Thailand’s policy to improve the status of the teaching profession is underway and many
important steps, such as teacher licensing, evaluation of teachers, lengthening pre-service
teacher training and increasing the compensation of teachers, should lead to quality
improvements in teaching. However, these steps will not take full effect until the shortage of
teachers and administrative staff is addressed. By ignoring both, Thailand risks a widening gap
between urban areas and disadvantaged rural areas. Changes in policy will require additional
resources and political leadership. In order for Thailand to strengthen the efforts of education
reform, consensus building based on empirical research is also necessary.
As it has become a middle income country, Thailand faces new development challenges. It
needs a well educated, trainable population. It is now difficult for Thailand to compete with
Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangladesh in sectors dependent on low end cheap labour. Thailand
also faces increasing competition from other rapidly developing Asian countries such as
China, India and Malaysia.