Educating Ah Wei

Educating Ah Wei

Are Thai universities ready to compete with regional rivals for foreign students the AEC will attract?

Thailand will remain a destination of choice for Asean students but must steadily raise the quality of its universities and find its niche amid tougher competition driven by the Asean Economic Community (AEC) late next year.

New students enjoying a welcome party at Chulalongkorn University. Thailand's reputable universities and open culture are an attraction to foreign students. Patipat Janthong

Although Singapore has been the leading education destination of all time due to its top university rankings and globally competitive economy, and Malaysia has welcomed a large number of foreign students, Thailand has also been considered a key education destination in Asean. This is because the country has many highly regarded state and private universities and an open culture with many fun-factors for foreign students.

The onset of the AEC is expected to attract a higher number of international students from Asean countries. But at the same time it will also mean stiffer competition among Asean universities. The question is: are Thai universities really ready for competition? 

Opportunities

According to academics, Thailand is among the top three education destinations in Asean after Singapore and Malaysia. The upcoming AEC is expected to boost the number of international students at both undergraduate and graduate levels by around 30-50% in the next few years.

“The number of international students is likely to jump by 30% within five years. However, Thai universities need to continue enhancing their quality in  English programmes, teaching staff and learning facilities,” said Piniti Ratananukul, deputy secretary-general of the Office of the Higher Education Commission.

The number of international students in Thailand in 2012 stood at 17,000, down from 20,155 in 2011 and 20,309 in 2010. There are 173 universities in Thailand.

Aat Pisanwanich, dean of the economics faculty at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC), shared similar opinion, saying Thai universities are likely to welcome 20% more overseas students particularly from China, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Currently the lion’s share of international students hail from China.

Mr Aat said the economies of countries like Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos have expanded at a fast pace and are in need of qualified human resources and skilled labour to fill their high-demand workforce. But the emergence and development of their universities are slower than their economic growth.

“It takes time to develop these things. So their students have to look for higher education somewhere else and Thailand is one of the key hubs in Asean,” Mr Aat explained.

Jeffrey Wollentin, director of International Affairs at Rangsit University, was more optimistic, saying the figures could jump by 50% by 2016. “Thailand has many top ranking universities, most of which are large and comprehensive institutions. We also have a significant diversity of programmes and options for domestic and international students,” he said.

Strengths and weaknesses

It’s undeniable that Thailand has strengths and attractiveness in infrastructure, transportation, living conditions and culture. On top of that, tuition fees and living costs are lower than many countries especially Singapore.

“Additionally Thailand’s economy and work opportunities continue to grow. Also most international students report to love the land, people and culture as Thais are so hospitable,” Mr Wollentin added.

Mr Piniti said there are many new universities opening, both small and medium size, but some are not yet ready for competition and in need of quality improvement. 

“About 30% of new universities are not ready to compete [in the AEC], and that will probably take over 10 years to develop.”

English proficiency is an important area to improve. Mr Piniti said many new, small universities still lack teaching staff with qualified English competency and so cannot offer international courses.

“And we need more international courses if we’d like to successfully compete in international markets,” he said.

Mr Aat agreed, stressing that Thai universities need to offer more English programmes particularly in specialised fields including engineering, architecture, medicine, dentistry and more.

Besides Mr Piniti said several universities need to improve their learning facilities and environment up to international standard. These include campus libraries, student dormitories, spacious sport fields, information technology and the like in order to encourage good learning environment and experiences.

Brother Bancha Saenghiran, rector of Assumption University (Abac), said quality will be the key factor amid stronger competition in the market. He said it’s necessary to adjust curricula to fit the international arena.

Cooperation and competition

Mr Wollentin said Thai universities have pushed for all kinds of Asean collaboration including the base for Asean university programmes such as the Asean University Network by Chulalongkorn University and Passage to Asean by Rangsit University.

On top of that most key Thai universities have stepped across borders to work together with universities in neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.

UTCC recently launched a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) programme in Yangon and Mandalay, while Abac has joined with a local university in Vietnam to open a tourism degree.

According to Brother Bancha, Thailand has been marked for several professions including medicine, nursing, tourism, engineering and architecture.

Meanwhile the AEC is also expected to lead to tougher competition in the country. Mr Aat believes there will be an increasing number of foreign universities particularly from Singapore and Malaysia coming into the country through a joint venture or collaboration with local universities. “It’s possible that such competition might cause a price war in the market.”

Nevertheless, the academic said Thailand’s regulations obstruct the free flow of foreign institutions into the country. Given the restrictions it’s not easy for foreign universities to set up full-time programmes here.

“Thai laws are set up to avoid foreign universities from ‘taking a slice of the pie’ but it will continue to be a factor for competition between Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore,” Mr Wollentin said.

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