The Kingdom of Thailand, covering an area of 514,000 square kilometres, lies in the heart of Southeast Asia, roughly equidistant between India and China. It shares borders with Myanmar to the west and north, Lao P.D.R. to the north and northeast, Cambodia to the east and Malaysia to the south.

Thailand is divided into four distinct areas : the mountainous North, the fertile Central Plains, the semi-arid plateau of the Northeast, and the peninsula South, distinguished by its many beautiful tropical beaches and offshore islands. 

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 100 00 E 

Area:
total: 514,000 sq km 
land: 511,770 sq km 
water: 2,230 sq km 

Coastline: 3,219 km 
 

Climate 

Thailand lies within the humid tropics and remains hot throughout the year. Average temperatures are about 29^oC, ranging in Bangkok from 35^oC in April to 17^oC in December. There are three seasons: the cool season (November to February), the hot season (April to May), and the rainy season (June to October), though downpours rarely last more than a couple of hours. 
 

Population 

62,354,402
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.)
 

Age structure:

0-14 years: 23.3% (male 7,404,227; female 7,121,083)
15-64 years: 69.9% (male 21,469,186; female 22,090,520)
65 years and over: 6.8% (male 1,868,632; female 2,400,754) (2002 est.)
 

Population growth rate: 0.88% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 16.86 births/1,000 population (2000 est.) 

Death rate:7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate:0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 29.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
Total population: 69.18 years
female: 72.51 years (2002 est.)
male: 66 years

Ethnic groups: Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11% 

Religions: Buddhism 95%, Muslim 3.8%, Christianity 0.5%, Hinduism 0.1%, other 0.6% (1991) 

Languages: Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects 

Natural resources: tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land 

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write 
total population: 93.8% 
male: 96% 
female: 91.6% (1995 est.) 
 

EDUCATION

Basic education in Thailand originated in the Buddhist monasteries and the royal compounds. In the monasteries young novices were taught to read and write as a part of their religious training, while the only other segment of society that received basic education was the children of the royal household and nobility. In 1898, King Rama V (1868-1910) modernised the Thai educational system and made it more accessible to the general public.

The Kingdom promulated its first formal comprehensive educational plan in 1932, and subsequent revisions were made in 1936, 1951, and 1997. The 1977 plan established an educational system featuring six years of compulsory primary schooling, three years of lower secondary schooling, and another three years of upper secondary education.

In response to the changing needs of society and a modern economy. Thailand's parliament passed a critical piece of legislation in 1999 to improve its educational system and administration to correct many of the deficiencies found in the old system. On August 19, 1999 the National Education Act took effect. It aims to restructure the Thai national education system within three years. Highlights of the National Education Act include:

• All citizens have equal rights and opportunities to receive at least 12 years of basic education provided free of charge by the state. Nine years of compulsory education is required for all children.

• The new Ministry of Education, Religion, and Culture will be comprised of four main pillars: the National Council for Education, Religion, and Culture; the Commission for Basic Education; the Commission for Higher Education; and the Commission for Religion and Culture.

• State educational institutions will have autonomy to develop their own systems of administration and management under the supervision of the council and commissions. To achieve autonomy, the Ministry will decentralise power in education administration and management in academic matters, budgeting, personnel, and offices of "educational service areas" and the institutions in the areas.

• The creation of educational services areas will be based on the distribution of educational institutions and population.

• A system of education quality assurance will be established for all levels of education. The Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment will ensure that all educational institutions receive an external quality evaluation at least once every five years.

• Private education institutions are authorised to provide education at all levels and of all types according to law, including basic education, vocational training, and occupational training.

The Act is the culmination of on-going work on the part of the government to develop both the quality of education and the number of people receiving it. To achieve these ends, the government is promoting the role of private sector institutions in the education sector by offering various benefits and incentives to private education providers. Among the benefits granted by the government to private education institutions are state support (namely, grants and loans in accordance with the law) for the provision of basic education and tax rebates or exemptions for educational expenditures.
 

State support

The government offers three major funds for private sector education institutions: the Human Resource Development Loan Fund, the Revolving Fund for the Development of Private Higher Education Institutions, and the Revolving Fund for the Development of Private Higher Education Human Resource. The latter two funds have granted loans worth nearly 496 million baht through mid-1999. In 1998l the Cabinet eased the regulations on private sector education institutions for loan applications under government loan programs. All levels of institutions can apply for loans, but priority is given to secondary education institutions and all institutions located outside of Bangkok. State subsidies for private sector institutions are given to existing institutions on a per head cost basis, but subsidies are no longer available for new education institutions.
 

Tax exemptions

Private educational institutions are exempted from taxes on operational profits, including those from books and material sales, dormitories, and cafeteria servides. Tax exemptions are also given for dividends earned from shares in educational institutions.

The Board of Investment (BOI) grants educational institutions or vocational training centres tax exemptions on corporate tax for eight years and 50 percent exemptions on import duties of equipment. For educational institutions and training centres located outside of Bangkok and its surrounding provinces, 100 percent of import duties are exempted. These terms apply to educational institutions and training centres under the following conditions:

• Teaching must be in subject related to industrial technology, engineering, science or technology

• At least 50 percent of the total enrolment of students must be in the aforementioned categories

• Institutions must be approved by the relevant government agencies.

Enrolments in private sector education institutions are increasing at all levels except pre-primary, and the Office of the National Education Commission (ONEC) anticipates that enrolments in upper secondary vocational schools will increase 80 percent between 1997 and 2000. Table 3.14.1 provides enrolment data for public and private education institutions. Particularly noteworthy in the table are the predicted increased shares for private institution enrolments in pre-primary, upper secondary academic and vocatnional, and higher than BA levels. These forecasts imply that excellent investment opportunities exist in the private education realm.

Education enrolment data

Thai Year	2539	2540	2544 @
Academic Year	1995/96	1996/97	2000/01
TOTAL PRE-PRIMARY	2,523.3	2,820.3	2,960.0
Kindergarten - Public	1,401.5	1,667.9	1,710.0
Kindergarten - Private	523.3	532.7	680.0
Pre-School	104.8	7.6	70.
Child Development Centres	493.7	544.2	500.0
Enrolment Rate of 3-5 Cohort	78.4%	82.7%	95.0%
Private Share	20.7%	18.9%	23.0%
Total Primary	5,909.3	6,014.3	6,198.0
Primary-Public	5,151.8	5,236.0	5,244.0
Primary-Private	757.5	778.3	954.0
Enrolment Rate of 6-11 Cohort	90.1%	91.1%	96.5%
Private Share	12.8%	12.9%	15.4%

Education enrolment data 

Thai Year	2539	2540	2544 @
Academic Year	1995/96	1996/97	2000/01
Total Lower Secondary	2,445.9	2,581.5	2,697.0
Public	2,289.2	2,427.5	2,519.0
Private	156.6	154.0	178.0
Enrolment Rate of 12-14 Cohort	71.5%	76.3%	82.8%
Private Share	6.4%	6.0%	6.6%
Total Upper SEcondary: Academic & Vocational	1,479.2	1,730.8	2,302.0
Upper Secondary-Academic	814.6	977.8	1,234.0
Academic - Public	776.6	939.4	1,175.0
Academic - Private	37.9	38.4	59.0
Enrolment Rate of 15-17 Cohort	23.4%	28.3%	36.9%
Private Share of 15-17 Cohort	4.6%	3.9%	4.8%
Upper Secondary-Vocational	664.8	753.0	1,068
Vocational - Public	367.3	466.4	534.0
Vocational - Private	397.5	286.6	534.0
Vocational Enrolment Rate of 15-17 Cohort	19.1%	21.8%	31.9%
Private Share of Vocational Enrolment	44.8%	38.1%	50.0%
Total Enrolment Rate of 15-17 Cohort	42.5%	50.0%	68.8%
Academic Share of 15-17 Cohort	55.1%	56.5%	53.6%
Academic Share of 15-17 Cohort	1,352.3	1,506.1	1,610.0
Total Higher Education	16.7%	18.6%	20.0%
Enrolment Rate of 18-24 Cohort	320.8	389.1	483.0
Less than BA	45.1%	44.0%	50.0%
Private Share of Closed Admission	977.5	1,064.3	1,047.0
BA Degree	460.3	543.6	577.0
Total Close Admission	36.3%	36.0%	40.0%
Private Share of Closed Admission	517.2	520.7	470.0
Open System	54.0	52.8	80.0
Higher than BA	51.7	49.4	70.0
Total Closed Admission	13.3%	18.0%	23.0%
Private share of Cosed Admission	2.2	3.3	10.0

Note: @ - forecasts of ONEC
Source: Compiled from various statistical publications of ONEC

Private education inmstitutions were given a boost inThailand under the terms of the US$500 million loan from the Asian Development Bank's Social Sector Loan Program (SSPL).The SSPL intends to mitigate the impact o the crisis and address long-standing issues of inequity and inefficiency. The SSPL is the biggest such loan ever provided by the ADB. One of the objectives of the SSPL is to promote private sector participation in the provision of education and training.

An important reform of Thailand's educational system is the restructuring of its public universities. In addition to consolidating the Ministry of University Affairs into the Ministry ofeducation, Religion, and Culture, public universities are preparing to receive autonomous status between the end of 1999 and 2002. The ADB-supported SSPL required that the Ministry of University Affairs produce a White Paper on University Autonomy and a schedule for transforming the system to autonomy.

The White Paper, submitted in 1997, defines an autonomous university as one that is still a government unit but having its own administrative and management systems. Autonomy should not be confused with privatisation, as the universities will remain in government realm and receive their budgets on a cost per head basis from the central government. The goal behind university autonomy is to make universities more efficient, independent, flexible, and responsive to changes and needs in academic and society as a whole.

The Thai government's role in university education will be reducet to oversight on issues related to policy, block budgeting, and quality assurance. Hence, most administrative and management decisions, including personnel, salaries, curricula, and itemised budgeting will rest in the hands of each university.

As a result of the impending autonomy status of public universities, greater opportunities will arise for these universities to form partnerships with private companies, foundations, foreign universities, and other institutions. Potential activities include the establishment of joint research and development projects, laboratories, degree programs, and more.

In addition to the vocational training system and the university education system regulated by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of University Affairs, labour skills training is provided at numeerous levels by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, the Ministry of Industry, as well as non-government organisations. The target groups are new labourers, unemployed people and those seeking to develop their skills. Training is divided into five levels: Basic skill training; semi-skilled labour training; skilled labour training; technical and expert training; and professional training.

In recognition of skills training and development, the government promulgated the Vocational Training Promotion Act in 1994, which encourages co-operation between companies and education institutes to provide employee training. Companies are required to contribute to the Skill Development Fund if they do not provide training or offer an inadequate amount of it as specified by law.

To support training activities in the country, training organisers are granted the following privileges:

• Permission for foreign trainers and their spouses to stay in Thailand for a longer period of time than normally specified by law

• Import duty exemption on training equipment

• Double deduction from taxable income of public utility expenses related to the training 

• Select exemptions from the Labour Protection Law, Labour Relations Law, and the Private School Law

• Receive assistance on curriculum, equipment and trainers from the Department of Skill Development

• Receive a 150 percent deduction on training utility expenses from taxable income according to Royal Decree B.E. 2539 (1996)

In addition to the above privileges, vocational training centres can also be granted corporate income tax exemption for eight years if the centres are promoted by the Board of Investment.

Human resource development is an essential factor that will ensure sustained economic development in Thailand as it attempts to add technological value to its products. This is vital if the country is to avoid competition from countries with ower labour costs.

Although Thailand has a relatively well educated labour force, it is not yet equipped for the higher technical levels. Skill development training, therefore, is a primary tool necessary for raising standards, and enhancing the country's overall competitiveness. The Thai government recognises the significant contributions made by the private sector in education, and thus it is creating a more conducive environment to enable private education institutions to provide more services.
 

CONTACTS

Ministry of Education
Wang Chan Kasem Road, Ratchadamneon Nok Road, Bangkok 10300
Home Page: www.moe.go.th

Office of the National Education Commission, Office of the Prime Minister
Sukhothai Road, Dusit, Bangkok 10300
Tel 6687110-24

Ministry of University Affairs
328 Sri Ayutthaya Road, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400
Tel 2460025
Fax 2458636
Home Page: http://www.inter.mua.go.th

Asian Development Bank (Social Sector Loan Program)
Home Page: http://www.sspl.org

National Economic and Social Development Board
962 Krung Kasem Road, Bangkok 10100
Tel 2804085
Fax 2800892
Home Page: http://www.nesdb.go.th

Dusit Thani College
902 Moo 6 Srinakarin Road, Nongbon, Praves, Bangkok 10260
Tel 3617811-3