Thai Education Reform

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The significant growth of Thai HE over the last three decades was driven primarily by economic changes and by occupational growth in areas for which a secondary school education was no longer sufficient. The demand for highly educated individuals to fulfill expected economic growth requirements, and meet student aspirationand social expectations elevated the professional role of HE into the spotlight. Its widespread growth throughout the country has been spurred over the last two decades by widespread national and international disapproval of the quality of Thai HE in preparing students for the varied onslaughts of contemporary globalization. As a reaction, market gains became essentialized and the skills and professional knowledge acquired through HE were seen as the enablers of success (Beerkens-Soo and Vossensteyn2009).
The increasing demand for HE by high school graduates coupled with the perceived need for high-skilled labor for economic prosperity have been the two key driving forces for mass HE. But the government’s educational budget cuts from 2009- to 2012 dropped from 4.6 % of its GDP in 2009 to 3.8 in 2010, 3.9 in 2011, and 3.8 in 2012 (ONEC2014), posing a challenge to the continued expansion of …show more content…

One of the primary goals of the reform was to achieve a national commitment to achieve the UNESCO goals articulated in Education for All. The reform guaranteed twelve 12years of free basic education with a requirement for nine 9years of mandatory basic education. This resulted in a large increase in high school graduates and the great demand for an expanded HE system to serve them. It is projected that by the year 2016 the number of secondary school graduates and first year university intake will increase by about 2.5 to –3 times that of 2001

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