLD BANK GROUP Quality And Relevance Of Higher Education AsnotedinChapter2,thehighereducationsystemhasexperiencedsignificant growthinthelastdecade.Thetotalnumberofpostsecondaryinstitutionsjumpedfrom5in 1967to166in2008.Maintainingqualityduringatimeofsystem-wideexpansion,diversifica- tionandfinancialuncertaintyareimportantchallenges. Inthepast,educationalqualityandrelevancewereoftenviewedassynonymous: high-quality education was relevant education. But this is no longer the case.Today it is possibletohavehigh-qualityeducationthatisirrelevanttoacountry'spriorities--irrelevant Quality And Relevance Of Higher Education educationincreasesthechancesofgraduateunemploymentandbraindrain,anddeprivesa nationofanimportantvehicleforitsdevelopment. What is the quality and relevance ofThai higher education? Public perception hasbeenmixed.AlthoughThailandiscreditedwithafewcentersofacademicexcellence, onaveragehighereducationqualityisdescribedassubstandard.Inarecentnewsarticle, BoonrakBoonyaketmala,aformerdeanatThammasatUniversity,expressed"Thespreadof highereducationisn'tsolvingthefundamentalproblemofquality.Manyofouruniversities arelittlemorethanvocationalcolleges.Degreesareoftentheequivalentofaschool-leaving certificatefromagoodEuropeanschool"(Barnes,2005). Thischapterexploresvariousdimensionsofhighereducationqualityandrelevance inThailand--includinginternationalcomparisons,institutionalproductivityintermsofgradu- atesandpublications,staffingandperformance,andlabormarketresponses.Itconcludes withabriefdescriptionofrecentpolicyresponsestoestablishqualityassurancemechanisms formonitoringinstitutionaloutputsandactivities. INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS Measuringthequalityofthetertiaryeducationischallengingbecauseofthemul- tiplicityoffieldsanddegreesofferedaswellasthedifferenceinthemissionsofdifferenttypes ofhighereducationinstitutions.Unlikesecondaryeducation,whichhascomparabletestsin mathandsciencethatenableinternationalcomparisons,therearefeweranalogousmeasures inhighereducation.Twomajorinternationalleaguetables--theShanghaiJiaoTongUniversity (China)AcademicRankingofWorldUniversitiesandtheTimeHigherEducationSupplement Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP (THES)WorldUniversityRankings--rankresearch-intensiveuniversitiesworldwide.TheTHES asked institutions to rank universities according to the following categories: peer review (reputation),internationalfaculty,internationalstudents,student/facultyratiosandcitations perfacultymember."Thefiveindicatorshavebeenchosentoreflectstrengthinteaching, researchandinternationalreputation,withthegreatestinfluenceexertedbythoseinthebest positiontojudge:Academics"(THES,5November2004,p.2).Similarly,intheShanghaiJiao TongUniversityindexuniversitiesarerankedbyseveralindicatorsofacademicorresearch performance,includingalumniandstaffwinningNobelPrizesandFieldsMedals,highlycited researchers,articlespublishedinNatureandScience,articlesindexedinmajorcitationindices, andthepercapitaacademicperformanceofaninstitution.Thisindexattemptstominimize subjectivityofreputationrankingsbyfocusingonoutputs.Naturally,thereareanumberof methodologicallimitationsinherentinanyrankingexercise.However,internationalleague tablesareusefulascomparativedataprovideinsightsforunderstandingThailand'suniversi- tiesinthecontextofglobalhighereducation.Thehighestrankeduniversitiesintheworld areclearlythosethatmakesignificantcontributionsthroughexcellenceinresearch,teaching andproducinghighlyskilledgraduates.Ultimately,theinternationalreputationthatdevelops fromtheseachievementsestablishestheseinstitutionsasworldclass. Table4-1listsrankingsfromselecteduniversitiesinAsia-Pacificfromthesetwo benchmarkingsurveys.TheShanghaiJiaoTongUniversityindexdidnotplaceanyThaiuniver- sitiesinitstop500listnorinitstop100Asianuniversitieslist.IntheTHEStop200university ranking,Thailandhadoneuniversityplacedat166(ChulalongkornUniversity).Asareference point,Indiahadtwouniversitiesatrankings154and174.Malaysia,Indonesia,norPhilippines, ascomparatorcountries,didnothaveanyuniversitieslisted. TABLE 4-1: TOP UNIVERSITY RANKINGS, ASIA-PACIFIC NATIONS Quality And Relevance Of Higher Education However,whatThailandrequiresmaynotnecessarilybemore"world-classuniversi- ties,"especiallyifmorefundamentalhighereducationneedsarenotbeingmet.Worldclass researchuniversitiesdemandhugefinancialcommitments,aconcentrationofexceptionalhu- mancapital,andgovernancepoliciesthatallowforteachingandresearchexcellence.Instead, aninitialfocuscouldbeondevelopingnationaluniversities,perhapssimilartotheland-grant universitiesintheUSduringthe19thcenturyorthepolytechnicuniversitiesofGermanyand Canada.Suchinstitutionswouldcatertothediversetrainingneedsofthedomesticstudent Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP populationandeconomy.Thiseffortcouldalsobelinkedtoprivatesectordevelopment.Box 4-1illustratesthedevelopmentoftheIndianInstitutesofTechnologyasonesuchexample. (Salmi2009) BOX 4 -1: THE INDIAN INSTITUTES OF TECHNOLOGY Soonafterbecomingindependent,Indiaplacedscienceandtechnologyhighonitseconomicdevelop- mentagenda.ThefirstIndianInstituteofTechnology(IIT)wasestablishedin1951atKharagpur,(WestBengal)with supportfromUNESCO,basedontheMITmodel.TheSecondIITwasestablishedatBombay(nowMumbai)in1958 withassistancefromtheSovietUnionthroughUNESCO.In1959,IITMadras(nowChennai)wasestablishedwith assistancefromGermany;andIITKanpurwithhelpfromaconsortiumofUSUniversities.BritishindustryandtheUK GovernmentsupportedtheestablishmentofIITDelhiin1961.In1994,IITGuwahatiwasestablishedtotallythrough indigenousefforts. In2001,theUniversityofRoorkeewasbroughtundertheIITfamilyastheseventhsuchinstitution.While taking advantage of experience and best practices in industrial countries, India ensured that the"institutions representedIndia'surgesandIndia'sfutureinmaking"(PrimeMinisterNehru,1956).TheIndianParliamentdesignated them as"Institutes of National Importance"--publicly funded institutions enjoying maximum academic and managerialfreedom--offeringprogramsofhighqualityandrelevanceinengineering,technology,appliedsciences andmanagementatundergraduate,masters,anddoctoratelevelandofferingtheirowndegrees.Studentadmissions aremadestrictlyaccordingtomeritthroughahighlycompetitivecommonentrancetest. Today,theIITsattractthebeststudentsinterestedinacareerinengineeringandappliedsciences.With 4,000newstudentsselectedoutof250,000applicantseveryyear,theIITsaremoreselectivethanthetopUSIvy Leagueschools.SeveralIITalumnioccupythehighestpositionsofresponsibilityineducation,research,business andinnovationinseveralpartsoftheworld.In2005,TheTimesHigherEducationSupplementrankedtheIITsas globallythirdbestengineeringschoolafterMITandtheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley. ThemainstrengthoftheIITshasbeentheirsustainedabilitytoattractthebeststudentsandturntheminto "creativeengineers"or"engineerentrepreneurs."InitiallyIITswerecriticizedfortheircontributiontothebrain-drain asabout40%ofthegraduateswentabroad.Today,withtheopeningandfastgrowthoftheIndianeconomy,this "weakness"isturningintoabigstrengthforinternationalcooperationandinvestments.Muchofthesuccessof Bangalore,forinstance,isattributedtothephenomenonofreversebraindrain. Source: Salmi, 2009. INSTITUTIONAL QUALITY MEASURES GRADUATION RATES In2004,aboutaquartermillionThaistudentscompletedbachelor'sdegrees,over 25,000diplomas,approximately40,000masters' degrees,andover1,000Ph.D.(Figure4-1). AsnotedinChapter3,thegrossenrollmentrateforhighereducationinThailandisabout 50percent.Accordingtothemostrecentdataavailable,inthe2002-03academicyearthe shareoftertiarygraduatesasapercentageofthepopulationatthetypicalageofgraduation forThailandwas27percent.Inaccordancetoenrollmentpatterns,therearewidedisparities bygender.Themalegraduationratewas20.8percentcomparedto33.5percentforfemales. TheshareofThaiyouththatattainacollegedegreeinThailandisslightlybelowtheOECD countryaverage--32percent(UNESCO,2005).Butisthisanadequateoutputofgraduates givenexistingcapacity? FIGURE 4-1: NUMBER OF GRADUATES BY DEGREE 256,559 257,650 258,215 Quality And Relevance Of Higher Education 38,856 43,190 40,018 29,602 25,713 25,550 12,306 3,090 5,499 1,283 735 Source: Commission on Higher Education, 2008 Theseestimatesofuniversityoutputarelargelyshapedbythesignificantshareof thepopulationthatdonotenterahighereducationprogram.Theydonotquitecapturethe performanceofthehighereducationsystemperse.Amoreusefulmeasureforthispurpose istoassessgraduationlevelsinrelationtohighereducationenrollments.AsnotedinTable 3-1,in1998,therewereapproximately915,000studentsenrolledinB.Aprograms.Sixyears later,thenumberofstudentsthatattainedaB.Adegreeorhigherwas304thousand.Thus,we canestimatethatthecollegecompletionrateinThailandwasapproximately33percenton average.Inotherwords,onlyonethirdofstudentswhoenrolledinacollegedegreeprogram graduatedwithinsixyears.TheOECDgraduationrateaverageis70percent(OECD,2007a).It isapparentthatthereissignificantroomforimprovementintheefficiencyoftheThaihigher education sector given that a significant proportion of the student body either drops out beforegraduationortakesmanymoreyearsthanneededtofulfilldegreerequirements. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP HIGHER EDUCATION FACULTY Thereareapproximately35studentsforeachfacultymemberonaverageinThailand tertiaryeducationinstitutions(Table4-2).ThisratioismuchhigherthaninthePhilippines andalmosttwicethatofIndonesia.ThisgapgrowswhencomparedtothemeanforOECD countries,wherethereareapproximately15studentsperfacultymember. Thecommonpatternineducationsystemsinlow-andmiddle-incomecountriesis tohavelargerstudentteacherratiosatlowerlevelsofeducationandsmallerratiosathigher levels.InThailand,weobservetheoppositepattern.Studentstaffratiosatprimaryandsec- ondarylevelsarepracticallyhalfofthoseintertiaryeducation.Whyisthisthecase?These averagesarelargelydrivenbyenrollmentsatopenuniversities,wheretheaveragestudent teacher ratio is 549:1. Limited admission universities have about 15 students per faculty (Boonsermetal.,2003).ThisislargelycomparablewithOECDcountries. TABLE 4 -2: STUDENT:TEACHER RATIOS, 2003 Source: OECD, 2005 ThereisgenderparityinThaihighereducationfaculty.Thepercentageoffemale instructorshasremainedstableataround50percent,despiteasteadyincreaseinthetotal numberofhighereducationfaculty.Giventhathighereducationgraduationratesarenotably higherforfemales,itisnotsurprisingthatonthewholestatisticstendtobepositivelybiased towardswomen(Table4-3). TABLE 4 -3: TERTIARY EDUCATION TEACHERS Source: Edstats, 2008 Themajorityoftertiaryfacultyinbothpublicandprivatehighereducationinstitu- tionsinThailandholdgraduatedegrees,withabout80percentageofacademicstaffholding Masterdegreesorhigher.Publicinstitutionshavehighersharesofteacherswithdoctoral degreesthanprivateinstitutions,possiblyasaresultofgrantsandscholarshipschemesthat Governmentoffersforstaffdevelopment. FIGURE 4-2: ACADEMIC STAFF IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS BY EDUCATIONAL LEVEL Quality And Relevance Of Higher Education Source: Commission on Higher Education, 2008 AccordingtoCHEadministrativedata,only1.4percentofacademicstaffinpublic highereducationinstitutionsheldafullprofessorpositionin2005.Thedistributionoffaculty assignmentsincluded20percentofassociateprofessors,36percentofassistantprofessors and43percentoflecturers.Therelativelyhighproportionoflecturersandthesmallshareof fullprofessorsindicatethatmostinstitutionsfocusonstudentteachingratherthanresearch. Theverylowpercentageoffacultyattherankoffullprofessormaybesubjectofconcern becauseusuallystaracademicsbringprestigetoinstitutionsbyattractinghighqualitystu- dentsandincreasedexternalresources,oftenproducingrelevantresearchandpublications whichappearininternationalpeer-reviewedjournals.Suchcontributionsraisethevisibility andstatusoftheinstitution,whichinturnraisesthestatusofthesystemasawhole. Withregardstofacultyscholarlyoutput,Thailandhasdemonstratedsubstantial progresswithregardstonumberofpublicationsinpeer-reviewedjournals.Accordingtothe Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 1 THE WORLD BANK GROUP ScienceCitationIndex(SCI),whichtrackspublicationsinsciencejournals,Thailandincreased itspublicationsignificancefromlessthan500articlesinthemid-1970stoover3,000articles peryearby2004(Figure4-3).Thistrendpickedupstrengthbeginninginthemid-1990s.In recentyears,therehasbeenaslightshiftinthedomainsofpublication,withaslowingtrendin themedicalsciencesandanincreasingemphasisontheengineeringsciences(Table4-4). FIGURE 4 -3: THAI PUBLICATIONS IN THE SCIENCE CITATION INDEX (SCI), 1974­2005 Source: Schiller, 2006 TABLE 4-4: THAI PUBLICATIONS BY SCIENTIFIC FIELD, 1995­2004 Source: Schiller, 2006 Ontheotherhand,asashareofpublicationsworldwide,Thailand'sfacultyoverall contributionsaresmall,wellbelow1percentinallacademicfields(Table4-5).Incomparison tootherAsiannations,fortheperiod2000-05,Thailand'saveragescholarlyoutputperyearwas lessthanhalfofSingapore'sproduction,butclosetodoublethatofMalaysia.Thenumberof publicationsbyfacultyinChina,Korea,andTaiwanwassignificantlylarger. TABLE 4-5: YEARLY AVERAGE NUMBER OF PUBLICATIONS (SELECTED NATIONS, 1980­2005) Quality And Relevance Of Higher Education Source: Schiller, 2006 Therelevanceofscholarlyresearchmaybeassessedbythefrequencythiswork getscitedinotherscholarlypublications.Inthisrealm,Thailandscoresrelativelywellinall areasofacademicpursuit.Inmostfieldsofresearch,Thailand's"impactindex"tendstobefor themostpart--perhapswiththeexceptionofthelifesciences--justbelowtheworldaver- age(Table4-6),suggestingthattherelativelysmallnumberoffacultyworkingonresearch arequiteproductiveandarecontributingmeaningfullytoglobalknowledge. TABLE 4-6: THAI PUBLICATIONS' IMPACT BY SCIENTIFIC FIELD Source: Schiller, 2006 QUALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING Traditionaleducationalsystems,inwhichtheteacheristhemain"source"ofknowl- edge,areill-suitedtoequippeopletoworkandliveinaknowledgeeconomy.Someofthe competenciessuchasocietydemands--teamwork,problemsolving,motivationforlifelong learning--cannotbeacquiredinasettinginwhichteachersconveyfactstostudentswhose Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP maintaskistolearntheminordertobeabletorepeatthem.Alifelonglearningsystemmust becompetencydriven.Withintraditionalinstitutionalsettings,countriesmustdevelopnew curriculaandnewteachingmethodstoadapt.AnecdotaldatafromThailandindicatesthat teachingandlearningapproachesinhighereducationinstitutionsrelyprimarilyonfaculty-cen- teredapproaches,withlimitedopportunitiesforstudentindependentwork,problemsolving orgroupprojects.Providingpeoplewiththetoolstheyneedtofunctionintheknowledge economyrequiresadoptionofanewpedagogicalmodel.Thismodeldiffersfromtraditional academicapproachesindistinctways,asillustratedinTable4-7. TABLE 4-7: CHARACTERISTICS OF TRADITIONAL AND LIFELONG LEARNING MODELS Source: World Bank, 2003 Whileteachingmodelsareoftencontext-specific,asetofaspectsofeffectivelearn- ingenvironmentsandprincipleshaveemergedfromvariousfindingsthataddresstheskills demandsofaknowledgeeconomy.Furtherempiricalevidenceneedstoprovided,butthose aspectsseemtomapthedemandsoftheknowledgeeconomy,andthereisageneraltrend ofOECDcountriesmovingintointegratingthoseaspectsintheireducationpractices.They canbesubsumedunderthelearner-centerededucationparadigmthatdiffersfromtraditional learningsettingsinthatitiscustomized,knowledgerich,networked,andassessment-driven (Box4-2).Thegrowingpredominanceofinteractiveteachingmethodsandactivelearning, case-basedtraining,simulations,andteamproject­inshort,aproblem-orientedcurriculum ­reflectstheneedtobuildcognitive-basedandcreativecapital. BOX 4 -2: TRENDS OF EFFECTIVE LEARNING ASPECTS AND ENVIRONMENTS FOR THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY Learner-centered teaching The learner-centered education paradigm is based on the cognitive theories of learners' active involvement in reflection, interpretation and self-evaluation. Knowledge and skills are acquired through exploration, drawing from the real world and applying learning in practice. Learning is social; it occurs in interaction, together with others, debating and creatively changing social practices. Learner-centered educationsupportsdeeplearningandcreativity.Alearner-centeredenvironmentrecognizesthatlearnersacquire newknowledgeandskillsbestiftheknowledgeandskillsareconnectedtowhattheyalreadyknow.Teachers needtoknowwhatlearnersalreadyknowandunderstandbeforeintroducingnewmaterial.Learner-centered learningallowsnewknowledgetobecomeavailableforuseinnewsituations--thatis,itallowsknowledge transferandadaptationforaspecificcontexttotakeplace.Aspectsinclude: Quality And Relevance Of Higher Education 1) Customized Learning: Credit hours and time in the classroom may not necessarily be coupled in learner-centerededucation.Althoughstudentswithbackgroundknowledgeandexperiencesinacontentarea mayquicklymasterthecoursematerialandrequiredskills,othersmayneedmoretimeandadditionalhelp. Consequently,studentsinlearner-centeredenvironmentswilloftencompletecoursesatdifferentrates. 2) Knowledge-rich learning, learning by doing and learning by using: Learners ability to transfer what theylearntonewcontextsrequiresbothagraspofthemesandoverarchingconceptsinadditiontofactual knowledgeaswellastheirapplicationprocesses.Knowledge-richlearningthusfavorsteachingfewersubject areasindepthratherthancoveringmoresubjectsinlessdepth.Inordertoabsorbtheknowledgeandapply it,"learning by doing," and"learning by using" approaches are important ways of using the knowledge and concepts being taught. This kind of learning provides learners with a variety of strategies and tools for retrievingandapplyingortransferringknowledgetonewsituations. 3) Inter-connected, net-and team-worked:Inaknowledgeeconomy,itbecomesparamounttocollaborate withotherpartiesandtapintotheglobalstockofknowledge.Also,itisimportantthatlearnersbeabletolearn fromoneanother.Givinglearnerstheopportunitytoworkonjointprojectsisimportantforbothchildrenand adults.Indeedresearchhasshownthatcollaboratingstudentgroupscanacceleratelearning.Itisfurthermore importanttolinkactivitiesinsidetheclassroomwithwhatishappeningoutsidetheclassroom.Workingon real-lifeproblemsorissuesthatarerelevanttoparticipantsincreasesinterestandmotivationandpromotes knowledgetransfer.Moreover,importantsourcesofinformationandknowledgeexistoutsidetheclassroom thatlearnersneedtounderstandandaccess. 4) Assessment-driven:Assessment-drivenlearningisbasedondefiningclearstandards,identifyingthe point from which learners start, determining the progress they are making toward meeting standards, and recognizingwhethertheyhavereachedthem.Assessment-drivenlearninghelpstheeducationalsystemdefine theinstructionalactionplan,whichneedstoreflectthedifferentplacesfromwhichlearnersstart.Education scientistscurrentlyexperimentwithhowthisapproachcanbereconciledwiththeaccountabilitythatschools stillhavetoadhereto.However,thereisconsensusthatgivinglearners--evenveryyounglearners--arolein theprocessoftrackingtheirlearningachievementsand,especially,engagingthemindiscussionoftheoutcomes oftheseassessmentsarepowerfulmotivatorsandtoolsforimprovedandindependentlearning. Source: World Bank, 2009 Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP QUALITY ASSURANCE PRACTICES Significantstepshavebeentakentocreateaunifiedqualityassuranceframework thatwillreviewperformanceofThailandeducationinstitutions.Sincethe1999NEAwas promulgated,thequalityofeducationsystemisofficiallyevaluatedbothinternallyandex- ternally.Internally,highereducationinstitutionsareexpectedtoconductselfassessments. Allinstitutionsarerequiredtoimplementaninternalqualityassurancesystemcomprisedof control,auditandassessment.Institutionsareexpectedtoprepareannualreportswhichare thensubmittedtoCHEandmadeavailabletothepublic. Externalassessmentsaremeanttocomplementtheinternalinstitutionalassess- ment.TheNEAestablishedtheOfficeforNationalEducationStandardsandQualityAssessment (ONESQA)astheagencyresponsibleforoverseeingqualityreviewsofallhighereducation institutions at least once every five years. The results of the assessments are shared with relevantagenciesandalsomadeavailabletothepublic. TheNEAauthorizesONESQAtosubmitcorrectivemeasuresandactionsforschools thatareperformingpoorlyinordertoimprovetheirfunctions.Ifaninstitutioncontinuesto performpoorly,areportissubmittedtoCHEforfurtheraction.Anecdotaldatasuggeststhat thecurrentperformanceofONESQAshouldbestrengthenedinordertotranslatemonitoring andevaluationintotangibleimprovementsinhighereducationquality. Thefirstreviewcycletookplacebetween2000-05.Highereducationinstitutions were encouragedtopresentdata fromtheirinternalevaluation process,including perfor- manceindicatorsandstatisticaldatacollectedfrominstitutionalreviewreports.Allstake- holders--faculty,students,parentsandadministrators--wereencouragedtoparticipatein thereviewprocess.Forthesecondreviewcycle,nowongoingfrom2006to2010,atypology withsevendimensionswascreatedtosystematizetheevaluationprocess:(a)qualityofgradu- ates,(b)researchandinnovation,(c)academicservices,(d)artsandculturepreservation,(e) organizationandhumanresourcedevelopment,(f )curriculumandinstitutionalaspects,and (g)qualityassurancesystem. AsONESQAlooksinwardtoimproveitselfandtoraiseitselftoalevelcomparable tothemostsophisticatedaccreditationsystemsintheworld,itwillhavetoconsiderhowto reincarnateitselfsothatitsactivities:(a)continuetobeguidedbyevolvinghighstandards; (b)areforwardlookingandallowforinnovativepractice;and(c)addressanumberofthe shortcomings that characterize the present system. A robust accreditation process would necessarily: · beunderstandablebyandacceptabletoallstakeholders · befair,transparent,andobjective Quality And Relevance Of Higher Education · involvecrediblemembers · take into account the requirements of training and education, private and public systems · incorporatefeedbackloopsforcontinuousimprovementandfinetuning · besimple,manageable,andadaptableaswellasefficientandeffective · have built-in mechanisms for ongoing monitoring of its own efficiency and effectiveness InorderforthepracticesoftheThaiQualityAssurancesystemtobeinlinewith themostadvancedinternationalqualityassurancesystems,itwouldneedto: · Involvecrediblepeerreviewersincludinginternationalexpertsintheexternalreview processofprograms.Ensurethatindividualsinvolvedinthepeerreviewprocessreceive sufficienttrainingforthetaskathand. · Makeallqualityassurancereportsofinstitutionshighqualityandpubliclyavailable. · Ensure that the system is fair and efficient, functions without delays, is devoid of unnecessarybureaucracy,doesnotintrudeintheprimaryactivitiesofuniversitiesand doesnotstymieinnovation. · Assumeamoreconstructiveandformativeroleandensurethatrecommendationsmade by the ONESQA following program reviews are meaningful and possible to implement. · Build in a system for the review of ONESQA itself, using external and international experts. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP EMPLOYMENT AND THE LABOR MARKET Anotherwaytoevaluatetherelevanceoftheskillsandknowledgeprovidedin higher education institutions is through the lens of job opportunities for their graduates. ThissectionpresentsaseriesofstatisticsontheThailabormarketthathelpillustratewhether graduatesareabletogetjobsintheirareasoftrainingandwhetheremployersaresatisfied withthequalityofthegraduates.Itisessentialtokeepinmindthateducationisanecessary butnotsufficientconditionforindividualstoenjoygoodlabormarketoutcomes,regardless ofsector.Besideseducation,otherfactorsincludinggoodlabormarketopportunitiesforthe skilledrequireaneconomyasawholetobeoperatingwellwithmacroeconomicstability, anattractiveinvestmentclimate,andefficientlabormarkets,areallcritical.Itisofcritical importancetoadoptaholisticapproachtoanalyzingeducation-labormarketrelationships. EMPLOYMENT RATES TherehasbeenasteadydecreaseinunemploymentratesinThailandbetween 2002 and 2006. Figure 4-4 shows the unemployment rates for individuals with different levelsofeducation.Contrarytoconventionalwisdom,unemploymentratesincreasebylevel ofeducation.Individualswithuniversitydegreeshadthehighestunemploymentrates,but theseratesdecreasedfrom4percentin2002to2.3percentin2006. FIGURE 4-4: UNEMPLOYMENT RATE BY EDUCATION LEVEL, 2002-06 Source: National Statistics Office, 2008 Unemploymentratesofuniversitygraduatesdifferbydegreeattained.Only2.6 percentofPh.Dgraduateswereunemployedin2000,comparedto30.9percentofAssociate Degreegraduates(Table4-8).Theunemploymentratealsovariesbyfieldofstudy.Asurvey reportonjobsearchingstatusofB.AgraduatesconductedbyCHEsuggeststhatstudentsin healthandwelfareprogramshadthesmallestunemploymentrates(7percent),whilescience graduateshadthehighestunemploymentrates(40percent)(Table4-9).Highunemployment ratesofsciencegraduatessuggestthateithertherearelimitedjobopportunitiesinthisfield and/orgraduateshavenotdevelopedtheskillsneededbythelocaleconomyintheseaca- Quality And Relevance Of Higher Education demicprograms.Highunemploymentrateshavenegativeconsequencesnotonlyforrecent graduates,buttheycanalsodiscouragestudentsfromattendingscienceprogramsandmight leadtoscarcityofscientistsinthefuture. TABLE 4-8: GRADUATES BY WORKING STATUS AND DEGREE TYPE, 2000 Source: National Statistics Office, 2008 TABLE 4-9: EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF B.A GRADUATES BY FIELD OF STUDY, 2002-03 Source: Commission on Higher Education, Summary Report on Job Searching Status of Graduates in 2002-03 ComparisonswithotherEastAsiancountriescorroboratearisingtrendinunem- ploymentratesforhighereducationgraduatesbetween1996and2005(Figure4-5).With Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP theexceptionofIndonesia,allothercountriessurveyedpresentincreasingskilled-laborun- employmentrates.Thailand'sunemploymentratesforhighereducationgraduatesincreased fromover10percenttoalmost30percentduringthisperiod.Afterthe1997financialcrisis, however,unemploymentratesofhighschoolgraduatesactuallydecreased.Themainreason forthisphenomenonisthatthefinancialcrisisputpressureonfirmstocutwagecoststhrough hiringyoungerworkers,contractworkers,andtemporaryworkers.Thisreducedtheneedfor morecostly,high-skilledworkers.Therisingtrendinunemploymentofcollegegraduatesin theregionmayalsobeexplainedbyanexcessofsupplyofgraduateswithinadequateskills aswellasweakindustrydevelopment. FIGURE 4-5: UNEMPLOYED HIGHER EDUCATION GRADUATES AS SHARE OF TOTAL UNEMPLOYED Source: International Labor Organization, 2007 Howlongdoesittakeforhighereducationgraduatestofindgainfulemployment inThailand? Figure 4-6 and Figure 4-7 present the time that employed and unemployed graduatesrequiretofindanewjob.Generally,employedworkerswithhighereducationde- greesspendlesstimesearchingforjobsthanworkerswithlesseducation.About20percent ofB.Adegreeholdersarehiredimmediatelyaftergraduationandthisproportiondoublesto approximate40percentforworkerswithgraduatedegrees.About60percentofemployed workerswithgraduatediplomasorMasterdegreesfindjobswithin4monthsaftergradua- tion.GraduateswithanA.AoraB.AneedmoretimetofindajobthangraduateswithaPor WorSorvocational,two-yeardegree.Incontrast,morethan60percentofPh.Dgraduates needbetweensixmonthsandayeartofindanewjob.Thismightbetheresultthattheseare highlycovetedandcompetitive(aswellassomewhatspecialized)posts.Doctoralgraduates mayalsobemorewillingtowaitforthe"right"joborpostswithhighercompensation. FIGURE 4-6: LENGTH OF TIME EMPLOYED GRADUATES LOOK FOR NEW JOBS Quality And Relevance Of Higher Education Source: National Statistics Office, 2008 FIGURE 4-7: LENGTH OF TIME UNEMPLOYED GRADUATES LOOK FOR JOBS Source: National Statistics Office, 2008 Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 1 THE WORLD BANK GROUP Joblessness upon graduation, however, afflicts graduates across the spectrum ofdegreeearnersanddeservesacloserexaminationintermsoftherelevanceofacademic degreesonthepartofpotentialemployers.Accordingtoasurveyofnewjobseekersthat recentlygraduatedfromaB.AprogramconductedbytheNationalStatisticsOffice,themain problemperceivedbyindividualswasweakpracticalexperienceandqualifications(Figure 4-8).Thesecondproblemmostoftennotedwassloweconomicconditionsandadecreas- ingnumberofjobopenings.Otherproblemsincludedlackofinformationaboutpotential jobsandhowtogetone,aninabilitytofindasatisfactoryjob,theneedforaguarantor,and passingrequiredskillstesting.Itisclearthatsomeoftheseproblemsaregroundedinpercep- tionsandmaynotberootchallengesactually,whileotherscouldbeminimizedbyimproving academicpreparation,careercounseling,employeroutreachandinternshipopportunitiesin highereducation. FIGURE 4-8: PROBLEMS IN JOB SEARCHING Source: National Statistics Office, 2008 WAGES AnotherwaytoestimatethebenefitsofpursuinghighereducationinThailandis tocomparethewagesofindividualsindifferentsectorsoftheeconomy.Asalreadynoted inChapter1,thelabormarketrewardsquitesubstantiallyadditionalyearsofeducation.The initialaveragesalaryforanewemployeewithPorWorSordegreewas6,464Bahtpermonth, comparedto10,210BahtforaB.Adegreeholder,and16,488BahtforaM.Adegreeholder. Theinitialmonthlyallowancefollowsthesamepattern,rangingfrom955BahtforPorWorSor graduatesto2,099BahtforM.A.degreeholders.Combinedtogether,thedifferenceininitial incomebetweenPorWorSorgraduatesandM.A.degreegraduatesintheprivatesectoris around11,000Bahtpermonth. Onaverage,wagedifferentialsbyeducationallevelbecomegreaterovertime.Earn- ingsincreasewithage,reflectingthatthelabormarketcompensatesworkersforadditional yearsofexperience.Thisisthecaseforallworkers,regardlessoflevelandfieldofeducation. Buthigherskilledworkersreceiveapremiumforadditionalworkexperiencethanworkerswith Quality And Relevance Of Higher Education lowereducationallevels(Figure1-2).Figure4-9presentsage-earningsprofilesofworkersby educationallevelandfieldofstudy.Asexpected,earningsofworkerswithuniversitydegrees arehigherthanthoseofsecondaryschooldiplomarecipientsinthesamefield.Holdersof academicuniversitydegreesexperiencethehighestreturns,despitesomefluctuations,and theyarethehighestearnersforallagegroups.Thedemographicgroupwithmoresteady increasesandlowerfluctuationsareuniversitydegreeworkingasteachers.Fordiplomahold- ers,technicaldegreesearnhigherwagesthanacademicorteacherrelatedfields. FIGURE 4-9: AGE-EARNINGS PROFILE BY EDUCATION LEVEL AND FIELD OF STUDY Source: Labor Force Survey, 2005 Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP LABOR MARKET RELEVANCE OF HIGHER EDUCATION SKILLS AccordingtoasurveyoffirmsinThailandandMalaysia,themainreasonforjob vacanciesisrelatedtotheinabilitytoidentifyapplicantswithappropriatebasicandtechnical skills.Morethan80percentofcompaniesinThailandand70percentinMalaysiaidentified insufficientbasicandtechnicalskillsasthemajorcausesforopenjobs.Ontheotherhand, lessthan20percentoffirmsinbothcountriespointstoalackofapplicantsasamajorfactor forvacancies.Thisfindingindicatesanimbalancebetweenthequantityandthequalityof highereducationgraduates.AsalreadydiscussedinChapter1,thissituationisparticularly acuteinThailandwhereemployersarewillingtopayasignificantpremiumforhigh-skilled workers. FIGURE 4-10: MAIN CAUSES OF JOB VACANCIES (THAILAND AND MALAYSIA) Source: World Bank, 2006b Overall, a mixed picture emerges from the demand and supply sides of the economy.Thequalityoftertiaryeducationisdifficulttomeasure,butdifferentacademics andstakeholdershavecriticizedthequalityofeducationofThaiuniversitygraduates.No universal definition of quality in tertiary education or agreement on general principles of good practice is available, given the heterogeneity of institutions, programs, and degrees atthetertiarylevel.Concernshavebeenraisedovertheunsatisfactoryqualityoftheyoung generation'seducationalbackgroundandtheirlackofcomprehensiveknowledgeandskills. Universitiesoffernarrowly-specifiedfieldsofstudy,equippingyouthwithsingletaskingskills andmakingthemunabletoadaptorrelatetheirknowledgetobroadercontexts. Atthesametime,researchonuniversitymappingindicatesthatThailandhasan oversupplyofsocialsciencegraduateswhilelackinggraduatesinthefieldsofscience,techno- logyandhealthsciences(Suwanetal.,2001).Asaresult,thoseinoversuppliedfieldshavehad moredifficultyfindingjobsandoftentimesendupworkinginjobsunrelatedtotheirareasof Quality And Relevance Of Higher Education study.Thelabormarketiswillingtoawardasignificantpremiumtothosewhoexhibitmas- teryofskillsthatareinshortsupply.Thesefindingssuggestasignificantmismatchbetween trainingprovidedinhighereducationinstitutionsandskillsneededinthelabormarket. However,therearealsosomesignsofhopeandprogress.TheUniversityBusi- nessIncubatorProjectisacollaborationbetweenuniversitiesandindustrytogeneratenew productsandinnovations.Thegoalistotraingraduatestudentsandtoprovidethemwith entrepreneurialskills,aswellasthefundsnecessarytostartnewbusinesses.Between2004and 2006therewere15incubatorunitssetupinuniversities,resultinginabout75jointventures, with1,000studentsandrecentgraduatesparticipating.Thegovernmentshouldcontinue toprovidetheenablingconditionsnecessarytoencouragethisprojectandotherslikeit.In aclimateofgreatercompetitionforstudents,andfewersubsidiesfromGovernment,higher educationinstitutionsneedtofindcreativewaysofenhancingtheiracademicrelevancewhile alsogeneratingadditionalrevenue. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy Chapter Financing, Governance, And Institutional Management Of Higher Education THE WORLD BANK GROUP Financing, Governance, And Institutional Management Of Higher Education PUBLIC EXPENDITURE IN HIGHER EDUCATION After the 1997 financial crisis,Thailand's fiscal expenditures were tightened, Financing, Governance, and Institutional Management of Higher Education resulting in a decrease of almost 8 percent in the education budget. It took more than threeyearsbeforethecountryreturnedtopre-crisiseducationexpenditureslevels.In2007, Governmentallocatedmorethan20percentofthenationalbudgettoeducation,orabout 4percentofitsGDP,and17.9percentofeducationexpenditureswereallocatedtohigher education(Table5-1). TABLE 5-1: EDUCATION BUDGET, 1997-07 Source: Ministry of Education, 2007 Thehighereducationbudgetsharehasfluctuatedbetween14and18percentof thetotaleducationbudgetoverthelastdecade(Figure5-1).Ithasexperiencedaslightbut continuousincreasesince2005,whiletheoveralleducationsectorbudgetasashareofthe nationalbudgethasalsobeenexpanding.Thishastranslatedinsignificantadditionalmobi- lizationoffinancialresourcesforthesubsector. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP FIGURE 5-1: SHARE OF EDUCATION BUDGET BY LEVEL OF EDUCATION, 1997-07 Source: Ministry of Education, 2008 Thailandexpendsapproximately0.7percentofGDPinhighereducation.Com- paredtothefinancialeffortofothercountriesforhighereducation,Thailandperformsbelow theOECDaverage(1.3percent)andfarbelowotherEastAsiannationssuchasMalaysia(2.7 percent)andSouthKorea(2.4percent),althoughroughlyatparwithChina,Indiaandthe Philippines(Figure5-2).Intermsofexpenditureperhighereducationstudent,Thailandhas performedrelativelywellincomparisontootherEastAsiannationssuchasIndonesiaorKorea; however,expenditurelevelsarenotablylowerthantheOECDcountryaverage(Table5-3). TABLE 5-2: PUBLIC EXPENDITURE ON TERTIARY EDUCATION Financing, Governance, and Institutional Management of Higher Education Source: UNESCO, 2005b TABLE 5-3: EXPENDITURE PER STUDENT IN PPP USD (1998) Source: UNESCO/OECD World Education Indicators, 2005 Therehasbeencontinuousgrowthinhighereducationexpendituresoverthelast 10years.Therecurrentbudgethasexperiencedasteadyexpansion,whiletheinvestment budgethasfluctuatedovertime.However,theinvestmentbudgetdoubledbetween2004 and2007(Table5-4). Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP TABLE 5-4: HIGHER EDUCATION BUDGET BY TYPE OF EXPENDITURE, IN BILLION BAHT Source: Ministry of Education, 2008 Eighty one percent of total expenditure was allocated to operational expenses (personnel, subsidies, and other running costs) versus 18 percent allocated to capital expenditures.Approximatelythreequartersoftheinvestmentbudgetwasapportionedto landacquisitionandinfrastructure,whiletheremainingonequarterwasallottedtolearning materials(Figure5-2).Allocationsforacademicresearchwerenegligible. FIGURE 5-2: HIGHER EDUCATION BUDGET BY EXPENDITURE TYPE, 2007 Source: Commission on Higher Education, 2008 INSTITUTIONAL AND PRIVATE EXPENDITURES Basicstandardtuitionandfeecosts(BTF)4varyconsiderablyacrossfieldsandtypes Financing, Governance, and Institutional Management of Higher Education ofhighereducationinstitutions.Itreflectsthetruecostsforhighereducationinstitutionsin termsofeducationalandoperationcosts.Itrangesfrom6,928Bahtperyearin2004forasocial sciencesdegreeinopenuniversitiestoover500,000Bahtforadegreeinmedicineatalimited admissionsuniversity.Forlimitedadmissions,autonomous,andprivateuniversities,themost expensivefieldsofacademicstudyincludemedicineandhealth,followedbyengineering, finearts,andsocialsciences.Generally,thecostoftuitionandfeesforprivateuniversitiesis lowerthanforselectedadmissionsandautonomousuniversities.Nonetheless,thesecosts vary by field. Private universities have lower costs in fields such as journalism, teacher trainingandmedicine.ThetwoOpenuniversitieshavethelowesttuitionandfeessincethey useadistancemodeofinstructionandtheirfocusisonrelativelymoreaffordablefieldssuch asthehumanitiesandsocialsciences.RajabhatandRajamangkalaUniversitieshavelower BTFsthanlimitedadmissionsandautonomousuniversities. TABLE 5-5: BASIC TUITION FEE (IN BAHT) BY SUBJECT AND TYPE OF UNIVERSITY, 2004 Source: Krongkaew, 2005a Students and families usually do not pay full BTF costs because"tuition fees" takeintoaccountGovernmentsubsidiesthatlowerthefinalconsumercost.Accordingto datafromthe2002ChildrenandYouthSurvey,tuitionandfeesrepresentthegreatestshare 4 BTF is the unit cost of university operation. It is not the tuition fee charged to students by a higher education institution. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 1 THE WORLD BANK GROUP ofexpenditures-46percent-forstudentsattendingprivateinstitutions.Ontheotherhand,public universitytuitionrepresentsonly25percentoftotaleducationalexpenditures(Figure5-3). FIGURE5-3:AVERAGEANNUALEXPENDITUREONHIGHEREDUCATION Source: Children and Youth Survey, 2002 The total annual expenditures of attending a private institution inThailand are higherthanforapublicinstitutionateveryeducationallevel(Figure5-4).Publicinstitutions arecheaperpartiallyduetoGovernmentsubsidies,butalsobecausetheyareprimarilynon- profit institutions with an explicit mission to provide affordable education to all students despiteincomelevel.Educationexpensesincreasebydegreeattained.Diplomasarethe leastexpensiveprogramsatabout20,000peryearatpublicinstitutionsascomparedwith over80,000BahtforaM.A.inaprivateinstitution. FIGURE5-4:ANNUALEXPENDITUREPERPERSONBYEDUCATIONLEVEL,INBAHT Source: Children and Youth Survey 2002 As suggested in previous chapters there are substantial inequalities in terms ofaccesstohighereducationbysocioeconomiclevel.Costisanimportantreasonforthese Financing, Governance, and Institutional Management of Higher Education inequities.Thepooresthouseholdsinvestmuchlessthantheirhigherincomecounterparts in higher education.The poorest household spends on average 3,650 Baht per month in higher education, about one eighth of the expenditures of the richest household, over 25,643Baht.However,intermsoftotalhouseholdincome,thepicturethatemergesisquite theopposite.Forthepoorestfamilies,privateexpendituresineducationrepresentsabout 60percentoftheirtotalincomecomparedtowealthiesthouseholdswherehighereducation expendituresrepresentlessthanonepercentofincome.Sendingachildtoschoolrepresents asignificantfinancialburdenforpoorfamilies.Thisisnotonlyduetohighcostsassociated withattendinghighereducation,butalsoinrelationtotheopportunitycostsofforegone earnings(Figure5-5). FIGURE 5-5: PRIVATE EXPENDITURE IN HIGHER EDUCATION BY INCOME QUINTILE Source: Socio-Economic Survey 2006 Duringthelastdecade,privatecostsofhighereducationperstudenthavebeen increasingcontinuouslyandatamuchhigherratethanprivatecostsofprimaryandsecond- aryeducation.Theprivateexpenditureinhighereducationdoubledinadecade;from9,465 Bahtin1994to19,174Bahtin2004(Table5-6).Thecostsincreasedbyhouseholdincome level.In1994,therichestquintilespendsabout4timesasmuchasthepoorestquintile,and tenyearslatertheexpenditureisalmosteighttimeshigher. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP Private expenditures reported below do not take into account the opportunity coststhatfamiliesincurwhentheysendtheirchildrentouniversity--apotentialsourceof incomeforthefamily.Accordingtothe2005LaborForceSurvey,workerswithsecondary educationof18-21yearsofageearnedapproximately4,000-5,000Bahtpermonth.Adding theopportunitycosttototalhighereducationexpendituresincreasesverysubstantiallytotal annualcosts,especiallyforpoorhouseholds. TABLE 5-6: PRIVATE EXPENDITURE ESTIMATES ON EDUCATION BY INCOME QUINTILE (REAL BAHT) *Prices are deflated by regional and yearly CPIs (base region=Bangkok, Base year=2002). Yearly CPIs: 1994=0.75, 1996=0.84, 1998=0.96, 1999=0.96, 2000=0.98, 2002=1.00, 2004=1.05 Source: Socio Economic Surveys, 1994-2004 FINANCIAL AID IntheThaihighereducationsystem,governmentsubsidiesforoperatingcostsat Financing, Governance, and Institutional Management of Higher Education publicuniversitiesamounttoapproximately70percent,whilestudentcontributionsareless than30percent(Krongkaew,2005b).Asmentionedinchapter3,thevastmajorityofhigher education students are from wealthier families. Furthermore, the tax system is regressive, whichmeansthatinahighly-subsidizedpublichighereducationsystem,poorhouseholds arehelpingtherichtopayfortheireducation. Inordertohelpamorediversecontingentoffamiliesaffordtheincreasingcosts ofhighereducation,Governmenthasdevelopedavarietyofscholarshipandloanprograms. Someofthemostpopularscholarshipsare:(a)onedistrict-onescholarship;(b)scholarship forlow-incomestudents;(c)theKingscholarship;(d)ThaiGovernmentscholarship;and(e) theAnandamahidolscholarship.Governmenthasalsolaunchedaloanprograminthemid 1990s.Thesefinancialaidprogramsaredescribedinsomedetailinthesectionbelow. GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS One District­One Scholarship; Community Development Grants.Thisgrant wasfirstimplementedin2004withthefinancialsupportoftheGovernmentLotteryOffice.It providesatotalof926scholarships(1highschoolgraduatefromeachofthe926districts)for studyeitherinThailandorabroad.Applicantshavetobefrompoorincomefamilies(whose annualhouseholdincomeislessthan100,000Baht)andhaveaminimumGradePointAver- age(GPA)of3.0.Inaddition,recipientshavetopassmathematics,science,socialscienceand Englishtestsaswellasaninterview.Inthefirstroundofscholarships,921studentsreceived awards,191enrolledathighereducationinstitutesin-countryand730wenttostudyabroad. Thesecondroundwasin2006,and915scholarshipswereawarded. Aninitialevaluationoftheprogramfoundthatsomeofthegranteeswerehaving problemsadaptingtotheinstitutionsabroad.Apartialexplanationinvolvedlanguagebarri- ersanddeficienciesinstudents'highschoolacademicpreparation.Giventhatasubstantial majorityofrecipientsofthisawardwerefromruralareas,whereschoolqualityisoftennot ashighasinBangkok,theyhaddifficultiesadaptingtotheacademicenvironmentinforeign countries.Someoffirstroundrecipientshavetransferredbacktocontinuehighereducation Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP inThailand.ThisscholarshipwasrenamedCommunityDevelopmentGrantsin2007,andsome changeswereimplementedtotackleinitialimplementationproblemsandensurecontinuity of the program. The third round of scholarships was awarded in 2007, and currently 400 studentsarewaitingtoreceiveapprovalfromGovernment.Dependingontheirqualifica- tions,somestudentswillbeabletostudyabroadbutotherswillbeencouragedtoenrollin localuniversities. Scholarships for low-income students.Thisprogramwascreatedin2003when theCouncilofMinistersapprovedallocatinglotteryrevenuestoprovidescholarshipsforlow incomestudents.Theschemeprovidesfundsofupto20,000Bahtperyearforamaximum ofthreeyears.Thefinancialcriteriaforselectionarestudentfamilyincomebelow100,000 Bahtperyear.Applicantsmustwriteanessaydescribingthehardshipstheyface. King Scholarships. The King Scholarships were established in 1897 by King RamaVandareawardedtooutstandingstudentseveryyear.Thescholarshippresentation wasstoppedin1932duetopoliticalinstabilitybutrestoredin1964bythecurrentKing,Rama IX.Ninescholarshipsaregiventosecondaryschoolgraduateseachyeartocontinueunder- graduatestudyinforeigncountries.Thecandidatesareselectedbyacademicperformance, writingtests,aswellasaninterview.Aftergraduation,recipientshavetoreturnandworkin Thailand,buttheyarenotbonded. Royal Thai Government Scholarship.Governmentalsoprovidesscholarships tooutstandingsecondarystudentsforhighereducationstudywhoareinterestedinpursuing acareeraspublicservants.Thereareseveralkindsofscholarships.Someareawardedonly togovernmentofficialsandothersareopentothegeneralpublic.Applicantshavetofulfill requirementsspecifiedbyGovernment,includingwrittentestsandaninterview.Thegovern- mentscholarshipcoversschoolfeesandpersonalexpenseswhilestudying.Aftergraduation, recipientsarerequiredtoworkinGovernmentagencies. Anandamahidol Scholarship.TheAnandamahidolFoundationwasestablished byKingRamaIXtoprovidegraduatelevelstudyscholarshipsforstudentswillingtocontinue postgraduatestudiesinhighincomecountries.Thescholarshipmaingoalistosupportstu- dentspursuingdegreesinoneoftheeightfieldsthatwereidentifiedascrucialfornational development. Candidates are selected directly by a committee from a pool of bachelor's Financing, Governance, and Institutional Management of Higher Education degreerecipientswhoreceivedhonors,andthereisnoapplicationprocessorexaminations. RecipientsdonothavetoreturntoThailandorworkinGovernmentupongraduation. LOANS Student Loan Program. In order to support the growing demand for higher education,especiallyfromstudentsoflow-incomebackgrounds,Governmentlaunchedthe StudentLoanProgram(SLP)in1996.Theseloanscouldbeusedtopaybothuppersecondary andhighereducation.Theconditionsofloanrepaymentswerefavorable.Repaymentsbegin twoyearsaftergraduation,overa15-yearperiod,withaonepercentinterestrate.Themain problemwiththisprogramwasthattheincomethresholdtoqualifyfortheloanwasquitehigh, leadingtotheprogrambeingcapturedbymiddle-classstudents.Therelativelyhighincome thresholdresultedinamuchhigherthanexpectedvolumeofborrowers.Within6years,the totalamountofloansapprovedwasabout140,000millionBaht(Krongkaew,2005b). There were several other problems with the initial design of the loan program. First,loanswereapproveddirectlybyhighereducationinstitutions,providingincentivesto approveloansregardlessofstudentqualificationsinordertoexpandenrollmentfigures.The absenceofclearawardcriteriamadeloanshighlysubjecttopersonalbias.Second,therewas noevaluationcomponentoftheprogramaswellasmechanismstoenforceloanrepayment. Thisresultedinaverylargedefaultrate.Thirty-fivepercentofborrowersdidnotpayback theirloans,causingnotableincomelosstoGovernment.TosolvetheproblemswiththeSLP, GovernmentredesignedtheprogramandconvertedintotheThailandIncomeContingent andAllowanceLoan(TICAL). Thailand Income Contingent and Allowance Loan. The main difference betweentheTICALandtheSLParethemechanismsusedtodetermineeligibilityandrepay- mentobligations.UndertheTICALscheme,studentsapplydirectlyforaloantopursuea degreeinanyfieldatanypublicorprivateuniversity.Thetotalamountoftheloanisadjusted periodicallyforinflationinordertomaintainitsoriginalvalue.Thereisnointerestrate,pay- ments are collected through revenue taxes and students start repaying upon graduation Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP when their income reaches a specific threshold (16,000 Baht per month). The repayment stopsautomaticallywhenstudentincomefallsunderthethresholdlevel.Thisapproachgives studentstheopportunitytoearnalivingbeforepayingtheirdebt.Inaddition,theprogram includesagrantcomponentintheformofamonthlyallowancethatisonlyavailabletolow incomestudents. TheOfficeoftheCommitteeforHigherEducationandtheDepartmentofRevenue intheMinistryofFinanceworktogethertooperatetheTICALscheme.TheredesignedIncome ContingentLoan(ICL)fundwasapprovedbytheCouncilofMinistersinAugust2005withan initialallocationof48billionBaht.Thisnewprogram,however,doesnotreallytacklesome oftheproblemswiththepreviousloansystem.TheICLstillrequiresaverylargeamountof Governmentfundingandoversight,aseverystudentisnoweligibleunderthenewscheme andtheprocessesoftrackingtheirloansfromthepointofapplicationandawardthrough repayment requires systems that are not currently available across relevant government agencies.The scheme needs loan recovery arrangements to protect the financial viability andsustainabilityoftheschemeitself.Anewspaperarticlereportedthatyoungpeoplewith studentloansincreasinglyrefusedtopaythemoff,"beingconvincedtheGovernmentdare notchargethemforfearoflosingpublicsupport."In2008,theStudentLoanFundestimated tohave90,000defaulters(BangkokPost,2008). Thus, despite theoretically appropriate levels of Government expenditure on higher education, the allocation of resources has proven regressive in terms of aiding the poor.Moreover,useoffundshasnotbeencost-effectiveextendingaccesstolow-income students.Asinmanycountrieswithbroadincomedisparitiesandlow-feehighereducation, taxespaidbylow-incomefamilieswithoutchildreninthehighereducationsystemarecur- rentlysubsidizingtheeducationofhigh-incomestudents,whopayvastlysubsidizedfeesand makeupthelargemajorityofstudentplacements.Inaddition,mostofthefundsareallotted formanagementandoperationalcosts,withverylittlebeinginvestedindevelopingresearch capacityofhighereducationinstitutions. AmajorgoalforGovernmentistofurtherincreaseaccesstohighereducationin ordertomeetgrowingsocialdemandandfulfilltherisingneedsforaskilledworkforce.Rapid growthofenrollmentcannotbeachievedonlythroughtraditionalmodesofbuildingand fundingnewpublicuniversitieswithgovernmentbudgetaryresources.TheGovernmentmay Financing, Governance, and Institutional Management of Higher Education wanttoconsiderthefollowingapproaches: ·Increasedresourcediversificationinpublicuniversities,includinghigherlevels ofcost-sharing;and ·Incentivesforfurtherprivatesectorgrowth. INCOME DIVERSIFICATION AND COST-SHARING Althoughpublicfundingremainsthemainsourceofsupportforhighereducation inmostcountriesintheworld,publicuniversitieshavesoughttocomplementtheirrevenues inavarietyofways,includinggeneratingbusinessincomefrominstitutionalassets,encourag- ingdonationsfromcompaniesandphilanthropists,andmobilizingadditionalresourcesfrom studentsandtheirfamilies.CHEcouldconsiderimplementingaprogramoffinancialincentives toencouragepublicuniversitiestogenerateadditionalresources,aboveandbeyondwhat theymanagetomobilizepresently,throughcontinuingeducationprograms,consultancies, researchcontracts,andotherincomegenerationmechanisms. Atthesametime,itisimportanttonotethat,withtheexceptionoftheScandina- vianeconomieswhichhaveveryhightaxationlevels,fewcountriesintheworldhavebeen abletosignificantlyexpandtheirhighereducationsystem,whileatthesametimeimproving itsquality,withoutlevyingfinancialcontributionstostudentsandtheirfamiliesforthecost oftheirstudies.China,forexample,introducedfeesin1997(equivalentto20percentofunit costsinundergraduateeducation),followedbytheUnitedKingdomandtheCzechRepublic in1998,andAustriain2001.TuitionfeeshavedoubledinCanadaduringthe1990s.Thetop engineeringandmanagementschoolsinIndiachargeabout$3,500ayear,equivalentto7.2 timesthecountry'spercapitaGDP. Obviously,ifsomeorallpublicuniversitiesweretochargehighertuitionfees,the effectsonequityandaccesswouldhavetobecarefullyconsidered.However,theexistence andfurtherdevelopmentofthestudentloanprogramprovideamechanismtoensurethat costsharingdoesnothaveadverseequitygoals,especiallyforstudentsfromthelowestsocio- economicgroups. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP Thepoliticalsensitivityofraisingtuitionfeesshouldalsobetakenintoconsideration toavoidabacklash.Thiscanbeaddressedthroughparticipatorymeetingsandcommunica- tioneffortstocreateownershipamongvariousstakeholdersandmobilizesupportforthe proposedmeasures.Thepurposeoftheseconsensus-buildingactivitieswouldbetoestablish aclearlinkagebetweenincreasedcost-sharingandthelikelyimprovementsthatadditional financialresourceswouldbringabout. BOX 5-1: CONSENSUS BUILDING AND COST SHARING IN NORTHERN MEXICO TheMexicanconstitutionprovidesforfreepubliceducationatalllevels,and costsharinghasalwaysbeenfiercelyresistedbyprofessorsandstudentsofthecountry's largestpublicuniversity,theNationalAutonomousUniversityofMexico(UNAM).In 1999theuniversitywasclosedforalmostayearbyastrikesupportedbythemajority ofits270,000studentsaftertherectorsuggestedaUS$100increaseintuitionfees,from US$8ayear. InnorthernMexico,bycontrast,therectorofthepublicUniversityofSonora wassuccessfulinintroducingcostsharingafterinitiating,in1993,aconsensus-building process to explain to staff and students the need for supplementary resources to maintainthequalityofteachingandlearning.Aftersomeinitialresistance,including a widely publicized 2,000-kilometer march by protesters from Hermosillo to Mexico City,studentsacceptedtheprincipleofayearlypaymenttogeneratesupplementary resources.Aparticipatoryprocesswastodeterminetheallocationoftheseresources to equity and quality-improvement initiatives. Since 1994, the students have been payinganannualcontributionofaboutUS$300forthispurpose.Ajointstudent-faculty committee administers the funds, which are used to provide scholarships for low-income students, renovate classrooms, upgrade computer labs, and purchase scientific textbooks and journals. A poster is prepared every year to disseminate informationontheuseoffundscollectedatthebeginningoftheacademicyear. Source: World Bank, 2002b, p. 87. FURTHER GROWTH OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR Since 1982, Government has encouraged the development of private higher educationinstitutionsinordertoincreaseopportunitiesforstudentswithoutfurtherdrain onpublicfunding.Thispolicyhasbeenverysuccessfulandprivateuniversitiesandcolleges enrolltoday14percentofthetotalstudentpopulationatthehighereducationlevelin2007. Encouragingfurthergrowthoftheprivatehighereducationsectorwouldusefullycomple- mentthestrategicapproachesofresourcemobilizationoutlinedabove. Currently various schemes have been put in place to promote private partner- shipsintheeducationsystem.Forexample,anyindividualororganizationwhichestablishes Financing, Governance, and Institutional Management of Higher Education aschoolorinstitutionispermittedtodeduct30percentoftheprofitsfromtheoperationon ataxfreebasis.Additionally,incentivessuchastaxrebatesorexemptionsareprovidedfor contributionsfromnon-profitorganizations.ARevolvingFundforDevelopingPrivateHigher Education Institutions was launched in 1999 to provide loans to private sector agents. A closeranalysisoftheimpactofthesemeasureswouldbedesirabletoassesstheirviabilityfor expandingeducationalopportunities(WorldBank,2006). AccordingtoarecentOECD-UNESCO/UIS(2005)studyonhighereducation,Thai- landstandsoutamongcomparatorcountries-suchasArgentina,Brazil,Chile,India,Malaysia andPhilippines-forthedramaticinflowofpublicsectorcontributionsintoprivatesector institutionsbetween1995and2002.In1995,essentiallynopublicfundswerechanneledto highereducationprivatesectorproviders.Incontrast,by2002,thepublicsectorcontributed approximately40percentofprivatesectorfunding.TheOECDaveragewasaround30percent. Evenmorenotably,duringthisperiod,theshareofprivatesectorstudentenrollmentsactually experiencedadecline,asstudentenrollmentsinpublicsectorinstitutionsgrewmorerapidly thanstudentenrollmentinprivatesectorinstitutions(Figure5-6). FIGURE 5-6: PUBLIC TRANSFERS TO PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS, 1995-2002 Source: OECD (2005), p. 75 Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 1 THE WORLD BANK GROUP Inadditiontoexistingmeasures,Governmentcouldconsiderthepossibilityofof- feringlimitedsubsidiestotheprivatesector.Forexample,privateinstitutionsmightbegiven theopportunitytoapplyforGovernmentfinancialsupportinareasofhighpriority.Accessto researchfundingonacompetitivebasiswouldprovideGovernmentwithalternativeavenues to promote research and would assist private universities in their effort to recruit high qualitystaff,includingresearchersfromoverseas.Subsidiescouldalsohelpprivateinstitutions investinbuildingmoreexpensiveprograms,suchasengineeringormedicine,whichcould thenbeofferedataffordablefeelevels.Financialincentivestostimulatethedevelopment ofprivatehighereducationsectorcanofcoursebeonlyjustifiedonthegroundsthatthey provideameansofexpandingenrollmentsatlowerpubliccostthanbyexpandingpublic universities. ThemodificationssuggestedinthisreportaremeanttocomplementGovernment's presentstrategyandaccelerateitsimplementationontwodimensions:(a)reinforcingcost-shar- ingasasourceofadditionalincome;and(b)consideringthedesirabilityofprovidingexplicit financialincentivestoencouragefurthergrowthoftheprivatehighereducationsector. MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM Sincethelate1990s,Thailand'seducationsystemexperiencedreformatalllevels, including higher education. Among the many initiatives, a strategy to decentralize deci- sion-makinghasbeenatthecenterofthereform.Themainobjectiveistotransferpower touniversitiestopromoteadministrativeautonomyandencouragelocal-decisionmaking. Thedecentralizationpolicyshiftsmanagementandbudgetdecisionstouniversitycouncils. Theideaisthatwhilegeneralguidelinesandsomefinancialandacademicsupportaretobe providedfromGovernmentagencies,actualchangesandinnovationswouldbedetermined anddesignedattheinstitutionallevel. Decentralization of administration and management is necessary. A desirable managerialsystemenablesuniversitiestocarryouttheirtaskswithflexibilityandeffectiveness andprotectsacademicfreedom.Universitiesshouldberesponsiblefortheirowneffective administrationandmanagement.Thequality,standardandefficiencyofeducation,however, shouldbeunderthecontrolandsupervisionofoversightcouncils.Insummary,Government isinchargeofformulatingpolicies,goalsandplans,whileuniversitiesareinchargeofdeciding methodsandstrategiestoimplementthem. Financing, Governance, and Institutional Management of Higher Education Theseissuesrelatetoprinciplesofgovernanceofhighereducationinstitutions,the formalandinformalarrangementsthatenableinstitutionstotakeactions.Therearesome principlesofgovernancethatshouldguideGovernmentpoliciestowardgreaterinstitutional autonomy and assist institutions manage the process of becoming more autonomous. Theseare: a) Universities are given complete autonomy in determining the scope and breadthoftheiracademicprograms. b) Institutionsembraceandapplythehigheststandardsofintegritytouphold thecredibilityofcoursesandprograms. c) Programsandcurricula,especiallyinprofessionalfields,takeintoconsideration theneedsofindustryandtheprivatesector. d) Libraries,existingtechnologiesandmedia,andphysicalspacesupportand complement academic programs and enable students attain specified outcomes. e) Academicprogramsarereviewedsystematicallybyexternalandinternational peerreviewersaspartofaqualityassurancecyclicalreviewand/orinstitutional performanceassessmentexercise. Thedecentralizationofhighereducationhasbeenpursuedthroughthedevelop- mentofautonomousuniversities.Educationalinstitutionshavebeenempoweredtomake administrativedecisions.Atpresent,thereare11autonomousoutof78publicuniversities. Decentralization, coupled with some degree of privatization, is expected to increase the competitioninthehighereducationmarket.Theideaisthatuniversitiescompetewitheach othertohirethe"best"facultyandattractthe"best"students.Thereismoreflexibilityinthe marketforfacultyandstaff,andthesalaryschemeisdeterminednotbyagovernmentscale but,rather,byuniversitiestoprovidemorecompetitivecompensation. Oneofthebiggestbarrierstowardreformingthestructureofthehighereducation systemisrelatedtothecurrentfinancingstructure.Allpublicinstitutions,withtheexception Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP ofthe11autonomousuniversities,receiveabout80percentoftheirbudgetsfromthecentral Government. Also, public university employees are currently civil servants, which impose higher costs and less flexibility in terms of hiring and firing staff. Universities need to be moreresponsivetothestudents,theindustryandthelabormarketinordertobecomeactive playersinthepreparationofqualifiedhumanresourcesandbecomeenginesofresearchand development.Reformsstrivetoencouragepublicinstitutionstofindalternativesourcesof funding,suchasregionalandprivateinvestmentsandentrepreneurship. Thecurrentadministrativestructureofamajorityofthepublicandprivateinstitu- tionsinThailandishighlycentralized.Thisstructureistheresultofthehistoricalcontextin whichuniversitieswerecreatedasdescribedinChapter2and,asaresult,Governmentplayed animportantrole,fromsettingpoliciestoissuesrelatedtocurriculumandcourseselection. Today,mostofthepublichighereducationinstitutionsremainunderthesupervision ofCHE,andprivateinstitutionsarealsohighlyregulatedbytheCommission.Evenincases whereinstitutionshavetheirownuniversitycouncilstoactastheirmaingoverningbodyfor establishingandimplementingpoliciesandplans,councildecisionsarestronglyinfluencedby regulationsfromCHE.Inaddition,universitiesremainoverburdenedwithcountlessbureau- craticprocedures.Therealityisthateventhoughthemissionofuniversitieshasexpandedin bothpublicandprivateprovisionofhighereducation,CHEstillmaintainssignificantpower andcontroloverthesystem. The9thHigherEducationDevelopmentPlandescribedearlierpresentsclearguide- linestopromoteuniversityautonomy.Theplanstatesthateveryhighereducationinstitution shouldimprovetheirinternalmanagementsystemsintheacademic,personnelandfinancial areas.Allpublicuniversitiesshouldpreparetoevolveeventuallyintoautonomousinstitu- tions.Atpresent,thisismoreastatementofgoodintentionthanatangibleplanforsystemic transformation. Insummary,despiterecenteffortstochangetheregulationsbetweengovernment agenciesanduniversities,therealityisthattheoverwhelmingmajorityofThaiuniversitiesare notautonomous.Meetingthechallengesposedbyknowledgedriveneconomicgrowthwill likelyrequirerapidinnovationandinstitutionalaction.Increasedautonomyforuniversities acrosstheThaihighereducationlandscapeisimperativeforgeneratingacademicenviron- Financing, Governance, and Institutional Management of Higher Education mentsthatareresponsiveandeffectivebothforstudenteducationandbuildinghigh-quality researchcapabilities.Themostsuccessfulhighereducationsystemsinhigh-incomecountries havegivenfullautonomytouniversitiesandhaveestablishedprocedurestoevaluateeduca- tionqualityandpromotehealthycompetitionbetweeninstitutions.Universitieshavetheir ownadministrativestructuresandbudgetsystemsthatenablethemtomakesoundfinancial andmanagementdeterminations.Governmentscanbenefitgreatly,particularlywithregard toeffectiveallocationofresources,fromgivinghighereducationcampusesmechanismsto determinetheirownspendingandpotentialgeneratorsofincome. BOX 5-2: SETTING THE POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR HIGHER EDUCATION IN CALIFORNIA Californiapioneeredtheestablishmentofapolicyframeworkforastatesystemof highereducationintheUnitedStateswhenitdevelopedandimplementeditsfirstMaster Plan in 1959-60. The primary issues considered at that time were the future roles of the publicandprivatesectorsand,inparticular,howthepublicsectorshouldbegovernedand coordinatedtoavoidduplicationandwaste.Majorprinciplesthatemergedfromtheinitial masterplanstillshapethestate'ssystemtoday: · Recognitionofdifferentmissionsforthefourcomponentsofthehighereducation system(UniversityofCalifornia,CaliforniaStateUniversity,communitycolleges, andprivateuniversitiesandjuniorcolleges), · Establishmentofastatutorycoordinatingbodyfortheentiresystem, · DifferentialadmissionpoolsfortheUniversityandStateColleges, · Eligibility of students attending private institutions for the state scholarship program. TheCaliforniaMasterPlanforHigherEducation,whichisrevisedabouteverytenyears, isnotarigidblueprinttocontrolcentrallythedevelopmentofCalifornia'ssystemofhigher education.Rather, itsets some generalparameters,focusesprimarilyontheboundaries amongthefoursectorsofhighereducation,andstrivesforasystemthatbalancesequity, qualityandefficiency. Source: OECD, 1990; Clark, 1990. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy Chapter Conclusions, Challenges, And Policy Implications Conclusions, Challenges, And Policy Implications For a number of yearsThailand has enjoyed an adequate higher education systemthathasbeencharacterizedbyincreasedaccess,someimprovementsintheoverall governanceofthesystem,agrowingnumberofprivateuniversities,andexcellencewithin specificinstitutionsandacademicdisciplines,suchasbiotechnology,foodprocessing,and aquaculture.ThesechangeshavecontributedtomajoradvancementsinThailand-relatively rapiddevelopmentintoamiddle-incomecountryandmajorpovertyreduction,from18.4 million poor people in 1991 to 6.1 million by 2006. However, theThai higher education Conclusions, Challenges, And Policy Implications systemfacesanumberofformidablechallenges.Thesechallenges,manyofwhicharealready well-knowntopolicymakers,includethefollowing: Focus on Quality at All Levels WhilegreatstrideshavebeenmadeinbasicandsecondaryeducationinThailand, overalleducationalqualityremainslow.WhileThailand'sperformanceininternationalassess- mentscouldbeconsideredadequategivenitsincomelevel,averylargeshareofstudentsis performingbelowacceptableproficiencystandards.Forinstance,approximately40percent of15-yearoldsperformedatorbelowthemostbasicliteracylevelintheProgramforInter- nationalStudentAssessmentevaluation.Thiscontrastswithupperincomecountrieswhere onlyaround10percentofstudentsscoreatorbelowsuchlevel(WorldBank,2006). Improvementsmustbemadeineducationqualitynotonlytoenhancetheskill levelofstudentswhomatriculateinuniversities,butjustasimportantlytoimprovetheoverall skilllevelintheeconomy.Universitydegreesarenottheonlycredentialsrewardedonthe Thailabormarket.Therefore,improvingthequalityofsecondaryeducationislikelytoincrease thedemandforsecondarygraduatesandtheirwagepremium,providingastrongincentive tocompletesecondaryschool.Simultaneously,astrongersecondaryeducationsystemwill expandopportunitiesandincreasethelikelihoodofsuccessformoreyouthtocontinueon tofurtherspecializedacademictraining. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP A Platform for Higher Education Reform After decades committed to improving enrollment and completion rates for primaryandsecondaryeducation,Thailandisnowpositionedtoprovideequitablequality higher education in a structured system, promoting institutional autonomy, and manage- mentefficiency.Despiteappropriatelevelsofexpendituresandimportantadvancesinterms ofpassingregulationtopromoteinstitutionalautonomyandqualityassessment,thereare importantchallengesahead. Therehavebeenmultipleattemptstointroducequalityassurance,governance andfinancingreformsduringthepastdecade,buttheseeffortshavetendedtolackcoher- enceandcontinuityandadoptedan"ebb-and-flow"pattern.Therecentcompletionofthe Second15-YearPlanhasthepotentialtoprovideacomprehensiveplatformforthesectorto guideitstransformation.However,theconsensus-buildingprocessamongallstakeholders initiatedintheformulationoftheSecond15-YearPlanmustbemaintainedanditsstrategic directionsactivelypursuedinordertotrulyserveasanenablingpolicyframeworkforsystemic transformation.Government'sinitialactionsinthisrealmsuggestthattheSecond15-Year Plandoesnotconstituteonlyaboldvisionforthefuturebutalsoservesasablueprintforac- tion.ThispoliticalcommitmentandpolicyfocusmustbemaintainedtorealizetheSecond 15-YearPlan'sfullpotential. Diversity of Institutions to Cater to Diversity of Students and Needs Effectiveorganizationshavespecificgoals,awell-definedsenseofdirectionand strongclient-orientation.Thailandcurrentlyhasadiversifiedsystemofhighereducationin- stitutions.TheSecond15-YearPlanpositsavisionwhereresearchuniversitiesareatthetop oftheeducationalpyramid,inpursuitofacademicexcellenceacrossscholarlyfields.They tendtoattractpromisinghighlyqualifiedstudentsandrecruithighlyskilledstaff.Provincial orregionalinstitutionscatertoalargerstudentpopulation,emphasizingskillsnecessaryto respondtosocialneedsandlabormarketdemands.Professionalschoolsprovidetraining infieldssuchaslaw,medicine,business,andteaching.OnthevocationalspectrumofThai highereducation,communitycollegesfocusonpracticalskillsforspecificjobsinareassuch asnursing,automechanicsorbook-keeping.Flexibilityisincorporatedinthecurrentcredit systemtoenablemobilityacrossacademicstreams.StudentswhopursueanA.Acantransfer accumulatedcreditstowardsaB.Adegree. This institutional diversity strives to serve students with different interests and abilities.Italsoseekstofeedthelabormarketwithabroadrangeofskilledhumancapital, todrivedevelopmentacrossalllevelsoftheThaieconomy.Clearstandardsandevaluation Conclusions, Challenges, And Policy Implications criteriahavebeenestablishedtoassessandrankservicedeliveryprovidersonaregularbasis. WhilethevarietyofinstitutionalmissionsandcharacteristicshasbeenastrengthoftheThai highereducationsystem,itsweaknesshasbeenthatinpracticeindividualinstitutionstend tobeweakerintermsofexplicitorganizationalgoalsandinstitutionalstructurestoaccom- plishthem.Highereducationinstitutionswouldbenefitfromclearmissionstatementsthat articulateasenseofidentityandclarifytheirmainresponsibilities. Higher Education for Skills and Competitiveness Universitiesfaceadilemmaregardingtheprovisionofspecializedversusgeneral education.Specializededucationismostlyoccupationaltrainingandsuppliestheprofessional, technical,and/orspecificskillsnecessarytoenterthelabormarket.Ontheotherhand,gen- eralorliberaleducationprovidesknowledgeonabroadercontextandaimstodevelopthe learningcapacityofstudents.Highqualitygeneraleducationcanprovideasolidfoundation forspecializedlearningaswellasinterdisciplinaryknowledgethatisfundamentalforresearch development.Itmayalsoenableworkerstobetterrespondtoshockstotheeconomyand technologicalchange(MachinandMcNally,2007). Asdiscussedinpreviouschapters,thereisamismatchbetweentheknowledge andskillsprovidedtostudentsbyuniversities,andthosedemandedbyemployersintheThai labormarket.AnimportantdrawbackoftheThaigeneraleducationsystemisthatitgener- allynotbeenattunedtotheshort-termneedsofthelabormarket.Thisdilemmaisfurther exacerbatedbyanoversupplyofgraduatesspecializinginthesocialsciencesandhumanities, whilethereisashortageofgraduatesinscienceandengineering.Possiblemeasurestoad- Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP dresstheseconcernsincludeindustry-academiacollaborationstobetteralignthecontent andaccreditationofvocationalqualificationswithlabormarketexpectations.Information regardingjobprospectsandincomepotentialbysubjectareamayalsohelpsteerstudents towardsgrowingsectorsoftheeconomy.GiventheurgentneedforThailandtodevelop industrialskills,itisimportanttoaddresstheunderinvestmentintraininginindividualfirms, whilealsomobilizingtrainingcapabilitiesoflargerfirmstoservetheinterestsofindustries, clustersandvalue-chainswithinwhichtheyarelocated(UNIDO,2002). Similarly, a key resource for innovation - the mark of a knowledge-based economy-isnotsomuchresearchasitisentrepreneurship.Therefore,thepromotionof entrepreneurshipoughttobehighontheagendaofthehighereducationsector,aswellas insecondaryandvocationaleducationsystems(WorldBank,2008). Governance and Financing Reforms Ingeneral,themainpurposeofthegovernanceandfinancingreformsistoimprove thesustainabilityandequityofthesystem.InThailand,governanceandfinancialreforms morethanotherreformsposethegreatestchallengeswithinthehighereducationsector.A historicallycentralizedgovernancestructure,withGovernmentministersregulatinginstitu- tionaloperationsandminimalcasesofinstitutionalautonomy,isgivingwaytoinstitutional autonomyandaccountability,thoughnotwithoutcontroversyandresistance(TheNation, 2007). If institutions become autonomous, both in terms of governance and finance, the argumentagainstitholdsthatstaffandstudentswillbesubjecttomarketforcesinterms ofadmission,financialaidorcurricularoptionsandwilllosetheprotectionofbeingpartof thecivilservice.Whetherthesefearsarewarrantedremainstobeseen,butincountrieswith moredecentralized,autonomoushighereducationinstitutions,autonomyhasnotinherently resultedindiminishedquality.Onthecontrary,themostsuccessfulhighereducationsys- temsindevelopedcountrieshavegivenfullautonomytouniversitiesandhaveestablished procedurestoevaluatetheirqualityandpromote"healthy"competitionbetweeninstitutions. GreaterindependenceandflexibilityforThaiuniversities,especiallytheleadingpublicones, arevitalforgeneratingacademicenvironmentsthatareresponsiveandeffectiveforstudent educationandforbuildingstrongresearchcapabilities. Financingreforms,particularlyintermsoffundingformulasforinstitutions,fees paidbystudents,andthedivergentcoststructuresacrossthediversifiedhighereducation sector,haveyettogainrealtraction,particularlyasmechanismsforexpandingaccessthrough morerepresentativefeestructures.Studentloanschemesarestillbeingrefinedandimproved upon,inordertoensurethatexternalsourcesoffundsareavailableacrossstudentgroups andinstitutionstypes.AproposalcurrentlyunderevaluationbyCabinetwouldlinkONESQA's academicassessmentresultswithbudgetallocationsforhighereducationinstitutions.High Conclusions, Challenges, And Policy Implications performinginstitutionswouldreceiveadditionalincentives,whilepoorperforminginstitutions wouldneedtoprepareaninstitutionalimprovementplan(TheNation,2009).Thesuccessful implementationofcomprehensivefinancingreforms,therefore,remainsasignificantchallenge tosustainableimprovementsintheThaihighereducationsystem. Research Capacity Asithasbeenclearlyillustratedinthereport,lowcostinputsarenolongersuf- ficienttomaintaincompetitivenessandanation'sabilitytocreateandcommercializenew products.Thereisagreatneedforresearchanddevelopmentinordertostrengthennational competitivenessinaknowledge-basedeconomy.Thisnewmodelrequiresastrong,higher educationsystemthatwillprovidetheskillsandknowledgenecessaryaswellastheresearch capacitytoproduceR&D.Thailandstillhasalongwaytogointermsofdevelopingastrong researchcapacity.Thecountryranks47outof78inthe2003InnovativeCapacityIndex.R&D expendituresandnumberofresearcherspercapitaaresignificantlylowerthanregionalcom- petitors.Inaddition,theamountofresearchfundingandresearchoutputsfromuniversities isverylimited.ThereisagreatneedforGovernmenttodirecthighereducationspending towardsbuildingastrongerresearchcapacity. Thereareanumberoffeaturesthatmakeuniversitiesthemostappropriateplaces togenerateR&D.First,universitiesareplaceswhereknowledgeisproducedandshared.Un- likeprivatefirmsandgovernmentagencies,universitiescanbenefitfromaqualifiedgroup ofscholarsandresearchersthathavetheacademicfreedomtoexploreresearchmethods thatarenotconstrainedbyindustryspecificprocesses.Inaddition,teachingandresearch Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 1 THE WORLD BANK GROUP arecomplementaryandcantrainfuturescholarsandresearchers.Second,thepeerreview processisimportantbecauseitprovidesareviewfromexpertsinthefieldthatcertifiesthe qualityoftheknowledgedevelopedandtheresearchproduced.Third,researchuniversities providefertilegroundtotransformandadaptknowledgefromothercountriestothenational context.Therearealsointernationalnetworksofscholarsthatfacilitatedoinginterdisciplinary researchontransnationalproblems.Finally,universitiesprovideafertilegroundforpotential collaborationsbetweenuniversityandindustrythatcanpromoteR&D. ThediversityofinstitutionsacrosstheThaihighereducationsystemsallowsthe systemtosupportthemultiplemissionsofpost-secondaryeducation.ButGovernmenthas traditionallyheavilyregulatedhighereducation;thus,therehavebeenfewcross-institutional collaborations.Suchcollaborationscanpromotepositiveexternalitiesintermsofsharingof knowledgeandpractices,which,inturn,contributetohighqualityeducationandresearch. Morerecently,Government,throughCHE,hasbeguntosponsorinitiativesaimedatpromot- ingexchangesbetweenhighereducationinstitutions.Forinstance,in2004,CHElauncheda highereducationdevelopmentnetwork.Thegoalisfornetworkstoworktogetherandshare knowledgeandpracticesinteachingandlearning,research,academicserviceandlocalart andculture.NetworksactasaliaisonbetweenCHEandhighereducationinstitutions.The CHEestablishedonenetworkineachofnineregionstosupportboththecollaborativeideal aswellastheprimacyoftheregionalstakesincomprehensivehighereducationprovision. Futuregoalsinalaterphaseoftheseendeavorsincludecooperationbetweennetworksand entrepreneursaswellaslocalcommunities.Thiscollaborationisinitsinitialstagesandthere arenotclearquantifiableoutcomesyet.Nonetheless,thesearethetypeofinitiativesthat,if properlydesignedandmonitored,canleadtoanincreaseinvibrancyandrelevanceofhigher educationsystemsandanexpansionofnationalresearchcapacity. University-Industry Linkages Promotingcollaborationbetweenhighereducationinstitutionsandindustrypro- ducesbenefitsforstudents,employers,andtheeconomy.Stronglinkagesbetweenuniversities andindustriesallowlocalfirmstohaveaccesstospecialists'expertise,improveafirm'scapacity toabsorbtechnologyandsolveproblems,andpromotealifelonglearningcultureamong firmsandindividuals,whichovertimegeneratestangibleeconomicandsocialbenefits.In Thailand,firmsnowprovideadditionaltrainingtograduatesandthismayresultinincreased Conclusions, Challenges, And Policy Implications efficiencybutalsoaresourcelossforhighereducationinstitutions.Strategiccollaboration betweenhighereducationandindustrymighthelpimprovethissituation. Therearedifferentwaystopromotecollaboration.Universitiescouldaimtoattract facultymemberswithsubstantialindustry-specificexperienceoractivelyseekouttohave industrymoreinvolvedincurriculumdevelopment.Anotheroptionistodesignandfunda programofinternshipsthatwillprovidestudentswithtrainingaswellasrealworldexperience. Studentscanalsohavetheopportunitytodeveloprelevantworkingskillssuchasteamwork, problemsolving,andleadershipwhilegainingexperiencethatcanlaterbebeneficialwhen lookingforajob.Firmsgainbyhiringrelativelycheaplaborandhavingtheopportunityto screencandidatesbeforemakingthemfull-timeemploymentoffers. Oneofthefirstinitiativestopromoteuniversity-industrylinkageswastheCoopera- tiveResearchNetworkProject,fundedin2002.Itsmaingoalwastoincreaseresearchcapacity andtoconnectgraduatestudents,especiallydoctoralstudents,withindustry.Fifty-fiveco- operativeresearchnetworkswereestablishedintheareasofbiotechnology,medicalscience, andscienceandtechnology.Similarly,theCooperativeEducationCurriculumwasestablished in2004withabout6,000participatingstudentsand2,000participatingcompanies. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP Currentlythemoststrategiccollaborationbetweenuniversitiesandindustryisin thepromotionofresearchanddevelopment.IntheUnitedStates,prestigioushighereduca- tioninstitutionsliketheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnologyandStanfordUniversityhave servedasahubofinnovation,extendingfromresearchconductedbytheirstudentsandfaculty. Therearemultipleexamplesofbusinessspin-offsfromcampus-basedresearch,occasionally generatingenormousrevenuesforuniversitiesfromrelatedpatents.Thisisbeneficialinterms ofdiversifyingsourcesofhighereducationfunding,bothintermsofpatentrevenueaswellas attractingexternalresearchfunding.Thesetypesofcollaborationstendtobemoresuccess- fulwhenGovernmentsupports(or,perhapsmoreaccurately,doesnotinhibit)thenecessary conditions.AshortsurveyinIndiareportedthatsomeofthereasonswhyhighereducation institutescouldnotsetupenterprisefromresearchwere:lackofseedfunding,outputswere notappropriateforcommercialization,andlackofuniversityregulationtocatalyzeenterprise establishment(Basan&Chandra,2003).Governmentshavethepotentialtoprovideincen- tivestoencourageuniversity-industrycooperation(ormaintainbarriersthatdiscouragesuch endeavors).China,forexample,usesasameasureofuniversityperformancethenumberof spin-offorstart-upenterprisesitgenerates. Arecentstudyhasfoundthatthemostprevalentmeansofuniversitycooperation withtheprivatesectorinThailandistoprovideconsultingservices,followedbytheprovision oftechnicalservicesandservingasasourceofinformalcontacts.Thisserviceprovisionis followedbymoreconcreteformsofuniversity-industrylinkagessuchaslicensing,thesaleof productsandcontractresearch,andtrainingcomponents.However,moreresearch-intensive andinteractiveformsofuniversity-industrylinkagesarefew.Fromuniversities' perspective, themostsignificantconstraintonuniversity-industrylinkagesistheperceptionthatfirmsdo notwanttocooperatewithuniversities,aswellastheinabilitytoidentifysuitablepartners. Evenaftertheidentificationofapartner,otherlimitationsemergesuchasincludinginternal restrictionsandlackofincentives(Schiller,2006). E-Learning and Distance Education In the current knowledge-based economy, it is crucial for countries to provide trainingintheuseofstateofthearttechnologies.Inaddition,theuseoftechnologyfor distanceeducationcanalsoincreaseaccessinamorecost-effectiveway.Governmentsmust bediligentinguaranteeingthattheseinstitutionsprovidecomparablequalitytotraditional modelsofdelivery.E-learninganddistancelearningcanincreaseaccesstohighereducation. Thisisadvantageousforstudentsbecausetheycansavetimeandtransportationcosts.In Conclusions, Challenges, And Policy Implications Thailand,followingthemandatesfromtheNEAof1999,thegovernmenthasattemptedto expandtheuseofinformationandcommunicationtechnologies(ICT)ineducation.TheICT masterplansupportscollaborationbetweenthepublicandprivatesectorstobuildpublic knowledgeonICTthroughacademicinstitutions.Onerelativelysimplerecommendationis thatallacademicinstitutesshouldhavelibrariesequippedwithbasicICT,suchasinternetand otherlearningmaterials.However,despitethecurrenteducationalmandate,thetechnologies requiredtopartakeofe-learningarenotyetfullyaccessibleinThailand. Internationalization and External Partnerships Theinternationalizationofhighereducationhasbeenamajortrendtowardinno- vationindevelopedcountries,astheforcesofglobalizationapplypressurestoinstitutionsto meetthedemandsofevolvingcultural,political,andeconomicnorms.TheUnitedStates,for example,hadover565,000internationalstudentsenrolledinUShighereducationinstitutions in2004-05andthoseinternationalstudentsspentUS$13.3billionduringthatyearalone.It isclearthattheinternationalizationofhighereducationcangeneratesubstantialrevenue. Thailand'sgeographicallocation,inthecenterofSouthEastAsia,couldbeundoubt- edlyanassettobecomeahubforinternationaleducationinSouth-EastAsia.Thisgoalhas beenexplicitlyarticulatedinarecentnationalstrategy: (a) To be a higher educational hub for the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) within10years(2007-2016); (b) TobeahighereducationhubofASEANwithin20years(2007-2026);and (c) Toobtainrevenuesfromhighereducationofnotlessthan8,000millionBaht within20years(2007-2026)(KnowledgeNetworkInstituteofThailand,2006). Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP Animportantchangeinthecurrentacademicparadigmistheneedtotapinto global knowledge by creating regional networks and communities of practice, poles of excellence, and both South- South and North-South partnerships between institutions. Thailand has embarked on partnerships in higher education endeavors with several countriesandinternationalorganizations.Thechallengenowistodevelopaframeworkto planandpromotestrategiccooperation.Thetypeofcooperationpromotedshouldrespond tothecountryneedsandmustbeaimedatstrengtheningweaknessesandprovidesupport tocountrydevelopment. At present,Thailand has at best selected ad hoc national policies or strategies for international cooperation in higher education, such as the Reverse Brain Drain Project (see Box 6-1). MOE has promoted exchanges in knowledge and experiences through conferences, project collaborations and exchange programs for scholars. But in order to promoteresearchanddevelopmentactivities,thereisaneedforastrategythatarticulates specificresearchstandardsand/orgoalstomeet,increaseR&Dexpenditures,buildresearch networks with domestic and international agencies, remove legal restriction on the flows ofscholarsandideas,fundtheattendanceofscholarstointernationalconferences,enforce legislationonintellectualproperty,improvequalityindatacollection,andfacilitateaccessto databasesnecessaryforresearch. BOX 6-1: THE REVERSE BRAIN DRAIN PROJECT Braindrain,alsoknownashumancapitalflight,tendstooccurindeveloping countrieswhereskilledandeducatedworkersareluredtoprosperousnationsabroad.The temptationofgreaterwealth,betterlivingconditions,politicalstabilityandintellectual freedomstripsmanypooreconomiesoftheirbestandbrightest.Now,thatbrain-drain trendmaybeinreverse.Amidtheglobalrecession,Thaislivingabroadaremakingboth shortandlong-termscontributionstodevelopmentofThailand. TheReverse Brain Drain Projectwasestablishedin1997undertheauspicesofthe Conclusions, Challenges, And Policy Implications NationalScienceandTechnologyDevelopmentAgency(NSTDA).Theprojectisdesigned to promote collaboration between NSTDA and overseas partners through joint R&D projects, technology transfer and other joint activities through focused clusters and research programs, focusing on the cooperation with overseas Thai professionals and their networks. The project aims to: (a) disseminate and exchange information aboutThailand's needs; (b) work closely with partners, especially the Commission on HigherEducationandtheMinistryofScienceandTechnologytostrengthenactivitiesof overseasThaiprofessionals/studentsthatbenefitallconcernedparties;and(c)formjoint R&Dprogramsaswellasexchangeandeducationalprograms.TheAssociationofThai Professionals in America and Canada (ATPAC) is actively supporting the program by encouragingThaiprofessionalstobecomeinvolvedinjointresearchprojects,teaching activities,andadvisorytasks.Likewise,theAssociationofThaiProfessionalsinJapan(ATPIJ) andtheAssociationofThaiProfessionalsinEurope(ATPER)arehelpinginsimilarways. Some recent collaborative projects include: Production ofThermal Insulating MaterialsfromIndustrialBy-products(ChiangMaiUniversity);Developmentofsuitable feedforcommercialproductionofNiletilapia,Oreochromisniloticus(KasetsartUniversity); DevelopmentofaNovelSemi-SolidMetalProcessinginDieCasting(PrinceofSongkla University);andDevelopmentofHydrogenStorageMaterialsandaHydrogenStorage Prototype(ChulalongkornUniversity). Source: Rantz and Tangchuang, 2005 THE "BIGGER PICTURE" CHALLENGE Likemanyothermiddle-incomecountries,therelativelyrapidtechnologicalprogress ofThailandduringthepastdecadeandimprovementsinbothopennessandtechnological adaptivecapabilitysuggestthatitsleveloftechnologicalsophisticationshouldcontinueto convergewiththatofhigherincomecountries.However,eventhemostadvancedofthe middle-incomecountrieswillbeunabletobenefitfullyfromthenewtechnologiesthatare expectedtobecomebothtechnicalandeconomicallyviableoverthenextseveralyearsbe- causeofinadequaciesintheirinfrastructure(unreliablepowerorcommunicationssystems), Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP insufficient technical literacy or the absence of a critical mass of scientists and engineers necessarytoexploitthetechnology.Forsomecountries,therelativeslownesswithwhich technologicalabsorptivecapacityhasbeenadvancingcouldslowthepaceofconvergence asmissingcompetenciesbecomeanincreasinglybindingconstraintontheabsorptionof additionaltechnologies(GEP,2008). Nocountrycanaffordtobecomplacentintoday'sglobaleconomyandThailand isnoexception.Weaknessesinitseducationsystem,especiallyinhighereducation,arecon- tributingtogrowingchallengesatthemacrolevel.Manyrecentstatisticsarenotcomfort- ing:Thailand'srankingamong137countriesintheWorldBank'sKnowledgeEconomyIndex slippedfrom48in1995to56in2007;andintheWorldEconomicForum'sCompetitiveness Indexfor2008-2009,itsrankingdroppedto34comparedto27in2007.Further,Thailandis vulnerableinthatexportscomprisemorethantwo-thirdsofGDPandhasahighconcentra- tionofmanufacturinginarelativelyfewsectors,suchastheautoindustry,textiles,electronics, cement,andfoodprocessing. Whatdothesechallengesmeaningeneralandforhighereducationandskillsde- velopmentinparticular?Thefindingsofa2006reportonThailand'sInvestmentClimate,Firm Competitiveness,andGrowth,basedonhundredsofinterviewswithownersandmanagers ofThaifirms,commentonanumberofseriousproblems,including: · Linkagesfortechnologicalcapacitiesareweak.Theselinkagesaretheskills needed to exchange information, knowledge and technology with suppliers,buyers,subcontractors,consultants,servicefirms,andtechnology institutions; · There is compelling evidence of both a skill shortage and a mismatch in themanufacturingsector,leadingfirmstosuboptimalequilibrium.Figure6.1 illustratesthisshortagecomparedtoothercountries; · Theincidenceandintensityofhard-to-fillvacanciesareveryhigh:90percentof manufacturing plants surveyed have had vacancies for professionals and production workers in the last 2 years which is the highest in the region­comparedtoMalaysiaandIndonesia(50percent)andthePhilippines (25percent); · Theshortageofskillsisleadingmanagerstoadoptsub-optimalhiringpolicies, resultinginamismatchofskillsinfirms; · More than 72 percent of employees surveyed identify English language proficiencyasthemostsevereconstraintindoingtheirjob;and · Thaifirmsareoperatingwiththewrongskillmixwhichcausestheaverage Conclusions, Challenges, And Policy Implications firmtolosenearly15percentofitsoutput. FIGURE 6-1: GDP PER CAPITA VERSUS SHARE OF NATURAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING DEGREES Source: Yusuf and Nabeshima, 2007, p. 97. ItisalsonoteworthythattheaggregatespendingonR&DinThailandasapercentage ofGDPislowandrisinggraduallyfromalowbase.Anumberofobservershavecommented thatThaifirmsintheautomotive,jewelry,foodprocessingandelectronicsindustriesfocuson laborintensiveandlowertechnologyareasandrelymoreonlowlaborcostsandoverheads tocompete.OnlyafewfirmsareattemptingtomoveupthevaluechainbyinvestinginR&D Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy THE WORLD BANK GROUP tostimulateinnovationsandenhancetheirtechnologicalcapability.Thailandisattheriskof losinggroundinkeyexportsubsectorsbecauseofinsufficienttechnologicalcapability,and thusThaifirmsmightnotbeabletocontinuediversifyingintotheproductionofnewproducts. Firmscomplainthattheirattemptstoupgradetechnologyarehurtbythelimitedsuppliesof relevantskillsandaweakresearchinfrastructure.Notsurprisingly,Thailandwillhavetoraise itsleveloftechnologicalcapabilityifitwantstobeaplayerinitsleadingindustriesandto advanceintoamoresophisticatedrangeofproductsandservices(Yusuf,2008). THE WAY FORWARD InadetailedexaminationoftheKnowledgeEconomyofThailandin2008,fivesets ofpolicieswererecommendedforthecountryintermsofimprovingthestateofitshigher educationsystem.Thesesuggestedpoliciesremainextremelyrelevantandappropriatewhile underliningmanyofthechallengesmentionedearlierinthischapter(Yusuf2008). 1) Universitiesingeneral,andtheleadingpublicuniversitiesinparticular,should beawardedgreaterautonomy.Universitiesshouldhavemoreflexibilityand bedisciplinedbycompetition. 2) Thegovernmentshouldgraduallystepupfundingforresearchfacilitiesand basicresearchatuniversities. 3) Third,scienceparksandincubatorfacilitiesshouldbecreatednexttoselected universitiessoastomaximizethelikelihoodofspilloversandstart-ups,aswell astosupportsuchmeasureswithgenerousincentives. 4) Makeuniversity-industrylinkagesmoreattractiveforuniversitiesandfirmsby offering grants to universities conditional on the university pursuing collaborativeventureswiththeprivatesector. 5) Fund programs which help finance post-doctoral internship positions in participating firms. These programs ensure that there are immediate employmentopportunitiesforgraduates,whichgivesthemafootinthedoor andlessenstherisksofunemployment,whilefirmsbenefitfromtheinfusion offreshresearchtalentthatcanenergizetheirresearch. 1 ThisreportandanumberofotherstudiesthatanalyzeissuesThailand'shigheredu- cation,competitiveness,anditsplaceintheglobalknowledgeeconomy,suggestadditional insightsthatcanbeusefultopolicymakers.Theyinclude: ACQUIRE A SENSE OF URGENCY ThailandhaslittlechoicebuttoimproveitssituationbecauseitscompetitorsinEast Asiaandotherpartsoftheworldareclearlyacceleratingtheirowneffortstobecomemoreinno- Conclusions, Challenges, And Policy Implications vativeandtoincreasetheirtechnologicalcapability.Thestakeshavebeenraisedandtoremain avibranteconomy.Thailandmustalsoclimbtheladderoftechnologicalcapability.AbdullahBin AhmedBadawi,thePrimeMinisterofMalaysia,perhapssaiditbestwhenhecommented:"Ido believethatitisnecessarytostressthatformostcountriestoday,humanresourcedevelopment andhumancapitalformationareeitherextremelyimportant,absolutelyvital,oramatteroflife anddeath.InthecaseofMalaysia...wethinkitisamatteroflifeordeath."ForThailandsuch asenseofurgencymustcomefromGovernmentleaderswhoseunwaveringcommitmentand supportleadtoconducivepoliciesandincentives. IMPROVE THE QUALITY AND RELEVANCE OF UNIVERSITIES WITH A FOCUS ON STRENGTHENING LINK- AGES TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR . A crucial feature of a knowledge economy is a commitment to research and development.Governmenteffortstoestablishauniversity-industryallianceenhancedand facilitatedbyICTmaysparkR&Dactivitiesamonglocalcommunitiesaswellasprovideeasy accesstorelevantinformationandexpertisefromuniversities.Thedevelopmenttowarda knowledgeeconomyrequiresthealterationofattitudesandthecreationofacultureoflearn- inginorganizationsandcommunitiesalike.Sucheffortswillbeweakenedintheabsenceof Governmentsupport. InthecaseofNorthernThailand,arecentstudyindicatesthatuniversitiesshould becomeeffectivepartnersofindustryby:(a)committingthemselvestowardscollaboration with industry and other players for mutual benefit and industrial growth; (b) understand- ingthedemandsandcultureofindustry;(c)developingnichetechnologyandtranslating Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 11 THE WORLD BANK GROUP this into patents/licensing; (d) providing consultancy and collaborating with industry and governmentthroughanentrepreneurialspirit;(e)supportingbusinessincubationservices andspin-offs;(f )enhancingcontinuityofcooperativeandentrepreneurshipeducation;(g) recruitinganddevelopingindustrially-experiencedandresearch-activestaff;and(h)accom- modatingcompetitivefacilitiesforR&D.Inaddition,aGovernmentalintermediateorganization (suchastheThailandAutomotiveInstitute)couldbeidentifiedasacentralorganizationin improvingcompetitivenessoftheclusterthatshouldbegivengreaterautonomyandflex- ibilitytosupportthecompetitionofdifferentplayerswithgreaterefficiencyandeffectiveness (WorldBank,2005). LEARN FROM OTHER COUNTRIES Eventhougheverycountryandcontextisdifferentandmodelsmaynotproveuseful atatimewhenglobalchangeissorapid,Thailandcanandshouldbewillingtolearnfromothers andtoreplicatepracticesthatmakesenseinitscontext.Inhighereducation,manycountries areundergoingmajorreformsinkeyareassuchasgovernance.Thailandcanalsolearnfrom itsneighborsandclosestcompetitors.Vietnamiscurrentlytryingtodevelopfour"newmodel" universitiesthatwilllikelyprovidenewandexcitingmodelsofgovernance,financing,andre- searchfocus.ImprovingThaiuniversitiesmightresultinafrankassessmentthatmaystimulate change.InthePhilippines,in1995,ataskforceonhighereducationconcludedafterreviewing informationoncriticaleducationinputsandtheresultsofprofessionalexaminationsfor1,316 existinghighereducationinstitutionsthatonly9universitiesand2collegesinthecountrywere comparableinqualitytointernationalinstitutions(Salmi,2004).Malaysiamightalsooffersome lessons,particularlyintheareasofvocationaltraining,youthemployment,andotherprograms thatfocusonskillsandemployment. 1 LEARN FROM THAILAND'S OWN STRENGTHS AND EXPERIENCES Thailanditselfoffersmanyexamplesofhowuniversitiescanhelpdriveinnovation throughanongoingdialogandlinkagestotheprivatesector.TheUniversityBusinessIncuba- torProjectmentionedpreviouslyisoneconcreteexample.Anotherexampleistheworkof theNationalScienceandTechnologyDevelopmentAgency,whichtriestoenhanceThailand's sustainable competitiveness through technology transfer and the development of human resourcesandscienceandtechnologyinfrastructure.AthirdexampleisMahidolUniversity's Conclusions, Challenges, And Policy Implications CentexShrimpCenterofExcellenceforShrimpMolecularBiologyandBiotechnologythathas deepenedthescientificknowledgeofshrimpandfishanddiscoverednewwaysofpreventing diseaseinaquaculture.AsBox6-2indicates,biotechnologyisanindustrythatmayofferclues forfuturesuccessinotherThaiindustries.Finally,itmaybeworthexaminingcloselythesixcases ofuniversity-industrylinksdiscussedinarecentreportonThailand'sKnowledgeEconomythat highlightsboththeeffortsofafewprivatefirms(includingmultinationalcorporations)tocreate linksaswellastheweakresponsefromuniversitiesandGovernmentagencies. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 1 THE WORLD BANK GROUP BOX 6-2: BIOTECH SUCCESS IN THAILAND BiotechnologyinThailandhasmademajoradvancesandenjoysawell-deserved global recognition, particularly in agricultural biotech, food biotech, and medical biotech.Agriculture-basedbiotechisextremelyadvancedandhasdevelopedwiththe objectiveofimprovingcropqualityandincreasingoutput­someofthemostrecent workhasfocusedonproducinghighqualityricethatismoreresistanttodiseaseand produceshigheryields.Inaquaculture,biotechnologyisusedtohelppreventepidemic diseasesinprawnfarmingandtoimprovebreedstomeetmarketdemands.Inmedical science,Thaiphysiciansandmedicalresearchersarehighlycapableandrepresentoneof thecountry'smajorassets.Medicalproductshavebeendevelopedthatincludeamong othersclinicaltestkitsfortuberculosisandcholera,vaccinesfordenguehemorrhagic feverandleptospirosis,anddrugsformalariaandtuberculosis. InNovember2008,theThailandCenterofExcellenceforLifeSciences(TCELS) and the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology organized amajorinternationalbiotechconferenceandexhibition.Theevent,conveningover6000 delegatesandvisitorsfrom27countries,wasalsosupportedbytheMinistryofScience andTechnology,theMinistryofNaturalResourcesandEnvironment,theMinistryof PublicHealth,theNationalScienceandTechnologyDevelopmentAgency,theBoard ofInvestment,theAgriculturalResearchDevelopmentAgency,ThailandConventions andExhibitionsBureau,andtheScienceandTechnologyPostgraduateEducationand ResearchDevelopmentOffice. SaidDr.ThongchaiThavichachart,DirectorofTCELS,"Oneofourkeynational strategiesforachievingrapidgrowthinthebiotechsectoristofollowthemodelofeasy andrapidnetworking.CountriesinEuropehavemaderapidadvancesinbiotechnology byhelpingacademics,researchers,investors,aswellasexpertsincommercialization worktogethereasilyandconveniently,sharingresourcesandknowledge.Thismodel is very different from some other countries which have built monolithic structures toconductallresearchandcommercializationthroughafewbigorganizations.We believeThailandcanprogressquicklywiththenetworkingmodel,andtheorganization ofBioAsia2008createsanimportantforumforthatnetworkingtohappen." On a related note, the keynote speaker, Dr. Juan Enriquez, commented that"Life science can help countries likeThailand overcome the challenges of the globaleconomy.Inthemidstofaglobalfinancialcrisis,itissometimehardtorecall that what really makes a difference in a country's long-term prospects, and even survival,istheabilitytocontinuefocusonscience,technology,education,andgrowth. Bycombiningscienceresearchandbusiness,thosewhohavebeenpoorcanrapidly becomeafirstworldcountry.Butthosewhoignorethislessonbecomeirrelevantand eventuallydisappear." Source: BioAsia, 2008 1 MOST IMPORTANTLY, STRENGTHEN THE OVERALL INNOVATION SYSTEM Thenationalinnovationiscomposedofseveralkeydimensions,asdepictedinFigure 6-2.Theexperienceofothercountriessuggeststhatthemostimportantfocusisnotsomuch oninfrastructurebutontheinteractionsbetweenthemainactorswithinthesystem.Therole ofhighereducationandresearchisobviouslycritical,asisthelinktoprivatesectorfirmsand Government'senablingpoliciesandintermediaryorganizationsthatfacilitateinteractions.Of additionalimportancearetheoverarchingconditionssuchastheinvestmentclimateand,in Conclusions, Challenges, And Policy Implications thecaseofThailandwhichhasexperiencedrecentproblems,politicalstability. FIGURE 6-2: NATIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEM Source: Arnold and Bell In conclusion, to successfully fulfill their essential roles in the 21st century,Thai highereducationinstitutionsneedtorespondeffectivelytochangingeducationandtraining needs,adapttoarapidlyshiftingtertiaryeducationlandscape,andadoptmoreflexiblemodes oforganizationandoperation.Ratherthanrelyingongrowthdrivenbysimplyincreasingjobs fortheunderemployedrurallaborinthemanufacturingsector,Thailandneedstotryadifferent strategytosustainstrongeconomicgrowthandcompetitivenessinthemediumtolongterm. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 1 THE WORLD BANK GROUP Itshouldalsobecultivatingandsupportingentrepreneursandfacilitatinglinkagesaslaidout intheten-yearScienceandTechnologyActionPlan(2004-2013).Suchapolicychangeisnot incrementalbutafundamentalshiftinlookingatThailand'sdevelopment.Whatisrequired nowisasustainedcommitmentbyinternalandexternalstakeholders-institutionsandtheir communitiesofscholars,studentsandstaff,Governmentofficials,andglobalorganizations-to improvementsandinnovations. 1 References THE WORLD BANK GROUP Arnold and Bell (2000). National Innovation System in Less Successful DevelopingCountries. Bangkok Post (2008). Growing numbers choose to default on student loans.January21. Basant, R. & Chandra, P. (2003)."Inter-organization linkages in the IT industry in India: A Case Study ofTelecom technologies." In The Context of Innovation in India: The case of the IT industry. Eds. Anthony D'Costa and Eswaran Sridharan, 193­219. London: Palgrave. Becker, G. (1967). Human capital and the personal distribution of income: An analytical approach. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Becker, W.E. (1992). Why go to college? The value of an investment inhighereducation.InThe Economics of American Higher Education, Eds.W.E.BeckerandD.R.Lewis,91-120.Boston:KluwerAcademic Publishers. BioAsia2008:http://www.bioasiabangkok.com/. Boonserm,V. et al. (2003). Draft research report on financing of higher educationinThailand.NationalEducationalCouncil. 1 Brimble, P. & Donor, R.F. (2007). "University-Industr y Link ages and Economic Development: The Case of Thailand. World DevelopmentVolume35,No.6pp.1021-1036. Brooker Group (2001). Technological Innovation of Industrial Enterprises in Thailand. http://www.seri.com.my/oldsite/ InnoWksp/ThailaText.pdf. Chang, C. (no date). Country Report: Internationalization Development of Thailand's Higher Education: Positioning Thailand as an International Education Center for the ASEAN Region.Unpublished manuscript. References ChildrenandYouthSurvey,2002. Edstats(2009).http://edstats.worldbank.org. Filmer, D. & Prichett, L. (1997). Child mortality and public spending on health: How m u c h d o e s m o n e y m a t te r ? Wo r l d B a n k : Washington,DC. Gill, I. & Kharas, H. (2007). An East Asian Renaissance: Ideas for Economic Growth.WorldBank:Washington,DC. KnowledgeNetworkInstituteofThailand,2006. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 1 THE WORLD BANK GROUP Krongkaew, M. (2005a, June). Matrix of Basic Tuition Fees (BTF) for ter tiar y education in Thailand". Paper presented at the meeting of the Executive Board of the Office of the TICAL Scheme(OTS). (2005b).ThePromiseofThailand'sNewHigherEducation Financing System: The Thailand Income Contingent and Allowance Loan ( TICAL) Scheme". Paper presented at the ThirdRoundtableMeetingofThailandandtheUnitedStateson Policy Research, Science Education Management, and Higher EducationReforms,onNovember7,2005 Krueger, A.B. & Lindahl, M. (2001). Education for growth: why and for whom?JournalofEconomic Literature39:1101-1136. LaborForceSurvey,2005. Lucas,R.E.(1993)."MakingaMiracle."Econometrica61(2):251-272. Machin, S. & McNally, S. Tertiary Education Systems and Labour Markets.OECD:Paris. Makishima,M.&Sukisiriserekul,S.(2003).Humanresourcedevelopment towards a knowledge-based economy: The case of Thailand. JapanTradeOrganization:Bangkok. 11 McMahon, W. (1997)."Conceptual Framework for Measuring the Total Social and Private Benefits of Education", International Journal of Education Research,Volume27,Issue6,pp.449­501. Ministry of Education (2007). Education in Thailand. Office of the EducationCouncil:Bangkok. Ministry of Education (2008). Education in Thailand. Office of the EducationCouncil:Bangkok. Mortenson, T. (2006). Inherited opportunity for higher education. Paper presented at the meeting of the Association for InstitutionalResearch,Chicago,Illinois. References Murphy, K.M. & Welch, F. (1992). " Wages of college graduates." In The Economics of American Higher Education, Ed. W.E. Becker and D.R. Lewis, 121-141. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Boston. TheNation.(2009).University competition "a lose-lose situation." July 8. (2007a). University funds plan.October. (2007b).Bangkok.Good education isn'tcheap.June. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 111 THE WORLD BANK GROUP (2006). First-ever university rankings published. Credibility doubts as Thammasat opts out.September. NationalInstituteofEducationalTestingService,2005. National Science Foundation (2006). Science and Engineering Indicators 2006. Retrieved April 25, 2008 from http://www.nsf. gov/statistics/seind06/c2/c2s4.htm. National Statistics Office. 2007. Summary of Industry Census 2007 in Municipal and Non-Municipal Areas. http://service.nso.go.th/ nso/nsopublish/service/serv_indus50.html. OECD(2007a).Education at a Glance 2007. OECD:Paris. ( 2 0 0 7 b ) . M o v i n g U p t h e Va l u e C h a i n : S t a y i n g CompetitiveintheGlobalEconomy.OECD:Paris. (2005). Education Trends in Perspective. Analysis of the World Education Indicators.OECD/UNESCO-UIS:Paris. OfficeoftheCivilServiceCommission,UIS,2007. OfficeofEducationalCouncil,2004. 11 Paulsen, M. B. (1998). "Recent research on the economics of attending college: Returns on investment and responsiveness toprice."ResearchinHigherEducation39(4):471-489. Patrinos, H.A. & Ariasingam, D. L. (1997). Decentralization of education: Demand-sidefinancing".TheWorldBank:Washington,D.C. Porter, M. & Stern, S. (2004)."Ranking National Innovative Capacity: Findings from the National Innovative Capacity Index." In XSala-i-Martin(Ed.),The Global Competitiveness Report 2003-2004. OxfordUniversityPress:NewYork. Praphamontripong, P. (2008). Inside Thai Private Higher Education: References Exploring Private Growth in International Context. PROPHE WorkingPaper#12,StateUniversityofNewYork. Psacharopoulos, G. & Patrinos, H. A. (2004). Returns to investment in education:Afurtherupdate.Education Economics 12(2):111-134. Raghupathy, S. (1996)."Education and the use of maternal health care inThailand."Social Science & Medicine,Volume43(4),pp.459-471. Rantz, R. & Tangchuang, P. (2005)."Financing higher education in Thailandandfuturechallenges."InS.MichaelandM.Kretovics(Eds.), Financing Higher Education in a Global Market,pp301-324. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 11 THE WORLD BANK GROUP Risaburo, N. (2005). Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property and Effective University ­ Industry Partnerships: The Experience of China, India, Japan, Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Thailand.FujitsuResearchInstitute. Romer, P. M. (1990). Endogenous technological change. Journal of Political Economy98(5):S71-S102. Salmi, J. (2009). The Challenge of Establishing World-Class Universities. TheWorldBank:Washington,D.C. Schiller,D.(2006).ThePotentialtoUpgradetheThaiInnovationSystem by University-industry Linkages. Asian Journal of Technology Innovation, 14(2):67-91. SocioeconomicSurvey,2006. Solow, R. M. (1956). A contribution to the theor y of economic growth.Quarterly Journal of Economics,70:65-94. Suwan,et.al.,2001. Times Higher Education (2205). Thai academics decry graduates' weak degrees, poor English.23September. 11 UNESCO(2005a).Educationtrendsinperspective:Analysisoftheworld educationindicators.http://www.uis.unesco.org/ev.php?ID=6204 _201&ID2=DO_TOPIC. (2005b). Comparing Education Statistics across the World.Montreal:UNESCO-UIS. (2007). Thailand: UIS statistics in brief. Montreal: UNESCO-UIS. http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/ document.aspx ? R e p o r t I d = 1 4 7 & I F _ L a n g u a g e = e n g & B R _ Country=7640&BR_Region=40515. UNIDO. 2002."Thailand's Manufacturing Competitiveness Promoting References Technology,ProductivityandLinkages."Vienna. Varghese, N.V. (2001). Economic crisis and higher education in East Asia.Paris:UNESCO/IIEP(mimeo). World Bank. (2000). Higher education in developing countries: Peril and Promise.TheWorldBank:Washington,D.C. (2002a). Education and HIV/AIDS: A Window of Hope. TheWorldBank:Washington,D.C. Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 11 THE WORLD BANK GROUP (2005). Thailand Northeast Economic Development Report.WorldBank:Bangkok. ( 2 0 0 2 b ) . Constructing K nowledge S ocieties: New Challenges for Higher Education.TheWorldBank:Washington,D.C. (2006a). Thailand Social Monitor: Improving Secondary Education.TheWorldBank:Washington,D.C. (2006b).ThailandInvestment Climate, Firm Competitiveness and Growth.TheWorldBank:Washington,D.C. (2006c). Thailand's secondary education system at a crossroads: Despite impressive increases in access to school, challengesremain.TheWorldBank:Washington,D.C. (2006d).Thailandinvestmentclimate,firmcompetitiveness andgrowth.TheWorldBank:Washington,D.C. (2007). Towards a Knowledge Economy in Thailand. TheWorldBank:Washington,D.C. WorldBank.2009."FosteringInnovationthroughEducationandTraining." 11 Yiengprugsawan,V.,Lim,L.,Carmichael,G.,Seubsman,S.&Sleigh,A.(2009). "Tracking and Decomposing Health and Disease Inequality in Thailand." Annals of Epidemiology, In Press, available online 26June2009. Yusuf,S.&Nabeshima,K(Eds.).How Universities Promote Economic Growth. TheWorldBank:Washington,D.C. References Towards a Competitive Higher Education System in a Global Economy 11 NgandeeCreationCo.,Ltd. Tel.02.932.4155