Thailand as International Education Hub: Challenges and Opportunities

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Thailand as International Education Hub: Challenges and Opportunities
The Nation 2011-07-18

It is commonly thought that internationalization is a relatively new phenomenon. In reality this process began a long time ago in Siam during the reign of the visionary King Rama V (Chulalongkorn). He took two major trips to Europe visiting countries such as Russia, Italy, Germany, Austria, Holland, and England. He also took trips to various Asian areas such as Java, Singapore, Malaya, India, and Burma. Numerous books have been written about his international trips. He was probably the most traveled monarch of his time.

Also during his reign Suan Gulab became an immersion school, with students taught in both Thai and English. He also had the vision to send some of his children and members of the Royal Family to study in Europe. In fact, his successor, King Rama VI, studied in England at Oxford.

Fast forward to 2015 and the AEC (ASEAN Economic Community) will become a reality making it imperative for contemporary Thailand to think seriously about the challenges of internationalization. In this regard, Thailand's aspires to be an internaฌtional education hub, but has many competitors who have similar aspirations such as Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and China.

Five special advantages

However, Thailand has five special advantages:

First, it is centrally located in both Southeast Asia and Asia and sandwiched between the emerging economic power, "Chindia" (China and India).

Second, it is relatively low cost, particularly in terms of basics such as food and transportation.

Third, Thailand has never been a colony and this has contributed to Thailand being a very welcoming nation to outsiders.

Fourth, Thailand now has many attractive campuses such as those of universities such as Assumption, Chulalongkorn, Kasetsart, and Chiangmai.

And finally Thailand currently offers 884 international programs at the higher education level in a wide variety of diverse subject areas, and at the K12 level, there are 76 international schools in Thailand.

It is also important to note the many benefits that will accrue to Thailand as a major international education hub.

First international students, from an economฌic perspective, are like tourists who stay for a long time and, therefore, function like an "export" earning foreign exchange, and generating an important economic multiplier effect.

Second, in recent international and national tests, Thai students have demonstrated weak English performance. The presence of more international students will provide them more opportunities to use and improve their English.

Third, in international rankings Thai universities have not fared particularly well. Enhanced internationalization would serve to improve their rankings.

Fourth and finally as the result of Thailand's highly effective family program and related reduced fertility (influฌence of Mechai), Thailand has a relatively low fertility rate. This means that in the future, seats will be open to be filled at many of Thailand's private universities and less prestiฌgious public universities. International students can help fill these seats.

Realising its potential

To realise its potential as an international higher education hub, a key is the quality of the programs offered. Thai programs need to be adapted to cater to the needs, for example, of Western students who seek a more active role in the learning process. An example of such an effective effort is the CIEE Program in Khon Kaen which emphasizes civic engagement with local issues in Isaan.

The new Yingluck government should give serious consideration to establishing a small public organization to promote study in Thailand and to publicize globally Thailand's exceptional attractiveness as a study abroad destination. Otherwise, its potential in this important arena may be far from realized.

Gerald W Fry
Distinguished International Professor,
Professor of International/Intercultural Education,
Department of Organisational Leadership, Policy, and Development
College of Education and Human Development
University of Minnesota
gwf [at] umn.edu