The three Thai universities judged by a worldwide poll of educators this week as being among the top 100 in Asia would have had more to celebrate if their rankings had not taken a tumble. As it was, Mahidol dropped to 42nd from 38th last year, Chulalongkorn slid to 48th from 43rd and Chiang Mai fell back to 98th from 91st in the 2013 QS university rankings for Asia. Thammasat failed to make the top 100.
These disappointing results came as little surprise to educators who have long expressed concern over slipping standards, exam cheating and "tea money" scandals, a general lack of proficiency in English and poor career guidance. They are all factors likely to threaten the nation's competitiveness when Asean workforces are partially integrated in late 2015.
Nor are the implications lost on the Ministry of Education, which is placing its hopes on a national curriculum overhaul, 80% of which has been completed. It is due to be phased in next year. Under the reforms, appropriate content would be selected for different age groups and stages of development rather than the traditional "one size fits all". Efforts would be made to tackle the outdated system of rote learning which stifles initiative and discourages critical, innovative thinking.
Adapted from the model practised in Finland, students would be encouraged to ask questions and do more research outside the classroom. They would then use that to supplement what they learn from their teachers. The gradual shift from learning by rote to research-based study is going to involve a lot of teacher retraining and is likely to meet resistance from conservative elements in the teaching establishment. Radical changes in tuition methods have been introduced and then quietly sidelined before. The ministry will need to keep a close watch to prevent this happening again.
Other stormclouds are brewing. Education Minister Pongthep Thepkanchana expressed alarm this week at the shortage of vocational college students. He cited the overwhelming demand for qualified and proficient technical staff and estimated the shortfall at 50%. Also in demand are experienced vocational teachers. This is a problem that should have been foreseen years ago.
We live in a complex world in which new technologies are emerging and being developed at a pace that outstrips the ability of many of our technical college teachers to absorb and then instruct their students. As a result, some vocational school students are being taught skills that are of little use in today's fast-moving world. One complaint made last year was that vocational school teachers were still teaching the maintenance and repair of televisions using cathode ray tubes at a time when most TV sets were flatscreen and digital.
Rapid advances are being made in the fields of automotive engineering, telecoms, graphic design and computer maintenance for which a huge demand exists in the job market, but only for those who have been well trained. Unfortunately that excludes a sizeable number of today's university graduates whose skills and areas of specialisation fail to match the needs of the market. As a result, tens of thousands of students usually remain unemployed. But those receiving diplomas certifying completion of occupational training courses tend to do much better because they have manual skills that are well-paid and much in demand.
Students need dedicated, knowledgeable teachers who can provide proper career guidance and information on market trends. Why are they not getting them?