Academics and education experts have voiced support for a Teachers Council of Thailand (TCT) plan to shorten five-year teaching courses at some universities by one year to financially benefit students.
The TCT last week met deans from education institutions nationwide to discuss the idea.
Currently, courses last four or five years depending on the university.
Under the plan, all university courses for prospective teachers will be standardised at four years, and graduates will have to apply for a teaching licence instead of them being automatically awarded at their graduation.
The TCT board agreed in principle at the meeting on the four-year education study scheme and the compulsory teaching licence application.
The board will give final approval once the details have been fleshed out by a sub-panel revising professional teaching standards.
The details of the plan will be presented to the TCT board again at the end of this month. If accepted, the new rules are expected to take effect in the 2017 academic year.
Currently, university degree programmes range from four to five years. Students enrolled in education courses at some universities automatically receive a teaching licence upon graduation.
Under the new scheme, every graduate would have to sit a central exam to obtain a teaching licence.
The new standards are being pushed by deans of education institutions nationwide to eliminate discrepancies in education programmes.
Pattanun Hansapiromchoke, a lecturer at Kasetsart University's Faculty of Education, said she agreed with TCT's plan to cut the degree course by one year because the quality of graduates from the four- and five-year courses are the same.
"Thailand has been experimenting with the length of university courses for prospective teachers since 2004, but the country still struggles near the bottom of the Pisa [Programme for International Student Assessment] rankings, while students' average scores on the Ordinary National Educational Test [O-Net] have not improved either. This means the quality of our teaching has not changed over the last decade," Ms Pattanun said.
Moreover, many students take out student loans to finance their education, which becomes an even greater burden if they have to spend one more year at university, she said.
"Education students study a year longer than their peers in other faculties, but earn the same wage. If one more year cannot make any difference in terms of salary, what is the point of studying an extra year?" she added.
Education expert Sompong Jitradup said it would financially benefit students as their education expenses would be lower and they could join the workforce a year earlier.
He said the Education Ministry has already allowed graduates without teaching degrees to become teachers in some subjects, so if education graduates have to study five years, they might be put at a competitive disadvantage.