Put niche students ahead of education power struggles

The Office of the Higher Education Commission (Ohec)'s refusal to approve two of seven programmes in music offered by Mahidol University should prompt a much-needed debate about the Thai higher-education system's oversight of specialist and technical schools in the future.

The news raises questions about the criteria for evaluating specialist colleges. Should Ohec use the standard it applies to non-specialist schools to accredit music schools? Or should these specialist schools enjoy autonomy and total freedom in deciding what to teach?

The associate dean of Mahidol's College of Music, Krit Buranavitayawut, said the programmes were based on international curricula. And Dean Sukree Charoensuk was adamant that Ohec staff were not qualified to evaluate the content of the programmes. For their part, Ohec officials said they were simply doing their job: ensuring that students are awarded degrees that reflect what they have actually learned at the performing arts school.

The programmes in question are Music Business and Music Industry Technology. The commission said it rejected the programmes because they offered too few credits in music practice. Sukree insisted he had chosen courses of the highest standard. Refusing to change them, he said he would resign if the programmes were not approved.

The issue lays bare tensions between the higher-education body and the specialist colleges, which strive to retain a degree of autonomy. The conflict should be sorted out in a credible manner that does not make hostages of students and graduates.

After all, it is the students who are most affected. Ohec's rejection of the programmes leaves graduates of them with degrees in liberal arts, instead of musical arts. As a result, some might have difficulty pursuing higher degrees in music or finding jobs in fields that require a music degree.

So far, however, most of Mahidol's College of Music graduates have managed to land respectable jobs in music-related fields both domestically and internationally.

The irony is that Mahidol University's College of Music is widely recognised as one of the best in its field. Dean Sukree has played a key role in turning the performing arts - which

used to be seen as simply an entertainment field - into a respectable educational pursuit. Mahidol students have earned recognition and international awards for their marvellous performances.

If this was a case of Ohec rejecting courses proposed by some mediocre educational institution, it would not have attracted so much attention from the public.

This issue should serve to illustrate the ways in which Thailand's education system needs to be improved if it is to keep up with the rest of the world. Specialist schools should be promoted; they serve the unique interests and talents of specific groups of students. The question is: How will the higher-education system's governing body come up with credible criteria to evaluate programmes to keep similar conflicts from happening again, and safeguard students from falling victim to power struggles between the colleges and their governing body?

Students these days are aware of their right to access to good teachers and practices. Over the past few months, college students have rallied at numerous events to show their disappointment with the state of their education.

Last month, around 200 students of the Faculty of Mass Communication at Chiang Mai University demanded that the faculty's dean step down following her alleged poor management. ABAC's music students recently protested against what they claimed was the school's failure to provide them with sufficient music-training infrastructure.

These students are not looking to Ohec simply to ensure that their colleges provide them with properly designated educational programmes. They want the higher-education governing body - or whichever agency is in charge - to see that they receive a quality education and effective evaluation. And these evaluations must offer more than simply monitoring the way programmes are labelled.