Thai universities not recognised in worldwide ranking of institutes

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

...reflecting the fact that the Kingdom's tertiary education institutes do not yet enjoy solid recognition in the international academic community.

That's a polite way of saying... Thai universities are recognized as being what they ARE!

[givenall]

The lack of Thai academic research papers in English is possibly a factor.

I don't think that's the reason somehow

The most prestigious university from Asia is the University of Tokyo in 12th

and are all the research papers in English at the University of Tokyo ?

one suspects not

Actually I think it's because they've them in Thai of at all the are alway great looking without too much substance

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Actually I think it's because they've them in Thai of at all the are alway great looking without too much substance

Can you translate that into English, please?

[BKKBobby]

University

[petedk]

First off, no one in Thailand will give a crap. If a reporter had the balls to confront the MOE about this, no doubt there would another "miscommunication" of some sort and dismissed immediately.

This is changing since MOE allowed recognition of international schools.

The rich, and upper middle income groups are sending their children to schools with English programs or international schools, with the plan for tertiary education overseas, thus, bypassing local universities.

Yeah maybe, but some of these "international schools" or schools wirh English programs are only here for the money. The quality of education is not there.

I know from experience..

[beautifulthailand99]

They all have to learn the Royal Thai Language so it's not all wasted time.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/215438-royal-thai-language-phrases/

[NeverSure]

I read recently about how many new English words there are just because of the tech revolution. It was astounding. At least ten years ago I had a full sized paperback book which was a dictionary of the more common ones. Words and acronyms abound.

There is no way there is a Thai equivalent for all of them nor do Thais learn them in either language. This stops Thailand at the gate.

The current situation for Thais is hopeless. I know 12 year old kids in the US who can program a computer. That takes a whole different type of thinking than any Thai child I've met has.

I don't know about the UK or Aus., so if I had a half Thai child I'd get him the hell out of Thai schools and to the US no matter what someone says about the education system. The opportunity is there for parents who put effort into a child's education.

Edited March 13, 2015 by NeverSure

[cup-O-coffee]

Hey Bill Clinton named Chula the Harvard of the East..........

Chula is, in fact, a decent university.

Contrary to the claims of many people on this thread Chula TU Mahidol etc get the majority of the students based not on the affluence (directly) of the parents. They base admission on grades, test scores, community participation, and an interview.

There's very little research done in Thailand that gets published in English. How would these academics know about universities here which rarely use any other languages than Thai as the means of education?

A note on merely many hundreds of notes regarding this issue:

And these brilliant students graduate and go on to invent and discover things that have already been invented and discovered... simply because they did not know that out in the wide world people do not speak Thai only.

Sadder still, after inventing and discovering things that have already been invented and discovered, they jump the gun and strike up the band and have a parade, naming themselves a HUB of invention and discovery.

Any time some dignitary complains, some important Thai will feign indignation and there will be demands for apologies for such scandelous statements. As a matter of fact, I am waiting for e rebut on this report from some VIP Thai and a cry of scandal.

Additionally, it is common for some posters to accuse other posters of being Thai bashers. Well, here is another opportunity to accuse an international organization of bashing Thailand and Thais, because they came out with a poll comprised of voting results made up from the opinion of highly educated people from all around the world. That's a very wide range of bashers. So, where are you posters now?

Merely a few thoughts on this, and I would like to say just about 99.9% of all of these posts are spot on from one angle or another, which really exemplifies how utterly screwed up and corrupt this system is.

[cup-O-coffee]

First off, no one in Thailand will give a crap. If a reporter had the balls to confront the MOE about this, no doubt there would another "miscommunication" of some sort and dismissed immediately.

This is changing since MOE allowed recognition of international schools.

The rich, and upper middle income groups are sending their children to schools with English programs or international schools, with the plan for tertiary education overseas, thus, bypassing local universities.

Yeah maybe, but some of these "international schools" or schools wirh English programs are only here for the money. The quality of education is not there.

I know from experience..

...which is kind of ludicrous, considering many of the posted "International" schools only exist - nationally - in Thailand, or have some rinky dink, duct tape and staples affiliation with another unknown school in some remote corner of the earth.

[cup-O-coffee]

I read recently about how many new English words there are just because of the tech revolution. It was astounding. At least ten years ago I had a full sized paperback book which was a dictionary of the more common ones. Words and acronyms abound.

There is no way there is a Thai equivalent for all of them nor do Thais learn them in either language. This stops Thailand at the gate.

The current situation for Thais is hopeless. I know 12 year old kids in the US who can program a computer. That takes a whole different type of thinking than any Thai child I've met has.

I don't know about the UK or Aus., so if I had a half Thai child I'd get him the hell out of Thai schools and to the US no matter what someone says about the education system. The opportunity is there for parents who put effort into a child's education.

Brilliantly stated on that last statement. I would respectfully add though: The opportunity is there for parents who put effort into a child's education, and the proportionate amount of intense pressure on schools and institutions to perform, or else pull their kids and save the wasted money.

Sad reality about that is that we have to get on about the issue of parents and parenting in the "HUB of all known things", and that is a whopper of another subject.

As a kudo to you, I believe you are the first one to mention the values of the parent role, and that includes even the OP. Amazing that!

Edited March 13, 2015 by cup-O-coffee

[beautifulthailand99]

Hey Bill Clinton named Chula the Harvard of the East..........

Chula is, in fact, a decent university.

Contrary to the claims of many people on this thread Chula TU Mahidol etc get the majority of the students based not on the affluence (directly) of the parents. They base admission on grades, test scores, community participation, and an interview.

There's very little research done in Thailand that gets published in English. How would these academics know about universities here which rarely use any other languages than Thai as the means of education?

A note on merely many hundreds of notes regarding this issue:

And these brilliant students graduate and go on to invent and discover things that have already been invented and discovered... simply because they did not know that out in the wide world people do not speak Thai only.

Sadder still, after inventing and discovering things that have already been invented and discovered, they jump the gun and strike up the band and have a parade, naming themselves a HUB of invention and discovery.

Any time some dignitary complains, some important Thai will feign indignation and there will be demands for apologies for such scandelous statements. As a matter of fact, I am waiting for e rebut on this report from some VIP Thai and a cry of scandal.

Additionally, it is common for some posters to accuse other posters of being Thai bashers. Well, here is another opportunity to accuse an international organization of bashing Thailand and Thais, because they came out with a poll comprised of voting results made up from the opinion of highly educated people from all around the world. That's a very wide range of bashers. So, where are you posters now?

Merely a few thoughts on this, and I would like to say just about 99.9% of all of these posts are spot on from one angle or another, which really exemplifies how utterly screwed up and corrupt this system is.

Please , please , please I hope this thread doesn't morph into what has Thailand ever invented thread again ... which turn out to be some thingammybob that does something and Som Tam.

[gk10002000]

I personally loved Thailand for its simplicity and basic fun when I go there on holiday. I don't want a towering gravity defying skyscraper expensive Tokyo place for my holiday. I don't mind the country being a bit simplistic in many ways. I don't mind the different outlooks on life. It is their country and so be it. What I don't like is the lack of rationale thought or reasoning. While I appreciate Buddhism very much, I don't like it when a State or a country forcefully indoctrinates people in a religion. It can diminish their independent thinking. Without objective reasoning and the ability to understand other points of view, Thais will never reach the overall education level of many countries. I am not saying that is bad. I am just saying the Thai culture by its very nature is limiting.

[cup-O-coffee]

Hey Bill Clinton named Chula the Harvard of the East..........

Chula is, in fact, a decent university.

Contrary to the claims of many people on this thread Chula TU Mahidol etc get the majority of the students based not on the affluence (directly) of the parents. They base admission on grades, test scores, community participation, and an interview.

There's very little research done in Thailand that gets published in English. How would these academics know about universities here which rarely use any other languages than Thai as the means of education?

A note on merely many hundreds of notes regarding this issue:

And these brilliant students graduate and go on to invent and discover things that have already been invented and discovered... simply because they did not know that out in the wide world people do not speak Thai only.

Sadder still, after inventing and discovering things that have already been invented and discovered, they jump the gun and strike up the band and have a parade, naming themselves a HUB of invention and discovery.

Any time some dignitary complains, some important Thai will feign indignation and there will be demands for apologies for such scandelous statements. As a matter of fact, I am waiting for e rebut on this report from some VIP Thai and a cry of scandal.

Additionally, it is common for some posters to accuse other posters of being Thai bashers. Well, here is another opportunity to accuse an international organization of bashing Thailand and Thais, because they came out with a poll comprised of voting results made up from the opinion of highly educated people from all around the world. That's a very wide range of bashers. So, where are you posters now?

Merely a few thoughts on this, and I would like to say just about 99.9% of all of these posts are spot on from one angle or another, which really exemplifies how utterly screwed up and corrupt this system is.

Please , please , please I hope this thread doesn't morph into what has Thailand ever invented thread again ... which turn out to be some thingammybob that does something and Som Tam.

Calm down and relax. It doesn't have to be just that. I simply used the first two things that jumped into my mind, and are quite legitimate, contrary to your displeasure with it. There are many more, but these two suffice for me to have made my point. Literature, poetry, hard and soft sciences, maths, any of the arts, etc. sans the very rare and questionable exceptions.

[Anon999]

My Thai stepdaughter is currently studying English in BKK and during the 5 month gap last year spent 3 months in England studying the English Language full time. Once getting her degree here her intention is to study for her Masters in England then get a job there. She has no wish to return to a job in LoS!

[Johpa]

As long as the primary aggregators of revenue, of capital, are allowed to either keep the money out of the financial system (e.g. certain private gold reserves squirreled away ) or reinvested out of the country (e.g. the CP group) or spent upon frivolity (e.g. any high ranking member of the military or the police) and away from investment in public education then we shall continue to see the degradation on Thai higher education. The same degradation happens elsewhere. Here in the US, outside the few wealthy neighborhoods, the public schools suffer from a lack of public funding and are a sea of mediocrity. Thailand's education system is in far worse shape, far worse than simple mediocrity: the Thai education system is abysmal.

[trogers]

My Thai stepdaughter is currently studying English in BKK and during the 5 month gap last year spent 3 months in England studying the English Language full time. Once getting her degree here her intention is to study for her Masters in England then get a job there. She has no wish to return to a job in LoS!

Thus the saying, "Pay peanuts and you get monkeys".

[jdinasia]

I read recently about how many new English words there are just because of the tech revolution. It was astounding. At least ten years ago I had a full sized paperback book which was a dictionary of the more common ones. Words and acronyms abound.

There is no way there is a Thai equivalent for all of them nor do Thais learn them in either language. This stops Thailand at the gate.

The current situation for Thais is hopeless. I know 12 year old kids in the US who can program a computer. That takes a whole different type of thinking than any Thai child I've met has.

I don't know about the UK or Aus., so if I had a half Thai child I'd get him the hell out of Thai schools and to the US no matter what someone says about the education system. The opportunity is there for parents who put effort into a child's education.

We've met different people. The textbooks used in the CS programs at schools like BU are the same ones used in the US and are in English.. The same at KMITL. Get a CS degree, build your English abilities, get a CISSP and work anywhere.

[cup-O-coffee]

I personally loved Thailand for its simplicity and basic fun when I go there on holiday. I don't want a towering gravity defying skyscraper expensive Tokyo place for my holiday. I don't mind the country being a bit simplistic in many ways. I don't mind the different outlooks on life. It is their country and so be it. What I don't like is the lack of rationale thought or reasoning. While I appreciate Buddhism very much, I don't like it when a State or a country forcefully indoctrinates people in a religion. It can diminish their independent thinking. Without objective reasoning and the ability to understand other points of view, Thais will never reach the overall education level of many countries. I am not saying that is bad. I am just saying the Thai culture by its very nature is limiting.

Just about everyone I have listened to, who has regaled me on their pleasure travels to Europe, England, Scandinavia, Australia, the West, etc. have all expressed that their travels there were simple and enjoyable.

Is it possible that Thailand could strive to rise up to the good standards that these countries present to travelers, and still satisfy your personal love for simplicity and basic fun, or is it possible that one is taking for granted the simplicity and fun, which the natives do not see, and rather suffer under the burden of poverty, lack of education, corruption, and their own personal failings, etc.

If I may submit, there are two ways (possibly more?) as a tourist, to enjoy simplicity and fun:

1] Being ignorant of, through the desperation of one's hosts, who are not able to freely and adequately choose to provide to you simplicity and fun as a result of their ignorance, poverty, addictions, superstitions, etc. and purely (PURELY) without having any personal choice in the matter, and having to sacrifice their sons and daughters futures, and because mom and pop do not have the ability to see hope and meaning in tomorrow.

or...

2] Being made aware of, through the education of one's hosts, who are able to knowledgeably provide to you simplicity and fun as a result of their intelligence, rights and freedoms and purely (PURELY) at their own personal choice, without having any need to sacrifice their sons and daughters futures, and because mom and pop have the ability to see hope and meaning in tomorrow.

These aren't perfect scenarios, but I hope you get the point, which is: "Is our determination of what is simple and fun here, really that simple and fun for the people here, who have the inalienable right to have a proper education, and a life of choice, hope, freedom and well-being, yet are denied those... whether through sordid people in power of change... or the people's own ingrained, culturally indoctrinated character defects... promoted and compounded by sordid people in power of change?"

[trogers]

I read recently about how many new English words there are just because of the tech revolution. It was astounding. At least ten years ago I had a full sized paperback book which was a dictionary of the more common ones. Words and acronyms abound.

There is no way there is a Thai equivalent for all of them nor do Thais learn them in either language. This stops Thailand at the gate.

The current situation for Thais is hopeless. I know 12 year old kids in the US who can program a computer. That takes a whole different type of thinking than any Thai child I've met has.

I don't know about the UK or Aus., so if I had a half Thai child I'd get him the hell out of Thai schools and to the US no matter what someone says about the education system. The opportunity is there for parents who put effort into a child's education.

We've met different people. The textbooks used in the CS programs at schools like BU are the same ones used in the US and are in English.. The same at KMITL. Get a CS degree, build your English abilities, get a CISSP and work anywhere.

Having the same books is only one part. Are assignments, tests and grading system the same?

[jdinasia]

I read recently about how many new English words there are just because of the tech revolution. It was astounding. At least ten years ago I had a full sized paperback book which was a dictionary of the more common ones. Words and acronyms abound.

There is no way there is a Thai equivalent for all of them nor do Thais learn them in either language. This stops Thailand at the gate.

The current situation for Thais is hopeless. I know 12 year old kids in the US who can program a computer. That takes a whole different type of thinking than any Thai child I've met has.

I don't know about the UK or Aus., so if I had a half Thai child I'd get him the hell out of Thai schools and to the US no matter what someone says about the education system. The opportunity is there for parents who put effort into a child's education.

We've met different people. The textbooks used in the CS programs at schools like BU are the same ones used in the US and are in English.. The same at KMITL. Get a CS degree, build your English abilities, get a CISSP and work anywhere.

Having the same books is only one part. Are assignments, tests and grading system the same?

Since he's been employed by some of the biggest names in international banking as well as the IT industry and always gets glowing recommendations, it is a safe bet that the answer is yes. Granted, his English abilities do play a role, but professional credentials such as a CISSP certainly prove that his education was not deficient. Note - he went to a marginal elementary school and a decent Thai science high school, followed by BU, an inexpensive mid-tier private university here. BU is known for mass communications, not CS like KMITL.

I am not arguing that the education system here leaves much to be desired, but claims that no students here can compete are ridiculous.

A note about patronage in the workplace. In the US I tended to change jobs every few years. I would frequently recruit my best employees. That's patronage. It's smart.

[gk10002000]

Lack of English publications and peer contacts no doubt lowers the chance of being recognized. But I think the bigger problem is the Thai culture. They just aren't mean enough to the students and they continually lower standards. Lots of people flunk out of USA colleges. Engineering and Technical majors lose a lot of people when they start getting to the hard stuff and 3rd or 4th semester calculus. There is little room for niceness.

the key word you used was "flunk"! I have never heard of a thai "flunking out of college"!

Agreed. They pay, they stay. I am all for there being some institutions where you pay and pay and pay and maybe learn something. That is like having a magazine subscription. But the idea and intent of institutions of higher learning and showing progress or proficiency are not like that.

[chonburimaster]

I am guessing but don't most, if not all, the hiso and affluent families send their sprogs to Australia, England or USA to get educated at uni level and the ones in the family that aren't to smart go to local uni and become actors on TV.....yes?

And most of Hi-So siblings are not sharp and they go to unaccredited western colleges you can literally purchase degree. Like purchasing driver's license in Thailand.

[tubby johnson]

Thailand will always have a prosperous future as a destination for mass tourism and cheap labour. Despite the worst education system in Asia, dimwitted graduates will always find jobs growing rice, in seedy "entertainment ;)" jobs, or as security guards.

This situation helps the elites to prosper, so nothing will change.

[Stradavarius37]

Mahidol used to be in the rankings (250-300 range) and also used to hire the ranking company cited here as "consultants" - when they stopped hiring them, they dropped out of the rankings - must be coincidence...

Edited March 14, 2015 by Stradavarius37

[Chongalulu]

My Thai stepdaughter is currently studying English in BKK and during the 5 month gap last year spent 3 months in England studying the English Language full time. Once getting her degree here her intention is to study for her Masters in England then get a job there. She has no wish to return to a job in LoS!

Praiseworthy,but I doubt it will be sufficient (how old is your daughter?) probably not an option for you but I brought my 9 year old stepdaughter with no English to a good area (St Albans) in UK where she attended a very good state school. Very committed and focused,fortunately unlike a lot of Thais,she achieved 3 A levels including English and maths and is on course for a first studying economics at a good university in UK. I think it really takes this level of immersion away from Thai culture to compete for a good career in the west. I hope I am proved wrong in your instance and in no way seek to devalue what are laudable and valuable efforts on your part. Good luck to you and her.