Many uni seats empty as round 4 of tests wraps up

[webfact]

Many uni seats empty as round 4 of tests wraps up

By Chularat Saengpassa 
The Nation

 

File photo

 

Lack of interest put down to low birth rate and subjects made popular on social media
 

ABOUT HALF of Thailand’s university seats remain empty for the next academic year after four of the five central admission system’s rounds have been completed.

 

This low number of students has sent a worrying signal to all universities in the Kingdom. Higher-educational institutes across the country joined the Thai University Central Admission System (TCAS) for enrolling new students, putting 445,464 seats up for grabs. 

 

However, after three rounds, only 151,806 applicants have agreed to take the seats they are eligible for. 

 

Then came Tuesday’s announcement of results from the fourth round, for which there were only 76,408 candidates. If all candidates agree to take the seats offered in the fourth round, there will still be 217,250 seats vacant. 

 

“The falling birth rate is a key factor,” Peerapong Triyacharoen said yesterday in his capacity as assistant secretary-general of the Council of University Presidents of Thailand (CUPT). He also said that the popularity of some of the programmes also counted. For instance, he said, as many as 1,188 students had applied to the Prince of Songkla University’s Faculty of Nursing in the fourth round even though it had only 96 seats available. In the same round, 1,128 students vied for merely 35 seats at Burapha University’s Faculty of Nursing. 

 

The Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Allied Health Sciences also had 1,078 fighting for the 110 seats available for them in the fourth round.

 

In comparison, only 376 science students showed interest in the 400 seats up for grabs in Silpakorn University’s Faculty of Arts. Similarly, competition for a seat at the Prince of Songkla University’s Faculty of Science was low, as only 502 applicants vied for 400 seats. 

 

Only 234 students applied for the 320 seats on offer at the King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok’s tourism and hotel management programme in its Faculty of Business Administration and Service Industry. 

 

Peerapong said students were clearly prone to choosing programmes that were widely talked about on social media. 

 

“We plan to set up a team to analyse students’ behaviour in selecting education programmes,” he said, adding that the findings will guide the production plans of universities and show them what must be done to ensure their graduates take into consideration the country’s needs and government policies. 

 

TCAS features five rounds, each one using different criteria in recruiting students. This is one reason why CUPT has resolved to no longer announce top scorers. 

 

The first round, for example, focuses mainly on applicants’ portfolios, while the second round embraces a quota system. The third round selects applicants based on their scores from tests held across the country. The fourth relies on grade point average and scores from key national tests such as the Ordinary National Educational Test (Onet) and the General Aptitude Test (GAT). The fifth round – which will be open for applications from May 30 to June 10 – will feature direct admission. 

 

The TCAS timeframe has put a strain on several universities, whose academic year starts next month. The tension is especially acute for relatively less known institutes, as they are left waiting to recruit students who failed to get a seat via TCAS. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30370236

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-05-30

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[Orton Rd]

If it's falling birthrate and not poor University provision, why have so many places on offer in the first place? Nursing and medical seem about 10x over subscribed, so no falling birthrate problems with those courses.

Edited May 30, 2019 by Orton Rd

[RotBenz8888]

17 minutes ago, webfact said:

Only 234 students applied for the 320 seats on offer at the King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok’s tourism and hotel management programme in its Faculty of Business Administration and Service Industry. 

Empty chairs at the tourism and hotel management program? I wonder if the youths in Thailand trust the TAT numbers....

[Eligius]

Education - especially tertiary education - in Thailand is a disgraceful joke.

 

Maybe the youngsters are finally realising that the 'degree' certificates that are doled out each year are not worth the paper they are printed on. Those glossy bits of paper are an external symbol of almost ZERO knowledge or skills (in many cases) on the part of the holders.

 

If you want to see a world-class example of 'education' being utterly vacuous, conformist, superficial and meaningless - look at Thailand.

 

I feel sorry for the Thai students (particularly from poor backgrounds) who really would like to develop and improve themselves - but are held back by one of the worst education systems in the world. It is so very sad.

 

 

 

Edited May 30, 2019 by Eligius

[bluesofa]

17 minutes ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Empty chairs at the tourism and hotel management program? I wonder if the youths in Thailand trust the TAT numbers....

Apparently they've removed the word 'gullible' from the dictionary.

 

[JimmyTheMook]

16 minutes ago, Eligius said:

Education - especially tertiary education - in Thailand is a disgraceful joke.

 

Maybe the youngsters are finally realising that the 'degree' certificates that are doled out each year are not worth the paper they are printed on. Those glossy bits of paper are an external symbol of almost ZERO knowledge or skills (in many cases) on the part of the holders.

 

If you want to see a world-class example of 'education' being utterly vacuous, conformist, superficial and meaningless - look at Thailand.

 

I feel sorry for the Thai students (particularly from poor backgrounds) who really would like to develop and improve themselves - but are held back by one of the worst education systems in the world. It is so very sad.

 

 

 

 

Ouch !

[RotBenz8888]

20 minutes ago, Eligius said:

Education - especially tertiary education - in Thailand is a disgraceful joke.

 

Maybe the youngsters are finally realising that the 'degree' certificates that are doled out each year are not worth the paper they are printed on. Those glossy bits of paper are an external symbol of almost ZERO knowledge or skills (in many cases) on the part of the holders.

 

If you want to see a world-class example of 'education' being utterly vacuous, conformist, superficial and meaningless - look at Thailand.

 

I feel sorry for the Thai students (particularly from poor backgrounds) who really would like to develop and improve themselves - but are held back by one of the worst education systems in the world. It is so very sad.

 

 

 

Spot on.

[seajae]

Our daughter went to night school every night for her last 2 years of school as well as on weekends to make sure she qualified in the top percentage of acceptances to get her uni of choice( to be a doctor), just maybe there is not enough commitment by the students to do the extra study needed due to the hopeless teaching they get at schools.

Edited May 30, 2019 by seajae

[Yinn]

1 hour ago, Eligius said:

 

Maybe the youngsters are finally realising that the 'degree' certificates that are doled out each year are not worth the paper they are printed on.

 

 Wrong. You can get the good job with money if you have a degree.

Quote

 

Those glossy bits of paper are an external symbol of almost ZERO knowledge or skills (in many cases) on the part of the holders.

Wrong. You go to which university? 

 

 

Quote

 

I feel sorry for the Thai students (particularly from poor backgrounds) who really would like to develop and improve themselves -

 

We have a good way. Can study now and pay when you get the job. The poor can do it.

Have 1% interest rate for the student loan. 3% discount if you pay quickly.

Most people only must pay it about 10,000 every year.

You know this or not?

 

Quote

 

but are held back by one of the worst education systems in the world. It is so very sad.

So wrong. 

 

Here is the worst.

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-spending-the-least-on-education-in-the-world.html

 

 

[MaxLee]

There's something called google, and it is for free, no need for further education,... get it?. Even the roughest Thai kids are not that stupid to miss that online opportunity

[bluesofa]

1 hour ago, JimmyTheMook said:

1 hour ago, Eligius said:

{snipped}

If you want to see a world-class example of 'education' being utterly vacuous, conformist, superficial and meaningless - look at Thailand.

I feel sorry for the Thai students (particularly from poor backgrounds) who really would like to develop and improve themselves - but are held back by one of the worst education systems in the world. It is so very sad.

Ouch !

But so true.

In the past when interviewing staff for vacancies here, you could see that a lot had a degree from a Thai university. We always ignored it.

Asking any in-depth questions about the subject they had their degree in proved they had no real knowledge of it.

We relied on common sense answers to questions, not so much qualifications.

 

The number of times someone came for an interview and bought a friend along with them, it seemed as much for moral support as anything. Many applicants seemed unable to find company premises on their own, despite being given explicit details including a detailed map.

[PatOngo]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Many uni seats empty as round 4 of tests wraps up

The quality of university degrees from Khao San Road must be improving!

[Vacuum]

34 minutes ago, Yinn said:

You can get the good job with money if you have a degree.

No need for a degree if you have enough money.

[Odysseus123]

Yet,strangely enough the only two young Thai in my town that prospered both did tourism courses,both learned English (one was so good she could mimic various national accents) and both have very good careers in hotel management.

 

Their peers are either unemployed or herding water buffalo.

 

Of course,it meant a lot of hard work.

 

I was the honoured guest of the young Thai man and his wife at their wedding in Bangkok.

[Kasane]

No role models. Soaking in TV drama's, video games, cartoons, phone addiction. Wasting their youth while the brain remains undeveloped. 

[LongTang]

41 minutes ago, Kasane said:

Soaking in TV drama's

I was watching a few Thai Soap drama shows And was shocked to see that now Everyone are made to appear White!

Before it was mostly confined to commercials, But now they use lighting and makeup to make even the obviously issan fox white.

 

Personally i find this very depressing and I'm sure its not benefiting the mental state of many of the youth here to say the least..

 

 

Edited May 30, 2019 by LongTang

[Krataiboy]

5 hours ago, Yinn said:

 Wrong. You can get the good job with money if you have a degree.

Wrong. You go to which university? 

 

 

We have a good way. Can study now and pay when you get the job. The poor can do it.

Have 1% interest rate for the student loan. 3% discount if you pay quickly.

Most people only must pay it about 10,000 every year.

You know this or not?

 

So wrong. 

 

Here is the worst.

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-spending-the-least-on-education-in-the-world.html

 

 

The sum a country spends on education arguably matters less than how the money is invested. Thailand invests a larger proportion of GDP on education than most of its rivals, but gets relatively poor returns for its money.

 

Thai universities have an unenviable reputation, with only a handful even meriting a mention in international league tables of excellence.

 

While some university leavers are able land decent jobs in a country where paper qualifications have always been highly valued, many find themselves forced to settle for something far less prestigious and well-paid than they hoped.

 

Every year, an increasing number of graduates ends up earning a relative pittance in coffee bars, retail outlets and other dead-end jobs where their hard-won skills are under-utilised. In a shrinking and increasingly specialist jobs market, such second-choice employment does not always end up being temporary.

 

More and more graduates and their parents are discovering the harsh truth that a bachelor's degree, even from one of the reasonably well-thought-of government universities, is clearly no longer the open sesame to a career it once was.

 

The situation is unlikely to improve. More employers are demanding practical experience as well as a degree and white collar jobs, as well as the blue-collar variety, are being replaced by machines as the robotics revolutiong gathers pace.

 

By 2030 (when my younger daughter should be on the verge of graduating), 72 per cent of university graduates could be either unemployed or working at jobs that do not require a bachelor’s degree, according to Thailand's deputy minister of education.

 

While it is correct that hard-up students can borrow from the public purse to fund their university education, the scheme is under pressure. Last year, the Student Loan Fund (SLF) was talking of suing 120,000 borrowers who had reneged on their repayments.

 

All in all, a somewhat worrying outlook.

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Economy/30325785

 

https://www.peoplemattersglobal.com/news/jobs/72-of-thai-graduates-could-lose-jobs-to-ai-by-2030-thai-minister-19257

 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1480185/student-loan-fund-targets-120-000-defaulters

 

Edited May 30, 2019 by Krataiboy

[bluesofa]

5 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

{snipped}

While some university leavers are able land decent jobs in a country where paper qualifications have always been highly valued, many find themselves forced to settle for something far less prestigious and well-paid than they hoped.

 

Every year, an increasing number of graduates ends up earning a relative pittance in coffee bars, retail outlets and other dead-end jobs where their hard-won skills are under-utilised. In a shrinking and increasingly specialist jobs market, such second-choice employment does not always end up being temporary.

I wouldn't deny that.

One of the dancers in the GoGo Bar I owned had a Thai degree in mathematics, but soon realised she would have a better life with a ferang husband.

 

[geoffbezoz]

1 minute ago, bluesofa said:

I wouldn't deny that.

One of the dancers in the GoGo Bar I owned had a Thai degree in mathematics, but soon realised she would have a better life with a ferang husband.

 

That's a excellent example. Also many workers in gogos may not have a high academic achievement but often display an exceptional level of common sense, much higher in many cases than the punters.

[Cake Monster]

A highly qualified Teacher mate of  mine told me that in maybe around 10 years or less, there will actually be no need for Schools as we now know them.

All Education and Exam,s Etc would be conducted Online via Virtual Teachers.

Maybe Thailand will wait about 40 Years to catch up with the rest of the World.

 

[bluesofa]

6 minutes ago, geoffbezoz said:

That's a excellent example. Also many workers in gogos may not have a high academic achievement but often display an exceptional level of common sense, much higher in many cases than the punters.

Seeing as you realise that, it rules you out as a victim customer then!

[GreasyFingers]

6 hours ago, Odysseus123 said:

Yet,strangely enough the only two young Thai in my town that prospered both did tourism courses,both learned English (one was so good she could mimic various national accents) and both have very good careers in hotel management.

 

Their peers are either unemployed or herding water buffalo.

 

Of course,it meant a lot of hard work.

 

I was the honoured guest of the young Thai man and his wife at their wedding in Bangkok.

This is a subject that will be dear to me at the end of the 2021 school year. I am paying for a step daughter to go through high school and she expects to go go to university after that. Her older sister graduated in some form of tourism/hospitality degree and did end up working in a 5 star resort in Samui before moving to Bangkok as a tourist guide. She is now a nanny in USA hoping to be a nurse when her contract runs out.

I was lucky to have a degree that was useful throughout my working life but I constantly worry if it is worth it for the degrees they get here.

[DavisH]

10 hours ago, seajae said:

Our daughter went to night school every night for her last 2 years of school as well as on weekends to make sure she qualified in the top percentage of acceptances to get her uni of choice( to be a doctor), just maybe there is not enough commitment by the students to do the extra study needed due to the hopeless teaching they get at schools.

And who funded that night school? Just looks at the backgrounds of most doctors, dentists, and other professionals. I would say well over 90% come from wealthy backgrounds. They are the only families that can afford to send their kids to the extra classes needed to do well in PAT/GAT. Either that, or they did extra classes so they would qualify to enter Triam or other such "university prep" schools. PAT level maths/science is NOT taught in most schools in Thailand, as most regular Thai teachers could not teach it - so they either go to cram schools or have university lecturers come and teach it. 

[thequietman]

9 hours ago, Yinn said:

We have a good way. Can study now and pay when you get the job. The poor can do it.

Have 1% interest rate for the student loan. 3% discount if you pay quickly.

Most people only must pay it about 10,000 every year.

You know this or not?

Pure nonsense. This student loan is NOT available to everyone. Sob story from government to my step son about how they don;t have the money to lend it because previous students are not paying it back.

[thequietman]

9 hours ago, Yinn said:

So wrong. 

 

Here is the worst.

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-spending-the-least-on-education-in-the-world.html

Wrong again. This is spending with regards to GDP on education.

 

Sure, Thailand spends the money, but where does it all go???

 

Maybe this statistic will make you proud.

 

 https://tradingeconomics.com/thailand/corruption-rank

[stanleycoin]

1 hour ago, Bipolar said:

Lol! You only up getting a "toilet paper" here. I never recruit any thais that finish from a local university, I let the thai companies take them. I do not mind paying more for a thai who finish from a foreign university. (Mind you I am Thai but studied at UK and Australia)

Did you mean.

You studied in the uk and Australia.

[attrayant]

I can't speak to the post-secondary education sector, but the private school I used to teach science at says their enrolment is also low at about 50% of where it was when I taught there about 6-8 years ago.  I'm thinking the economy must surely be a factor in addition to lack of interest from students.

 

When I was hired there I was shocked to see the science classroom was just an empty room that could be used to teach anything.  To get a sense of my despair, type "thailand science classroom" into a google image search and see what images come up.  Then take out the word "thailand" and search again.  The difference is night and day.  And this stuff isn't even expensive.  Beakers, test tubes, humboldt burners, chemicals and reagents... just a few baht per student.  I ended up supplying my own lab equipment from home so the students could at least have something to do with their hands instead of just listening to me talk at them for three hours a week.

 

I feel so bad for the kids.  It's just so sad.  

[Burma Bill]

Thai economy failing - rich families getting lower incomes - less money to educate their children!

[impulse]

27 minutes ago, Burma Bill said:

Thai economy failing - rich families getting lower incomes - less money to educate their children!

 

Rich Thai families send their kids overseas for a meaningful diploma.

 

[Rhys]

2 hours ago, thequietman said:

Wrong again. This is spending with regards to GDP on education.

 

Sure, Thailand spends the money, but where does it all go???

 

Maybe this statistic will make you proud.

 

 https://tradingeconomics.com/thailand/corruption-rank

The money goes in the Construction/KRUP Kitty...look at all the empty new buildings on campuses about in Thailand.