The education system in Thailand is based upon a 6-3-3 model. Thailand’s constitution guarantees its citizens twelve years of free education, with a minimum of nine years of school attendance being mandatory. Education is provided by both government and private schools through a functioning system of kindergartens, primary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools, numerous vocational colleges, and universities. The private sector is well developed and aids significantly in the provision of education in Thailand.
As a result of the Asian Economic Crisis, Thailand instituted major educational reforms in order to improve education and human resource development. Reforms included decentralization of education management and funding, as well as the creation of the Ministry of Education and other sub-organizations for oversight of education provision. These changes were significant in allowing Thai youth access to free education and quality education in rural areas.
While the reforms made improvements, in recent years there has been much concern by the government over below average IQ scores of Thai youth when compared internationally. Further, with the exception of the well-educated wealthy class, the level of English speaking remains quite low.
Non-formal education was introduced to the population with the concept of ‘life-long education’ in 1978. This informal education offers programs including basic education, literacy, primary and secondary equivalency, vocational education, handicraft training, reading and science programs, religious and tribal programs, language studies, health education, politics and environmental studies.
a) School education
Pre-Primary Level
Public preschools are under the control of the Ministry of Education or Interior and serve children aged three to five. Private preschools serving the same age group are under the supervision of the Private Education Commission.
There are three basic types of pre-primary education: Child development centres; Preschool classes offered by private schools and public schools; and formal kindergarten education offered by private and public schools.
Primary Level
Public primary schools service children between ages 6 to 11 and are overseen by the Ministries of Education, Interior and Local Municipalities. The Private Education Commission governs the private primary schools.
Primary schools have a six year curriculum. Each school year is broken down into 40 weeks of instruction at 24 hours per week equalling a total of 1,000 hours of instruction per year. Rather than specific individual courses, the curriculum focuses on five key competency areas. These areas are: Basic skills group (Thai language and mathematics); Life experiences; Character development; Work-oriented experiences; and Special experiences (grades 5 and 6 only).
Approximately 88% of students study at the primary level in public schools. While primary education is compulsory, there are children in remote rural areas and urban slums who are unable to attend primary school.
Secondary Level
Secondary school provides education for children aged 12 to 17 and is split into three years of lower secondary (compulsory) and three years of upper secondary (not compulsory) schooling. The Ministry of Education along with local municipalities administer the public secondary schools. The Private Education Commission governs private secondary schools.
Students at the secondary level study for 1,400 hours per year. Students aged 14-17 that seek admission to selective secondary schools or universities attend private tutoring schools.
The Office of the National Primary Education Commission (ONPEC) has established lower secondary programs in remote rural areas in order to expand educational opportunities for those in the lower socio-economic classes. Similarly, scholarships for secondary education are available for girls in rural areas, as this group is considered vulnerable to exploitation by the commercial sex industry.
The upper secondary curriculum has been divided into two basic tracks: general academic and vocational with approximately 57% of students taking the academic track and 43% the vocational.
The curriculum of both lower and upper secondary includes four basic elements: Core subjects such as Thai, mathematics, science, and English which must be taken by all students; Prescribed elective subjects, which differ according to local conditions and needs (the special needs of schools in Islamic areas of the south); Free elective subjects depending on the interests of learners; and Activities.
Non-Government Schools
Thailand has a well-developed, government-supervised, private sector to assist in providing education to its citizens. Private schools generally are known for providing a higher level of education than government schools. Students attending these schools usually achieve a high level of education and are more likely to continue on to renowned International universities.
Catholic diocesan, religious orders and other charitable organisations operate over 300 large primary and secondary schools throughout the country. These schools are run either as for profit or fee-paying not-for-profit entities.
Approximately 75 international schools offer a range of curricula from American, British and International systems. These schools are overseen by the International Schools Association of Thailand.
b) Vocational education and training (VET)
Thailand has over 400 governmental vocational colleges offering training in agriculture, animal husbandry, nursing, administration, hospitality and tourism. Campuses may offer dormitory accommodation or are conveniently located within daily commuting distance.
In 1995, the Department of Vocational Education introduced Dual Vocational Training (DVT) programmes involving on the job training in selected organizations in the private sector. Training is conducted over three years with more than half the time devoted to learning within a workplace setting.
Two levels of DVT are offered: the three-year certificate level for skilled workers where students and trainees are admitted at the age of 15 after completing Matthayom 3 (Grade 9); and the two-year diploma thas 9 universitieshas 9 universitiesechnician level for students who have graduated with the Certificate of Vocational Education after 12 years of formal education.
c) Higher Education
Pre-Tertiary and Tertiary Education
For those graduating from secondary school or having met secondary school requirements through non formal education, Thailand’s higher education system has a wealth of opportunities. There are approximately 166 different public and private institutions offering some form of higher education. Most students aspire to study at one of the highly selective prestigious public universities. Admission to these is based on the results of a standardized national university entrance examination, in use since 1962, administered by the Ministry of University Affairs. This system favours those of higher socioeconomic background from the best secondary schools in Bangkok or other urban areas. Regional universities have developed quota systems to ensure a specific number of entrants from their own regions in order to address this inequality.
Bachelor’s degree courses are programmes of four years full-time attendance and Master’s degree courses are for either one or two years.
Thailand has 31 public universities, approximately half are partially government funded, and the rest are autonomous universities. There are 40 Rajabhat Universities, which were previously the teacher’s college system before being elevated to University Status. The Rajamangala University of Technology system has nine universities and was formerly a polytechnic institute system. There are 12 public institutes and colleges providing education in aviation, nursing, military, policing and medicine.
The private higher education sector comprises 39 universities, 10 institutes, and 22 colleges.
An Intergovernmental Institute, Asian Institute of Technology, is located near Bangkok and services the Asia-Pacific Region.
There are two joint schools; Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE) and Thailand Graduate Institute of Science and Technology.
Overview of Distance Education
The development of distance learning in Thailand dates back to the 1970s. The first university in Thailand to provide formal instruction by distance was Ramkamhaeng University (RU), founded in 1971. The Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU), established in 1978, was the first single-mode distance education institution. In the early 1980s the Thai Department of Non-Formal Education began offering distance learning programs at the primary and secondary school level for out-of-school youth. From these early beginnings, distance learning has grown to play a significant role in the Thai education system.
Secondary Education
The Distance Learning Television Station provides a broad range of educational programs aimed at school children. The station broadcasts on a separate channel for each of the twelve grades in Thai primary (Grade 1-6) and secondary (Grade 7-12) schools. Programs are broadcast 24 hours a day and reached 7,500 schools across Thailand in 2004. The Distance Learning Television Station is part of the Royal Thai Distance Learning Foundation (DLF).
A similar number of Thai schools are also served by the SchoolNet project (see below).
Vocational Education and Training
The Distance Learning Television Station broadcasts programs aimed at distance learners in the TVET sector.
There is also growing use of Web-based blended learning approaches by TVET institutions in Thailand.
Higher Education
A number of Thai universities offer distance learning programs. The main providers in the area are the two open universities: Ramkhamhaeng University and the Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University. RU offers both on-campus and distance learning programs, while the STOU remains a single mode DE institution.
Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University has 12 schools: Agricultural Extension and Cooperatives, Communication Arts, Economics, Educational Studies, Health, Human Ecology, Law, Liberal Arts, Management Science, Nursing, Political Science, and Science and Technology. Each school offers both certificate level non-degree programs and programs at bachelors, masters and doctoral level. The main mode of delivery is through printed course materials, which are supplemented by television and radio broadcasts, audio tapes, multimedia CDs and Web-based e-learning. The STOU has study centres in every Thai province, where distance students can attend face-to-face study sessions. Tutorials are also available using Web-cast and satellite based video-conferencing.
Ramkhamhaeng University offers 145 programs from foundation to doctoral level. There are ten faculties: Business Administration, Economics, Education, Engineering, Health Science, Humanities, Law, Mass Communication Technology, Political Science, and Science. RU also has a separate Graduate School. RU makes use of a range of instructional approaches, including print-based teaching material, two-way satellite-based video-conferencing, radio and TV programs and e-learning. In addition to its two Bangkok campuses, RU has 22 regional campuses. The institution also provides short-courses and bachelor and masters level special programs across Thailand. The annual enrolment at RU is about 430,000, consisting of nearly 400,000 undergraduate and 35,000 graduate students.
As the telecommunications infrastructure in Thailand develops, there is increasing interest in the use of e-learning. Although printed-based materials remain the primary medium of distance education delivery at the two open universities, a number of smaller institutions have begun to offer online courses. An example of this trend is the College of Internet Distance Education (CIDE). Founded in 2002, the CIDE is part of the Assumption University of Thailand. The CIDE offers three fully online courses: an MSc in Management, an MSc in Information and Communication Technology and a PhD in eLearning Methodology.
Administration and Finance
The Ministry of Education (MoE) has overall responsibility for the regulation of Thai education. The MoE shares responsibilities for the regulation of the TVET sector with the Ministry of Labour (MoL), which oversees the National Skill Standards and Testing System and the evaluation of workplace learning. The Office of the Private Education Commission, (OPEC) which is part of the MoE, has administrative responsibilities in relation to private institutions of higher education, as well as the oversight of private schools.
Public higher education in Thailand falls under the Office of the Higher Education Commission (OHEC), which is part of the Ministry of Education (MoE). The OHEC is directly responsible for the administration of all public higher education institutions, as well as overseeing the performance of private institutions. Part of OHEC’s role is to assist all higher education institutions to perform their internal quality assurance activities. Institutions are required to submit annual quality assessment reports to their governing bodies and other stakeholders. Such reports are also made available to the general public.
Higher Education Reforms
The Thai Government has begun to move cautiously towards greater institutional autonomy over the last two decades. As a result, a small number of public universities have been granted effective independence from the central government. The first was Suranaree University of Technology in 1990. Those universities with autonomous status continue to receive block grant funding from the MoE, but have greater scope for institutional decision making in terms of academic policies, personnel management and resource allocation. However, the Thai university system as a whole remains tightly regulated. Regulations issued by OHEC and OPEC severely constrain decision making at both public and private universities. In addition, employees at almost all public universities are currently classed as civil servants. This situation limits the power of institutional decision-makers to hire and fire staff in response to changing institutional priorities.
The current round of reforms in the Thai higher education system is based on the Second 15-Year Plan. The Plan aims to provide students with extended access to higher education, promote excellence in service delivery, foster more efficient allocation of resources and empower institutions to pursue their own institutionally-appropriate missions. As part of the Plan, Thai higher education institutions have been categorized into four groups, each with distinct missions and goals. These groups are (i) community colleges, (ii) liberal arts universities, (iii) specialized/comprehensive universities, and (iv) research/graduate universities. Financial support will be allocated on the basis of the funding formula relevant to each institutional tier.
Future Direction of Tertiary Education
There seems little doubt that the Thai education sector will continue to expand over the next two decades. Rapid growth is likely to continue as a result of projected increase in demand from within Thailand. High school graduates are expected to increase in numbers from 0.7 million in 2000 to 1.8 million in 2016, an increase of 150% in 15 years. The Thai government also continues to support the internationalisation of education delivery through trade liberalisation.
Information and Communications Technology Initiatives
a) Information society strategy
The development of the Thai telecommunications industry has been constrained by competing interests and creeping pace of deregulation. Successive Thai governments have been criticised for a stop-start approach to sector reform. Although there has been rapid growth in mobile phone sector, the country’s telecommunications infrastructure is otherwise unimpressive. A major constraint has been decades of underinvestment by the state-owned Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT). Fixed line penetration is extremely low at just 10.4% of the population. Another constraint is that the telecommunications infrastructure over most of the country is essentially based on copper wire. As a result, only 4% of the Thai population have broadband access. Even dial-up Internet access is significantly below world standards, at only 10.2% of the population. The immediate prospects for a significant growth in online learning outside urban areas would therefore appear to be poor.
b) Major e-learning initiatives
One of the longest running e-learning initiatives in Thailand is SchoolNet Thailand@1509 (the name refers to the four-digit code for Internet access in Thailand). SchoolNet began in 1996 as a demonstration project in which 50 secondary schools in different parts of the country were provided with dial-up connection to the Internet. By 2008, SchoolNet hosted ADSL links for 4947 schools.
SchoolNet includes a range of features: games, competitions, forums, an online library and hundreds of online courses on subjects from art to physical education. Although vibrant and successful, SchoolNet is still a work in progress. Growth slowed after 2003, when SchoolNet was turned over to the Ministry of Education and merged with the new EdNet project. Five out of six schools in Thailand still lack a SchoolNet connection. The main problem is the lack of funds and the parlous state of telecommunications infrastructure in rural Thailand. It was not until 2006 that all primary schools in Thailand had access to a basic phone line. As a result, it will probably be many years before the SchoolNet project reaches its conclusion.
c) Benchmarking e-learning
None identified.
d) Support for OER
The Thailand Cyber University (TCU) seeks to encourage the sharing of educational resources within the Thai university sector. At present the Thailand Cyber University Open Courseware site contains two courses available in OCW format: Accessible Courseware Development and e-Learning Thai Language.
e) Government entities
Ministry of Education (MoE)
Ministry of Labour (MoL)
Office of the Higher Education Commission (OHEC)
Office of the National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (ONESQA)
Office of the Vocational Education Commission (OVEC)
f) Associations and networks
Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning (ASAIHL)
Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU)
Pan Asia Distance Resources Access Network (PANdora)
g) Distance education journals
ASEAN Journal of Open and Distance Learning
IJQAA International Journal of Quality Assurance and Accreditation
Interesting Distance Education Initiatives
The Thailand Cyber University (TCU) is an initiative of the Office of the Higher Education Commission within the MoE. The project aims include encouraging greater cooperation in among universities within the Thai higher education system and internationally, providing online distance education programs across Thailand, and undertaking research and development into quality guidelines and quality assurance systems. The TCU aims to create shareable courseware, as well as develop a national infrastructure for the delivery of blended and distance learning. Thailand Cyber University has successfully delivered a range of certificate level online courses in subjects related to the development of online courseware. These include courses in animation, computer and Internet literacy, computer game design, movie editing and the creation of online resources. The TCU has also created the first Thai OCW site. Although in its early stages, the TCU is intended to be a key element in the transformation of the Thai higher education sector in the next decade.
The Royal Thai Distance Learning Foundation (DLF) is a major provider of distance education in Thailand. The DLF provides programs aimed at school children, adult learners, university students and members of the general public. Course material provided by the DLF is available through satellite-based TV, cable TV and satellite-based Internet. DLF satellite-based programming is not only available in Thailand but also in neighbouring countries such as China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Major uses of the DLF’s services within the Thai higher education sector include the Rajamangala Institute of Technology (RIT) and Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (SOU), both of which produce programs for their students and members of the general public.