FINANCE, FACULTY, FACILITATION, FELLOW STUDENTS

1. • OVERVIEW OF EDUCATION SYSTEM IN THAILAND
• HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM
• 4F’S ON THAILAND’S EDUCATION SYSTEM

2. OVERVIEW OF EDUCATION IN
THAILAND
• Education in Thailand is provided mainly by the Thai
government through the Ministry of Education from
pre-school to senior high school.
• A Free basic education of twelve years is guaranteed
by the constitution, and a minimum of nine years'
school attendance is mandatory.
• Formal education consists of at least twelve years of
basic education, and higher education.
• Basic education is divided into six years of
elementary education and six years of secondary
education, the latter being further divided into three
years of lower- and upper-secondary levels.
• Administration and control of public and private
universities are carried out by the Office of Higher
Education Commission, a department of the Ministry
of Education.

3. The school structure is divided into four
key stages:
•The first three years in elementary school,
Prathom 1–3, is for age groups 7–9
•The second level, Prathom 4 through 6 is for
age groups 10–12
•The third level, Matthayom 1–3, is for age
groups 13–15
•The upper secondary level of schooling
consists of Matthayom 4–6 for age groups 16–
18 and is divided into academic and vocational
streams.
•The last level is from age 18-22 for higher
education

4. Overview of Higher Education in Thailand
Higher education in Thailand, like in any other country, is primarily aimed at
students in the 18-22 age group.
 The government has been able to reach out to almost 40 percent of this age
group with the country’s higher educational facilities.
The Office of the Higher Education Commission (OHEC) of Thailand is responsible
for redesigning the courses of its universities and higher educational institutions.
 Government place a high value on higher education as the students have to go
through intense competition and tests to enter the best schools and colleges.
The National language is THAI, but the Government emphasis on English
Education.
Thailand’s Government has rightly realized that scientific education is vital to the
country’s future success and technological advancement, it is also trying very
hard to improve the technical education scenario.
Engineering and science education is currently receiving immense importance in
the local universities.

5. 1st F- FINANCE
• In comparison with the educational expenditures of other countries, (especially developing
countries): China 13%, Indonesia 8.1%, Malaysia 20%, Mexico, 24.3%, Philippines 17%, United
Kingdom and France 11%, the Thai GDP and national budget allocate considerable funds to
education. By 2006 it represented 27% of the national budget.
• Although education is mainly financed by the national budget, local funds, particularly in urban
areas, are being released to support education.
• In the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority, up to 28.1% of the education budget has been provided
by local financing.
• Loans and technical assistance for education are also received from Asian Development Bank,
the World Bank, and the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) (Japan).
• In December 2008 Education Minister announced the intention to provide Thai children with free
textbooks and learning materials throughout their 15 years of government-sponsored free
education and implemented this policy in May of the 2009 academic year.
• In 2011, the new elected government proposed providing tablet computers to elementary school
students.

6. 2nd F- FACULTY
• Several thousand native-English speakers are employed in public and private schools throughout the country to teach
English in licensed schools, public or private, the minimum academic qualification for native speakers is a bachelor's
degree in any subject.
• This is being encouraged by the need to develop students oral expression and knowledge of foreign culture; much of their
time, however, is taken up with remedial teaching: putting right any grammar, orthography, pronunciation and cultural
background that has been wrongly taught and which leads to great misunderstanding.
• There is also a no fail policy in Thailand and often in most schools a multiple choice marking. This can be for many reasons,
such as there are just too many students in the classroom, and so teachers feel no choice but to employ multiple choice
marking.
• Filipino teachers have taken up many jobs but they are seen as less qualified since the parents prefer white Europeans or
Americans.
• Games are also considered an essential part in the classroom even when they do not understand anything else.
• There is no Teacher's Union in Thailand, foreign teachers have few rights, and can often be fired overnight which means
that often foreign teachers feel they are abused.
• Ministry of Education or Ministry of Labor and often schools flout rules when it comes to assisting, paying and helping
with work permits in Thailand.
• Educational system in Thailand with respect to the international measurements standards, reflects their weakness in
delivering quality learning curriculum.
• The lack in quality of educational curriculum has somehow failed to equip students with some crucial skills to cope with
demanding human resources in job markets.

7. 3rd F- FELLOW STUDENTS
• Thailand is emerging as one of the most popular educational destinations in Southeast Asia for
students from multiple countries as a large number of foreign students come to the country every
year to study.
• While many more young people are going to college now than in the past, half of those who attain a
college education are from the highest income level. Less than 5 percent of the lowest income level
is enrolled in college, suggesting inequity in access to education.
• In a recent World Bank survey on productivity and investment climate, 80 percent of Thai firms ranked
the lack of candidates with basic and technical skills as the reason for not being able to fill job
vacancies.
• Unemployment rates are higher among people who have obtained college degrees, and science
graduates report the highest unemployment rate. These two indicators suggested a mismatch
between academic training and the skills demanded by industries.
• Thailand faces an oversupply of social science graduates and a shortage of graduates in the fields of
science, technology, and health science – all of which are the critical fields contributing to the nation’s
transition toward a knowledge economy.
• Although there is a strong need for more research and development in Thailand, only about a quarter
of faculty at the nation’s public universities hold doctorate degrees, suggesting that most higher
education institutions in Thailand focus on teaching rather than research.

8. 4th F- FACILITATION
• Higher education supplies the people that facilitate government,
academia, business, industry, and the various occupations including
the means to entrepreneurship.
• Ministry of University Affairs and the Ministry of Education have been
actively involved in teacher training.
• Administration and control of public and private universities are
carried out by the Office of Higher Education Commission(OHEC), a
department of the Ministry of Education.

9. References
• http://inter.mua.go.th/history-of-thai-higher-education/
• http://iasas.global/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Thailand_16.pdf
• https://www.myprivatetutor-thailand.com/blog/higher-education-in-
thailand-an-overview
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Thailand#Tertiary_and_hi
gher_education