Chapter 10
The Outcomes of Education
and Learning
Results of the first round of the external quality assessment
(2001-2005) in 30,010 schools revealed that most Thai students
tend to be good, healthy, and happy. However, learners did not
achieve a high competency in the core subjects and are required to
improve essential competencies, i.e. critical thinking abilities, solid
knowledge foundation, and self-directed learning.
The outcomes of education and learning of the Thai people
are presented here in terms of educational attainment and graduation
from school, labour force participation, promotion of highlyskilled
human resources, participation in Academic Olympiads and
participation in robot competitions.
10.1 Graduation from School Education
When compared to 2003, there was an increase in the number
of graduates at nearly all levels of education in 2005, except at upper
secondary and lower-than-degree levels (Table 10.1).
Thailand’s demand for an increase in the number of qualified
workers with appropriate skills and basic knowledge indicates an
urgent need to enhance the quality of vocational education and
training as well as the number of students in vocational education.
The number of students in vocational education, in both the formal
and non-formal streams, rose from 1,024,587 in 2001 to 1,110,118
in 2006. (Table 10.2)
When compared to the year 2002, the retention rates in all
levels in 2006 increased, especially those in the vocational upper
secondary levels which increase significantly (Figure 10.1). This
situation reveals that Thai students take more of an interest in
vocational education because its curriculum meets the current
need of the labour market.
10.2 Educational Attainment of Thai Population
The average years of education received by Thai people aged
15-59 have increased gradually as a result of greater efforts to provide
both formal and non-formal education to all people (Table 10.4)
The average years of educational attainment of
the Thai people are relatively low. However, the distribution of
employed persons by level of educational attainment illustrated
that the percentage of employed persons with secondary and higher
education in 2006 was higher than that in 2005. (Table 10.5)
10.3 Labour Force Participation
The labour force participation rates by educational attainment
can be used to indicate the extent to which the educational system
succeeds in meeting the minimum requirements of the labour market.
According to the projection of the Thai labour force from 2005
to 2025, a positive sign for the future economic development in
Levels of Educational
AttainmentEducation in Thailand 2007 …130…
Thailand is the remarkable increase in the proportion of those with
general upper secondary education from 8.7 percent in 2005 to 21.3
percent in 2025. (Table 10.6)
In 2006, the percentage of the population in the total labour
force aged 15 years and over was 73.0. Remarkably, the labour force
participation rates of those who completed teacher training at the
upper secondary level in municipal areas in 2006 was higher than
the previous year. In contrast, when compared to the year 2005,
the labour force participation rates of those who completed teacher
training at the upper secondary level in non-municipal areas in 2006
decreased significantly. (Table 10.7)
The labour force participation rates were highest among those
who had completed higher education. The underlying causes were
that the monetary incentive to participate is greater for individuals
with higher qualifications since earnings tend to increase with
educational attainment. In addition, those individuals often work
at more interesting and stimulating tasks, and hold positions of
higher responsibility, which increases their motivation to remain in
the labour force.
However, the participation rates are also high among those
who completed primary and lower than primary education since
job opportunities for unskilled workers can be easily found in
the agricultural sector which is still important for the economy of
Thailand.
Those who completed lower secondary and upper secondary
education as well as teacher training seem to be more interested in
continuing education rather than entering the labour market.
10.4 Promotion of Highly-Skilled Human Resources
Human resources with higher educational attainment tend to
have the skills necessary for the labour market. Highly-skilled human
resources are essential to the national economic development and
competitiveness in the global context, especially in this knowledgebased
era.
Human resource development was a focus of the 10th
National Economic and Social Development Plan (2007-2011),
with 2 priorities including: 1) To develop humanity and society
towards a knowledge-based and learning society; and 2) To
develop the potential, competency and skills of people to promote
the competitiveness of the country. Such skills as analytical skill,
innovation, problem solving, decision-making, team work, ethics
and discipline are necessary for working with the new technology
as well as increasing productivity.
The 10th Plan also indicated the following guidelines for human
resources: 1) Setting up a system of learning and training that can
work with new technology; 2) Networking from the basic to the
professional level, and linkages between government, the private
sector, and the community for labour development; 3) Organising
short courses in training, promoting training, workplace learning,
and the learning centre; 4) Setting up a system that matches the
skills or competency to the wage structure; and 5) Extending the
skill training to disadvantaged people who are employees or selfemployed
people.
The current knowledge-based economy counts on efficient
resource utilisation as well as quality human resources with the
ability to create innovation and knowledge. Hence, an educated,
creative, and skilled labour force is essential in the knowledge-based
economy.
Concerned agencies make great efforts to adapt relevant
curriculum in education, training, and retraining to equip their human
resources with appropriate skills and competency to sustain the
competitiveness of Thai industries and quality of life. The idea is to
move the Thai economy away from low skilled labour-intensive to a
value-added and competitive industry based on identity, managerial
expertise and higher technical skills of labour.
Formal, non-formal, informal education and intensive
training on workforce skills provide basic, general and specialised
skills and are key strategies to enhance competencies, quality and
productivity of the workforce as well as to improve the quality of
life in the 21st century. In this regard, several concerned agencies
also implemented several policies and projects to prepare qualified
people through education in response to an increasing social demand
for highly-skilled workers. The Office of the Vocational Education
Commission sets four main goals for improving the professional
skill of vocational students as follows:
1) Increase of the Number of Vocational Students: The
strategies of this goal are to: provide universal access to technical
and vocational education and training; promote learning by doing
and earning while learning; focus on validation of experience;
promote positive attitude towards vocational education; improve and
design curricula more relevant to the current economic structure;
and cooperate with concerned agencies to provide vocational
education.
2) Quality Development of Vocational Education: The
strategies of this goal are to: establish a good image of vocational
education; improve teaching and learning management as well as
improve the examination process; develop occupational competency
standards, professional qualifications, vocational standards and
competency-based curricula; create a network for participation in
vocational education among business enterprises, communities,
localities, and domestic and international networks; improve
knowledge management; conduct quality assessment of products and
services; and expand Dual Vocational Training with the cooperation
of business enterprises and communities.
3) Community Services: The strategies of this goal are
to: integrate occupational training for poverty alleviation; offer
a higher degree in the agricultural field; add value to the “One
Tambon (district) One Product” scheme; establish Green Vocational
Education to create a good environment; and establish Vocational
Education Effort to undertake community service work.
4) New Entrepreneur Preparation: The strategies of this
goal are to: formulate and develop a new entrepreneur network;
create and fund a business knowledge channel; and initiate “One
College One Company” project.
The aim of these goals is the increased potential of the
workforce in terms of specialised professional skills, language
proficiency, computer literacy, business plan and basic research
skills, good morality and a developed personality.
The Office of the Higher Education Commission carried
out two distinguished projects aimed at preparing highly-skilled
human resources in response to greater demand for highly-skilled
workers in the labour market:
1) Co-operative Education in Higher Education Institutions:
This project includes educational provision both in normal
classrooms and in the workplace under the cooperation of
various business enterprises. In this cooperation, students are
required to practice their work as temporary employees in a
workplace so that they will be able to acquire beneficial experiences
from their work and develop themselves upon completion of
their studies.
Higher education institutions joining this project are
encouraged to develop modern curricula conforming to the current
situation. In addition, public and private agencies have an opportunity
to participate in quality development of graduates. This project
aims to prepare highly-skilled graduates whose competencies