Thailand's higher education system has come a long way since the days when guest lecturers were the norm and textbooks were scarce, according to House Speaker Chuan Leekpai, who is also a Thammasat University alumnus.
Speaking at the "Thammasat SDGs agenda 2030: Transforming World for Sustainable Development" forum held on Saturday at Thammasat University Rangsit Campus, Mr Chuan encouraged young people to gain some life experience in addition to learning from textbooks.
The forum was held to mark the 36th anniversary of the Thammasat University Rangsit Campus. Famous university alumni from different sectors in Thai society were invited to share their experiences with Thammasat's current students.
Chuan: Urges youthto gain life lessons
Mr Chuan shared his experience as a student at Thammasat University, highlighting the challenges that were faced by the education system in the past.
"There was no such thing as a full-time lecturer when I was studying at the Faculty of Law; most of our lecturers were civil servants who were invited to teach as guest lecturers," he said.
Mr Chuan said these guest lecturers brought a wealth of working experience and knowledge to their teaching. However, the lack of full-time lecturers resulted in a scarcity of textbooks.
Due to this problem, some students made a living by taking notes and selling them to other students, he said, adding: "I also took notes for my friends."
He said participation by the student sector also contributed to the university's development and change.
"In my era, if a student failed a subject in the first year, they were dismissed," he said. "This destroyed many people's futures."