Thai universities need to move with the times to survive as they brace for declining enrolments, according to president of the Council of University Presidents of Thailand (CUPT).
The warning was raised by CUPT president Suchatvee Suwansawat who noticed a significant decrease in the number of students going to university in recent years.
In last year's admission, Thai universities could take up to 156,216 prospective students to study various subjects, but only 105,046 high school students applied for the entrance test.
Suchatvee 'Vince' Suwansawat is not just the president of the Council of University Presidents of Thailand, but one of the country's best-known engineers. (File photo via Eisenhower Fellowship)
Meanwhile, this year, only 81,230 of them applied for placements while there are about 110,000 seats for them in all universities combined.
The declining birthrate is behind this shortfall, Mr Suchatvee said, adding the drop in demand is taking more of a toll on privately-owned universities than on those that are state-run.
INQUIRYLINES, published bi-weekly on Mondays is a Bangkok Post column to present in-depth details of a range of issues from politics and social interest to eye-catching everyday lives.
"The number of new students enrolling in private universities has dropped almost 50% in the past few years," he said.
There are about 600,000-700,000 babies born in Thailand per year on average now, compared to 1 million per year from 30 years ago.
According to the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), 704,058 babies were born in Thailand last year.
The NESDB also expects the number of Thais in the school-age group (0-21 years) will fall to 20% of the population in 2040, a sharp drop from 62% in 1980.
Mr Suchatvee said these figures are a wake-up call for university administrators to start thinking about adjusting their strategies to survive in the long run.
Under this circumstance, the worst case scenario is some universities may be forced to shut down if they do not learn to adapt, he said.
Mr Suchatvee's name may be new to some in the education field.
But two years after taking up the post of rector at the King Mongkut Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, he has the authority to voice his concern.
Apart from his experience in education, Mr Suchatvee is also among a group of famous engineers.
He graduated with a PhD in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he received a government fellowship to pursue his graduate study.
He later became a Microsoft scholar while studying there.
He has been involved with many of Thailand's infrastructure development projects; for example, he assisted in the first Bangkok subway project and other underground projects, working on tunnelling and geo-technical issues for the subway with MIT professors.
He was also a member of the government panel who investigated the damage to runways and the tarmac at Suvarnabhumi airport.
Mr Suchatvee has been active in the Engineering Institute of Thailand as he was the founder and the first president of the Thai Young Engineer Committee which aims to promote collaboration among a new generation of Thai engineers.
At the same time, he is the chairman of the Thailand Underground and Tunneling Group as a nation member of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, the world organisation which promotes use of the underground for human and environmental benefits.
As a structural engineer he has inspected the pillars of many important buildings and places in Thailand to ensure their safety.
This time, however, we asked him to assess the future of higher education in Thailand amid a declining birthrate and share his insights of what Thai universities need to do to survive.
As the KMITL rector, Mr Suchatvee is also a part of the survey team working on the master plan for the controversial Chao Phraya Riverside promenade, the so-called New Landmark of Thailand, assigned by City Hall.
Mr Suchatvee continued his concern about the shrinking number of university students, citing a recent study by the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida).
The study found three-quarters of Thai universities are in danger of shutting down over the next decade due to low enrolment and increasing competition in the higher education sector.
University operating costs are high and some universities already face financial problems while others, especially private ones, are struggling as the number of applicants for courses falls below target.
For those which want to stay financially healthy, the CUPT president suggested they consider downsizing or closing some outdated majors while increasing international programmes.
Focus on quality over quantity, he said.
Most world renowned universities accept only about 25,000 students a year on average while Thai universities are taking up at least 30,000 to 40,000 students a year.
He foresaw the number of Thai university students enrolled in international programmes increasing sharply over the next decade as more students look to equip themselves with the skills needed to compete in a globalised economy.
"Demand for international programmes is high in Thailand because students are paying more attention to improving their capacity to communicate in English, which is considered a weak point for most Thai workers," he said.
Mr Suchatvee said he has seen the number of students attending international programmes at KMITL increasing steadily over the past few years.
"Thai universities have faced declining enrolment in Thai-language programmes, but when it comes to English-language programmes I think there is still room to grow," he said.
The CUPT president also suggested public universities set up their own business entity to co-invest with private companies, converting patents and research projects invented by their academics into commercial products or services, to generate more income.
"Universities cannot rely on annual budgets from the government, they will need to be financially independent," he said.
Mr Suchatvee signalled that, in the near future, Thai universities may have to raise tuition fees to meet the rising costs of higher education as student rolls fall and the revenue which varsities earn from course enrolments also takes a hit.
"However, we must be able to guarantee that higher price also means higher quality," Mr Suchatvee said.