Judging by this university, Thai higher education is in serious trouble
Re: “A country’s development is fuelled by its education system”, Have Your Say, June 25.
Education in Thailand sometimes gets a negative airing in this column, which reflects the reality of this part of Thai national life. Dirk Sumpter lamented the state of public education in his letter on Tuesday.
The situation is even more parlous, though, at university level, where the quality of education in some cases is a scandal. A large and “reputable” Bangkok university with which I am familiar is a case in point. It offers a wide range of degree courses at all levels in medicine, law, engineering, etc, but is not even rated among the world’s top 6,000 higher education institutions. Here there are cases of salaries being withheld for three months, and promised work permit procedures not followed up. Meanwhile the toilets don’t have tissue paper and the taps don’t discharge water for washing one’s hands – which serves as an apt metaphor. This is in the flagship MBA department, incidentally.
If root and branch reform is going to take place, then it needs to be conducted at all levels in this sector.
Simon Ordsall
Bangkok
