Adapt or fail, varsities warned

By CHULARAT SAENGPASSA 
THE NATION 

 

 

UNIVERSITIES TOLD TO BRACE FOR TECH DISRUPTION AND FOCUS ON CORE INDUSTRIES

 

DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES are going to bring down Thai universities’ rankings – no matter how well regarded they are now – unless they adjust quickly and efficiently, Deputy Education Minister Udom Kachintorn has warned. 

 

“For one thing, Thailand’s birth rate has fallen drastically,” Udom said at the 14th NU Research Conference, “For another, technologies have evolved to a point that people can learn anytime, anywhere”. 

 

Held by the Naresuan University, the event took place late last week and examined the theme “University in Disruptive Era”. 

 

“Disruption has been moving fast. If universities do not adjust, they should not expect the government to help them out,” Udom said. 

 

He pointed out that there was a high possibility that some universities would be closed and some would be merged. 

 

 

Udom said the trend had already begun in many countries. He said in France’s Bordeaux region, the number of local universities had already dropped from four to just one. 

 

In his opinion, Thai universities will see clear impacts of disruption within the next five years. 

 

He said the number of students at open universities had fallen by 50 per cent, while the number at top private universities had plunged 70 per cent. 

 

 

“Two decades ago, about one million children were born in Thailand each year. But now just about 600,000 are born annually,” Udom said. 

 

He said, given that just a little over half of children born today would enrol in university for a bachelor’s degree, universities must realise they need to implement big changes. 

 

He said universities must focus on upgrading the skills of 35 million working people in the country instead of competing to attract secondary-school graduates, whose numbers have similarly been in decline in recent decades. 

 

“Let’s also focus on the elderly. Thailand’s elderly population is growing. Let’s equip them with skills that can help them continue earning a living,” he said. 

 

Udom said the government would be willing to offer a Bt10,000 subsidy per participant for six-month courses that promised to prepare the workforce for current and future needs. 

 

 

Udom lamented that the country’s higher-education sector had not supported the country well in regard to human development and competitiveness. 

 

Fading competitiveness

 

He revealed that, when looking into details, the sector scored just 6.9 out of 100 points in terms of “attractiveness” in the infrastructure-efficiency field, according to the latest World Competitiveness Ranking. 

 

Compiled by IMD, the ranking put Thailand in 30th place – a slip from 27th last year. 

 

Neighbouring Malaysia had meanwhile risen to 12th from 22nd a year earlier. 

 

Thailand is also currently ranked 45th in Global Talent Index, trailing Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. 

 

“Thailand scored 28.3 out of 100 points in the talent-formation index,” Udom said. 

 

He said several foreign investors were interested in investing in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor, which now offers tempting privileges to investors, but they’re worried about the size and skills of the workforce. 

 

“Foreign investors say they don’t want ‘pain graduates’,” Udom said. “This shows that Thai universities must adjust. 

 

“Otherwise their graduates will become second-class workers in the future.” 

 

Udom also urged universities to consider curbing the number of social-science students. 

 

“Social-science students should account for no more than half the total student population,” he said. 

 

He pointed out that, because social-science students accounted for 70 per cent of total student numbers today, many graduates in the field remained unemployed.

 

“Besides, we need science graduates to drive the country forward,” he said. 

 

The government has already identified 10 industries as key drivers for the country’s growth. 

 

They are: Next – Generation Automotive; Smart Electronics; Affluent, Medical and Wellness Tourism; Agriculture and Biotechnology; Food for the Future; Robotics; Aviation and Logistics; Biofuels and Biochemicals; Digital; and Medical Hub. 

 

Udom said chief executives of various corporations had told him that current graduates did not truly respond to their needs. 

 

“They say they have had to train new staff between six months and one year before they can actually work fine,” he said. 

 

Udom expected new university programmes to ensure their students spend half the course time in actual workplaces. 

 

“It’s about learning by doing” he said. 

 

He even suggested that universities consider two-year courses for a bachelor’s degrees. 

 

“Some Australian and Singaporean universities have already done this,” he said. 

 

Udom said the Office of Higher Education Commission (Ohec) had adjusted a lot and would allow such programmes. 

 

“Now we’re waiting for the universities to make the move,” he said. 

 

He also recommended the provision of online courses, the use of innovative learning materials and greater focus on soft skills. 

 

Thammasat University has come up with a plan to use new curricula that will require students to learn at participating companies for one full semester, allow them to independently enrol in courses they’re interested in, and increase online learning. The goal of the new curricula is to ensure graduates can work efficiently in the 10 industries that Thailand plans to promote.

 

At Chulalongkorn University, the Faculty of Arts is letting outsiders enrol in courses it offers as it tries to adjust to changing circumstances. 

 

Several other educational institutes are reportedly also making moves to deal with disruption. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30357858

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-11-05

Where does one begin?

 

"...DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES are going to bring down Thai universities’ rankings – no matter how well regarded they are now – unless they adjust quickly and efficiently, Deputy Education Minister Udom Kachintorn has warned..." 

 

"No matter how well regarded they are now?"

 

Thai universities are NOT well-regarded; they are regarded as ineffective, incompetent and incapable of producing high-quality graduates. 

 

It would be quite easy to refute most of what Khun Udom says, it would be merely a question of looking at each of his quotes then providing evidence to the contrary; an exercise in typing.

 

The simple fact is that the Thai education system, from kindergarten to university level, has failed to achieve the required results. And the simple fact is that the current people who staff the upper levels of the Ministry of Education are incapable of cleaning up the mess; 'people are policy' and they created the policies which created the mess.

 

If Thailand wants to maintain its economic, social and political standing on the globe, it needs to produce large numbers of top-level university graduates to drive the society and economics of the nation into the future. The current crop, educated under the current system, do not have either the skills or abilities to do it.

 

I have said it before and (sadly) need to say it again; if you want to reform the Thai Education system, you need to begin with a blowtorch and/or a chainsaw at the Ministry of Education. Er... both would be preferable.

 

Reform or die.

 

 

Edited November 4, 20187 yr by Samui Bodoh

Talk is lovely.

Real implementation is yet to be seen.

 

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

But now just about 600,000 are born annually,”

Many are then abandoned by their fathers; their mothers are forced to work wherever at whatever.

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Adapt or fail, varsities warned

Thais are not incapable. But, in general, are exceedingly arrogant, stubborn and intensively focused on superficiality (form over substance). 

 

Thais can be taught to succeeded just as any other population of people, but it will be difficult to overcome the culture. 

"...current graduates did not truly respond to their needs." 

Seems like the cosmetic and herbal cures industry has no problem:

6 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Where does one begin?

 

"...DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES are going to bring down Thai universities’ rankings – no matter how well regarded they are now – unless they adjust quickly and efficiently, Deputy Education Minister Udom Kachintorn has warned..." 

 

"No matter how well regarded they are now?"

 

Thai universities are NOT well-regarded; they are regarded as ineffective, incompetent and incapable of producing high-quality graduates. 

 

It would be quite easy to refute most of what Khun Udom says, it would be merely a question of looking at each of his quotes then providing evidence to the contrary; an exercise in typing.

 

The simple fact is that the Thai education system, from kindergarten to university level, has failed to achieve the required results. And the simple fact is that the current people who staff the upper levels of the Ministry of Education are incapable of cleaning up the mess; 'people are policy' and they created the policies which created the mess.

 

If Thailand wants to maintain its economic, social and political standing on the globe, it needs to produce large numbers of top-level university graduates to drive the society and economics of the nation into the future. The current crop, educated under the current system, do not have either the skills or abilities to do it.

 

I have said it before and (sadly) need to say it again; if you want to reform the Thai Education system, you need to begin with a blowtorch and/or a chainsaw at the Ministry of Education. Er... both would be preferable.

 

Reform or die.

 

 

 

Totally agree, there won't be any progress in better results from Thai uni's until the primary and high school foundations are totally reworked, this is where kids learn to analyse, to query, and develop questions, and at the same time learn to express themselves and develop the confidence to ask questions and to discuss. Without these abilities:

 

- Many students do poorly at uni.

- Many kids do poorly at work. Reality is that more and more Thai employers want active

   dynamic employees who discuss, not frightened to tell the boss 'there's a problem boss', not

   frightened to make suggestions, etc., etc. Employers now don't want staff robots who just

   say yes and no, and can't express themselves. 

 

   But the old education system continues to keep kids in the robot mold.

 

   Japanese and Korean employers in Thailand are also quite dissatisfied with the continuation     of more robot style / no discussion staff. 

 

 

Further all Thai uni's now have to provide a list of faculty who will teach every proposed course (old repeat courses and new courses) to the ed. ministry and they can't open student registrations before they get that approval. And the faculty named in the request for approval from the ED. ministry cannot be the same names for every course.

 

All OK, except that the required structuring of the faculty qualifications (how many Ph.D. holders, how many double masters degree holders etc., required by Ed. ministry regulations), is impossible to achieve. whether it's a uni with all Thai faculty or a mixed institute, Thai and foreign professors, there's no where near enough qualified lecturers in Thailand to meet this requirement. Result, many unis are not opening courses, they can't, a stalemate.

 

Ed. ministry again the roadblock to making any gains and/or even keeping uni's open. Sad.

 

Further sad point, my uni has an all Thai language stream and an English stream (International stream) and accepts many foreign exchange students.

 

The uni now can't find the required numbers of professors with Ph.D., double masters degrees etc., for both the full Thai and Inter. streams. 

 

The twist is that there are quite a few Thai professors with Ph.D.s and double masters degrees and can speak good English but they (own choice) lecture only in the full Thai sector of the uni.

 

Why don't they come across to the English stream to lecture some courses? Simple answer, they know that 20-40% of the students in the full English stream are exchange students (mostly from Europe and mostly from Germany). The Thai professors are frightened the exchange students will ask questions. 

 

Edited November 5, 20187 yr by scorecard

With the advance of robotics and artificial intelligence, by 2030, 72% of university graduates in Thailand could be either unemployed or working in a job that does not require a bachelor's degree.

 

No prizes for guessing what doom-monger dropped this educational bombshell couple of months ago in a Bangkok post article containing the same chillingly prophet messages as the deputy education chief delivered during his lecture last week.

 

Look on the bright side. At least somebody with clout has actually woken up to the need to revamp the Thai education system to meet the challenges of the hi-tech future rather.

 

And a lot of the stuff he came out with in the Bangkok Post article at the seminar made sense - particularly the need for Thailand's seats of higher learning to turn out young folk be translated into useful work.

 

If universities can't get their act together to fulfil such a basic requirement, they deserve all the "disruption" they get.

I've never seen any job in Thailand that required a degree or degree level knowledge to do.

Very few in the west either, for that matter.

 

Universities just seem to be a machine to make money from gullible young people these days.

 

Edited November 5, 20187 yr by BritManToo

Adapt or fail.. what are the odds? 1/1000?

5 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Universities just seem to be a machine to make money from gullible young people these days.

They serve as a filter for finding out who has at least the grit to go through a few years and doesn't just lay in a hammock waiting for a mango to drop in the mouth. Knowledge can be picked up for free from the internet, no universities needed.

5 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I've never seen any job in Thailand that required a degree or degree level knowledge to do.

Very few in the west either, for that matter.

 

Universities just seem to be a machine to make money from gullible young people these days.

 

There ya go...

Universally spoken. 

 

Though, can imagine that many won't get it nor make any connections.

 

Mai phen rai.