Cabinet backs proposal for one university

The third annual meeting of the Higher Education Commission had projected that in the next 30 years, the number of people going to public universities would shrink. Therefore, the focus should not be on opening new universities but on improving the teaching and learning quality and efficiency of existing ones. The commission had proposed the merging of higher education institutions. After this policy is implemented, the ministry would use it as a guideline for setting up new universities later.

 

Anusorn explained that under the merging plan, each area, such as a province, might have scattered institutes but they would be merged into one university. Anusorn cited the example of the establishment of Chumphon University, which was created by the merger of Mae Jo University Chumphon Campus with King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang Chumphon Campus. 

 

In the upper southern province of Surat Thani, Suratthani Rajabhat University would merge with Prince of Songkhla University Surat Thani Campus. In Tak, the creation of Somdet Phrachao Taksin Maharat University would be a result of the merger of Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna (Tak Campus) with Kamphaengphet Rajabhat Univer-sity’s Mae Sot Higher Education Centre. The creation of Kalasin University would result from the merger of Kalasin Rajabhat University and Rajamangala University of Technology Isan Kalasin Campus. Rayong University would be a result of the merger of Bankhai Technical College and Map Ta Phut Technical College. Krabi has also proposed the Andaman Coastal University by merging Kasetsart University’s Krabi Academic Resource Centre, Institute of Physical Education Krabi Campus, and Krabi College of Agriculture and Technology.

 

Office of Higher Education Commission (OHEC) deputy secretary-general Assoc Prof Kamjorn Tatiyakavee said the Cabinet’s approval would stop spending budgets for new higher-education institutes when the number of students was reducing. But, it would allow each province to manage the resources of existing institutes more effectively, to strengthen their performance.

 

However, the approval would not prevent the setting up of a new campus of a current university. It would give powers to a committee under OHEC that considers merging universities to deal with the issue, he said.

 

Kamjorn said the merging would depend on the decision of the universities and relevant agencies in each province.