Thai universities have developed considerably over recent years with more changes in launching courses, conducting more research and providing hands-on experience to respond to the demands of students and keep up with the future of education in a post-Covid-19 world.
Anek Laothamatas, the recently-appointed Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, told the Bangkok Post about his vision to integrate higher education, science, research and innovation to make the most out of the 150-billion-baht budget allocated to the ministry each year.
Out of more than 200,000 personnel in the state-funded education sector overseen by the ministry, almost 30,000 are PhD graduates working as university lecturers, scientists and researchers. The minister is looking to transform this treasure trove of knowledge and expertise into powering Thailand's education development and production of professionals for the new era.
The right man for the right job
Excellence in teaching and research means nothing if it cannot be turned into people who have the practical ability to work at higher levels as they progress in their career, the minister said.
Ideally, their work must also support the economy in the future. This is why it is necessary for higher education to produce the right person for the right job with the use of the right scientific research and innovation.
The academic-turned-politician stressed that higher education teachers should conduct research and design their teaching in alignment with research and innovation.
Researchers and innovators should create new knowledge for teachers to pass on to students. Research and innovation must be turned into intellectual power to take society to another level. This is one of the goals of higher education under Dr Anek, who graduated from Columbia University.
Success in the higher education sector can be measured by its practicality. The minister asserted that, for it to succeed, higher education must prove to be beneficial to the country's development. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, he said, had argued that human resources development must start at the provincial level.
Under one policy championed by the prime minister, each province must form its own committee chaired by the provincial governor with participation from local businesses, folk philosophers and universities. The PM has assigned ministers to oversee the committees but they cannot interfere with the committees' work.
The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation was asked by the premier to oversee the development of Lampang and Loei provinces. Mr Anek said the ministry welcomes people's ideas on how to develop their provinces by exploiting their potential to the fullest.
"We need research and innovation to develop Thailand. If we continue to do the same things, other countries with lower income than us would close in on us. We used to have a very good textile and garment industry but we did not have sufficient research and innovation to support it.
"The industry went down because we only focused on cheap labour instead of developing workers to be of higher quality. Higher quality means higher pay for workers and higher product prices. That is why we need to produce more advanced products with the use of scientific knowledge,'' he said.
Competing in a global world
The minister said we were once unaware we had made much progress in science and research. Even now that Thailand's scientific competence ranks second in Asean after Singapore, he said we should not be content with that. He suggested Thailand should continue striving to do better.
"Singapore's scientific competence is not only number one on Asean, but it is at the same level as advanced economies in Asia such as China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Thailand must develop its science, research and innovation to reach a similar level. These countries could compete with other world leaders,'' he said.
On concerns that graduates will not be able to find jobs, the minister said rectors as well as the president of the Office of the Higher Education Commission were aware the higher education system must move from supply push to demand pull, which means "we must use our country's needs, problems and opportunities to set the direction of our education in the future".
"We should not teach only what we have been taught, but conduct research on it, and have a good knowledge of it. We must teach subjects which can solve our country's problems and truly give us what we need. We must transform our education and lead it to a new era. We must build strong foundations for society with the right education," Mr Anek said.
Promoting hands-on experience
Children should be taught to think, create and innovate, he said, when referring to the curricula taught at schools. They should be taught to put their digital skills to use and re-engage with their learning.
For instance, they should study social science by going to see society in action and engaging with it, not just learning from a textbook. The minister also remarked that the goal is to solve problems, not to criticise.
Mr Anek said that solving problems and searching for new opportunities requires a multidisciplinary curricula and issue-based learning instead of discipline-based knowledge. Problems should be solved by groups of people with the use of digital and online tools.
"If our solutions to problems are issue- and area-based, learning will head in a new direction. If knowledge cannot help students in a practical way, they will not study at our universities because they will no longer want a degree.
"University degrees diminish in value day by day. Everyone has a degree. Students also no longer look up to universities. They will instead search for knowledge and skills they can put to use in real life. Universities can adjust by offering short courses and using innovation. Any university that fails to adjust will wither away," said the minister.
Mr Anek said universities' success in adjusting their education will be an indicator that shows the extent that graduates will succeed in their careers. He suggested teaching in universities should be more geared towards startup businesses and should teach students to be entrepreneurs. Only universities that can develop a variety of curricula and think ahead will survive.
"Thai startups are actually great, but still, we have to make students aware that there are also a lot of unsuccessful, failed startups. They need to understand that failure is part of the process that they must accept."