The photo of Bangkok’s Kasetsart University making their students wear an anti-cheat paper helmet during their midterm exams went viral in 2013
An education expert has blamed Thailand for taking the “wrong direction” in regards to education for the failure of the country’s top five universities to move up in the annual QS World University Rankings from last year.
The top five Thai universities either dropped from last year’s ranking or received the same ranking.
Chulalongkorn University was ranked 243 last year and is now 253, whilst Mahidol University went from 257 last year to 295 this year.
Some universities plummeted down the rankings. Chiang Mai University fell 139 spots from 551 to 690 and Thammasat University from 601 to 650. The only Thai university that didn’t move was Kasetsart University, which remains at 651.
Education expert Pavich Thongroj blamed the fall in rankings on the “wrong direction” the country is taking concerning its education.
He pointed out that Thai universities concentrate on large numbers of students instead of focusing on the quality of education.
“Quantity shouldn’t have a bigger focus than quality,” he said.
The government, the Education Ministry and the Office of Higher Education Commission should find solutions to help improve the country’s education sector, he added.
Since Thai universities receive very little funding from the government compared to foreign universities, Pavich said the government must pledge more funds to develop higher education and to advocate research and innovation.
If Thai universities fail to to compete on the world stage, it indicates that the country lacks a skilled workforce which could hinder future development. Therefore, Pavich said the development of education should be part of the national agenda, The Nation reported.
The QS World University Rankings 2015 placed the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at the top, followed by Harvard and Cambridge.
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Bangkok university makes students wear anti-cheating helmet during mid-term exams
