Thailand’s Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET), Education Finance and Dual Vocational Education A draft prepared for the 2nd ASEAN+3 Forum on Dual Training and Skills Financing. May 23-25, 2016. Seoul, Republic of Korea
Outline of the Paper 1. 2. 3. 4.
Overview of Thai Education System Overview of TVET in Thailand Education Financing in Thailand (TVET vs General Academic) Dual Vocational Education in Thailand
Prepared by Mr.Pumsaran Tongliemnak* Ms.Rubkwan Tharmmapornphilas Bureau of Policy and Strategy, Office of the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education, Thailand Mr.Jinsiri Pumsiri Office of the Vocational Education Commissions Ministry of Education, Thailand Corresponding author: email
[email protected] 1
1. Overview of Thai Education System Governing body of education system in Thailand In Thailand, the Ministry of Education (MOE) is the main governmental agency that is responsible for overseeing all levels and types of education, formulating education policies, plans and standards, mobilizing resources for education, monitoring and evaluating education performances. Currently, national educational administration and management is under the supervision of five main governing bodies which are:
The Office of the Permanent Secretary (OPS)
The Office of the Education Council (OEC)
The Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC)
The Office of the Higher Education Commission (OHEC)
The Office of the Vocational Education Commission (OVEC)
In addition, there are three public organizations which are International Institute for Trade and Development, National Institute of Educational Testing Service, and Mahidol Wittayanusorn School. And four Autonomy Organizations, which include The Teachers Council, Office of the Welfare Promotion for Teachers and Educational Personnel, Institute for the promotion of teaching science and technology, and National scout organization. These organizations report directly to the Minister of Education. About 90% of Thai students attend schools under the MOE, the rest attend education institutions under other ministries such as Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Ministry of Defense, Royal Thai Police. In this paper we will mostly focus on the system under the MOE.
There are 4 types of education institutions: private schools, public schools, higher education institutions and vocational institutions. These schools are governed by different offices. The private schools are governed by the Office of Private Education Commissions (OPEC) which is under the OPS. Public schools are governed by OBEC. Higher education institutions such as universities and community colleges are governed by OHEC. Lastly, both public and private vocational institutions are governed by OVEC1.
1
Historically, the private vocational colleges were under the Office of the Private Education Commissions which is under the Office of the Permanent Secretary. They were recently transferred to OVEC in 2015 by the current government.
2
Formal education system and access to formal education 2 Thailand‟s Basic education is divided into three years of pre-primary education starting around age 3, six years of primary education, three years of lower secondary education, and three years of upper secondary education. Vocational education starts from the end of lower secondary education. Students study in vocational colleges for 3 years to get the vocational certificates (Por Wor Chor). Vocational students can further their education by enrolling in a two year diploma program (Por Wor Sor). To provide an overview of educational enrollment in Thailand‟s formal education system, Figures 1-1 present the statistics on educational enrollment by education level, responsible agencies that are in charge of developing curricula, and types of education institutions. According to the statistics on educational enrollment, there were 13,606,743 students enrolled in formal education in 2013. Of the total number of students enrolled in 2013, 36 percent of students enrolled in primary schools, followed by lower secondary schools (18%), higher education (16%), pre-primary schools (13%), higher secondary schools (11%), vocational schools (5%) and higher vocational schools (2%). For vocational education 460,626 and 238,772 students enroll in public and private colleges respectively. It is equivalent to ratio of 66:34.
2
In Thailand, there are three types of education, including formal education, non-formal education and informal education. Note that the Thai government supports and subsidizes the national education program for 15 years, from pre-primary level until higher secondary or vocational certificate levels.
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Figure 1- 1: Number and percentage of students by education levels in 2013 6,000,000 36%
5,000,000 4,000,000 3,000,000 2,000,000
18%
16%
13%
11% 5%
1,000,000
2%
0
Source: Educational Statistics in Brief 2013, Bureau of Information and Communication Technology.
Figure 1-2 shows that there are 7,243,713 students and 31,021 schools in the public school system, 2,459,927 students and 3,543 schools in the private school system, 2,125,101 students and 151 schools in the universities and community colleges, 652,788 students and 879 schools in the vocational institutions and 719 students in the specialized school for mathematics and science (Mahidol Wittayanusorn School). Figure 1- 2: Number of students by education levels and types of institutions in 2013 7,243,713
2,459,927
2,125,101 652,788
719
Source: Educational Statistics in Brief 2013, Bureau of Information and Communication Technology.
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2.Overview of Technical and Vocational Education (TVET) in Thailand The Technical and Vocational Education has been part of Thailand‟s education system since 1898. In the early days, it was classified as the „special education‟ category which aimed to enhance the skills of learners. Like all schools of pre-modern Thailand, the first vocational schools were established as in the temples taught by the monks and only for the boys. The first vocational-temple schools were WatMahaPhruttaram and WatRatchaburana (in 1910). Later the non-secular vocational schools were founded such as Poh Chang (Artisan Nurturing school) Academy of Arts (in 1913), Teachers‟ Training of Agriculture (in 1917). After the revolution to change Siam‟s administrative system from Absolute Monarchy to Constitutional Parliamentary system in 1932, the first National Education Plan was enacted in that year (1932). It already recognized the importance of vocational education. From the bill, vocational education was defined as the teaching of three subjects; agriculture, handicrafts and commerce. The subsequent National Education Plan (1936) divided the vocational education into 3 levels; the fundamental, intermediate and higher vocational education. Regarding the administrative structure of TVET in the government‟s Ministry of Education. In 1938, the vocational education was put under the department of curriculum and instruction development of the Dhammakarn Ministry (a predecessor of the Ministry of Education). In 1941, vocational education had been officially located under the department of vocational education, Ministry of Education and remained so for sixty years. Currently, following the National Education Act of 1999 (amended in 2002) that vocational education has been officially under the Office of Vocational Education Commission (OVEC). In 2015, the private TVET schools have been transferred from the OPS to the OVEC. Currently Thailand has 421 public and 412 private TVET schools. According to Thailand‟s Ministry of Education (2012), there were approximately 739,155 students enrolled in secondary vocational education in 2011, which accounted for approximately 35.03% of the total secondary education enrollment. .
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Structure of TVET education in Thailand In Thailand, students are required by law to attend primary schools (1st- 6th grade) and lower secondary schools (7th-9th grade). However the government still provides support until they finish upper secondary schools (10th-12th grade) under the ‟15 Years of Free Education‟ Scheme which covers tuition fee and some limited amount of
items such as clothing,
stationary, textbooks & activity fees. At the end of ninth grade, students have to make a decision whether they want to continue their academic program in general or vocational tracks. They can continue in general track at their schools, apply to new schools in general track or to vocational colleges. Most general high schools are contained within comprehensive secondary schools, which provide education from 7th–12th grades and students can, in most case, automatically continue from 9th to 10th grade. However, some schools in rural or non-municipal area have only 9th grade that students will have to apply to new schools if they want to continue their education. In general, a large majority of students who are in the comprehensive school can automatically continue at the same school, while students who want to change schools need to pass an entrance examination to get into the general comprehensive high school. As for vocational education, admission policies vary across the schools. Some schools have open admission, while others require an entrance exam. After 3 years of high school education (10th-12th grades), students from both general and vocational tracks are technically equally eligible to apply to the 2-year vocational associate degree or 4-year bachelor degree programs. However, the vocational diploma degree is a continued curriculum from the vocational high school level and thus a direct path for vocational high school students. If students who graduate with vocational associate degrees want to continue their education to the bachelor degree level, they can do so by transferring to a bachelor degree program at Rajamangala Universities of Technology or Rajabhat Universities. Here, associate degree graduates will be required to spend typically 2 more academic years in order to earn the bachelor‟s degree.
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Level of TVET’s degree programs in Thailand The TVET can be categorized into 3 levels which include (1) certificate level which is equivalent to 10th-12th grade,(2) post-secondary level which is equivalent to year 13th-14th or 2 years of diploma, and (3)and bachelor‟s degree level. 1) Certificate Level: The students will obtain Certificate in Vocational Education or “PorWorChor” upon graduation. The program can be diversified into five different types according to the curriculum arrangement.
Vocational Certificate: This is a three-year formal program in which theoretical and practical subjects are studied in a school setting. Students may have internship in the workplace for a semester.
Dual Vocational Education (DVE) Certificate: This is a three-year program where learning and training takes place at two venues; at a college and private firm/company where students go through the training and receive an allowance from the firm/company. The terms of contract depend on the MOU between colleges and firms. The firms can use the amount of budget spent on student-related training for tax discount of 200%.
Vocational Education Certificate (Accumulating System): The program aims for adult students who transfer credits between institutions. The length of the program is between 3-5 years depending on the credits needed.
Vocational Education Certificate (Evening class): The program aims for adult or working students who want to study in the evening after their regular work hours.
Vocational Education Certificate for Non-Formal Education: This program is organized by the Office of the Non-formal education. Students learn through distance learning and some group meetings in order to do the required activities.
2) Diploma Level: (Post-Secondary Vocational Education). Students who have completed vocational certificate program or already take another two-year post-secondary level to obtain the diploma.
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3) Bachelor‟s degree level
Higher Diploma in Technical Education: An equivalent to Bachelor‟s degree for people who already have post-secondary level diploma. This aims to produce professional TVET teachers.
Bachelor’s degree level (in Technology/Performance) for students who already have post-secondary level diploma and want to continue to Bachelor‟s degree level. The program started in 2011. Currently, 12 vocational colleges offer Bachelor‟s degree program under the Dual Vocational Education (DVE) program.
Other than the degree programs, TVET institutes also offer short courses for career development and special training for learners of all levels. Currently more than 460,000 people have been trained by the various short-course programs. As of September 2014, there are 654,083 vocational students (Table 2-1). The majority of TVET students enroll in the Vocational Certificate (3 years program) while about half of them enroll in Vocational Diploma (2 years program after that). Currently, only about 0.2 percent of total vocational students enroll in the Bachelor‟s degree program. Table 2-1 Number of Vocational Students by Level of Education Level of Vocational Education
Number of Student
1.Certificate of Vocational Education
437,269
2.Diploma of Vocational Education
215,548
3. Bachelor‟s Degree in Vocational Education
1,266
Total
654,083
Source: Data collected by OVEC (September 2014) The majorities of students of the Vocational Certificate programs (more than 300,000 students) enroll in fields of „Industrial Trades/Industrial Technology (45.9%) and „Commerce/Business Administration (43.87%). The rests are enrolled in Tourism, Agricultural Trades, Home Economics, Arts and Crafts Technology (Table 2-2).
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Table 2-2 Number of Vocational Students by field of study Field of TVET
No.of Student
Percentage
A. Industrial Trades/Industrial Technology
314,594
45.93
B. Commerce/Business Administration
300,576
43.88
H. Tourism Industry
20,997
3.07
E. Agricultural Trades
14,880
2.17
D. Home Economics
14,720
2.15
C. Arts and Crafts Technology
13,862
2.02
4,090
0.60
G. Information Technology
569
0.08
F. Fishery
544
0.08
I. Textile Industry
184
0.03
J. Office of the Basic Education Commission
Figure 2-1: Number of students by type of Vocational Institutes (from 7 largest types) 350,000 300,000 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 Technical Colleges
Industrial & Community Colleges
Vocational Colleges
Polytechnic Agricultural Commercial College of Colleges and Colleges Tachnology Technology and Colleges Management
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3.Education Financing in Thailand
This sector will discuss about the system of education finance in Thailand. Thai government has spent a relatively large portion of the annual budget to education. By far, budget for education is the largest portion of government budget of all ministries thanks to the large number of teachers as a government officer and a universal subsidy policy where Thai government will provide subsidy to all students in Thailand regardless of its nationalities for 15 years from kindergarten (K1) to upper secondary (12th grade). About 20% of the annual budget or 4% of country‟s GDP has been allocated to the Ministry of Education (MOE) each year. Thai government‟s spending on education has grown significantly from just around 140 billion baht in 2003 to nearly 530 billion baht in 2015 or around 378% thanks to the government‟s policies of increasing teacher salaries and the 15 Year of Free education.
Figure 3-1: The increasing education budget and Academic Performance of Thailand
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Despite the increase in education spending, there is some dissatisfaction with the outcomes of students such as their performance on the tests or in the labor market. According to the PISA test scores which evaluate the academic performance of 15-year-old students from countries around the world, it is found that the level of education achievement of Thai students is mediocre at best. From the latest survey, Thailand ranks 50 out of 65 countries with 1/3 of Thai students are classified as functionally illiterate. Not only that, other education indicators such as World Economic Forum (WEF) ranking, English proficiency survey by EF and from our own employer survey all indicate that Thai education could not produce graduates who are up to the task of moving the economy forward. Therefore, many people have wondered what has gone wrong with Thailand‟s system of budget allocation. Why the large amount of education budget could not produce satisfying outcomes.
System of Education Budgeting in Thailand According to Thailand‟s Bureau of Budget, the of ministry of education and other government agencies are classified under 4 categories as follows 1. Personnel Budget: it includes the salaries and remuneration of teachers and other personnel 2. Operation Budget: budget for operating costs, daily expenditures, school and office activities 3. Investment (Capital) budget: it includes budget for capital investment such as school building, schools or offices, infrastructure, construction, computer labs, sports facilities etc. 4. Subsidy Budget: It is the budget provided to students in order to subsidize for their education expenditure. Oftentimes, within the MOE, it is called the „Per-head budget‟ in which schools will receive the subsidy budget from the government based on the number of students who attend the schools. The subsidy rates vary depending on the type of schools 5. Others : budget for other miscellaneous items other than the four categories above.
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Table 3-1 : 2016 Ministry of Education Budget By Type of Budget
Office of MOE Ministry of Education Percentage 1.Office of the Permanent Secretary Percentage 2. Office of the National Education Commissions Percentage 3.Office of the Basic Education Commissions Percentage 4. Office of the Vocational Education Commissions Percentage 5.Office of the Higher Education Commissions Percentage 6.Other Offices under the supervision of MOE Percentage
Total Budget
Personnel
Operations
Investments
Subsidies
Others
517,076.70
271,166.31
34,824.97
33,954.69
171,103.03
6,027.70
100.00
52.44
6.73
6.57
33.09
1.17
53,048.41
6,188.01
2,385.52
283.07
43,243.28
948.53
11.66
4.50
0.53
81.52
1.79
83.3671
29.0634
0.6403
14.164
108.5473
35.37
12.33
0.27
6.01
46.05
236,827.92
23,789.28
16,615.45
41,930.55
157.85
74.17
7.45
5.20
13.13
0.05
9,577.78
3,323.57
2,394.08
5,363.62
1,630.74
42.97
14.91
10.74
24.06
7.32
18,489.23
5,297.54
14,661.44
77,040.81
3,182.03
15.58
4.46
12.35
64.92
2.68
0
0
0
3,511
0
235.7821
319,321.05
22,289.80
118,671.06
3,511
100
Source: 2016 Bureau of Budget
Per-head Budget A portion of budget is called „per-head budget‟ under the „subsidy budget category‟ which the government will provide to schools based on the number of students in that school. There are different rates based on level of education, academic tracks and some socioeconomic factors (poor students, disabled students receive higher rate) (Table 3-2). For diploma students (2 years after certificate), the government does not provide subsidy for them. They can apply for low-interest rate, government‟s student loan program instead. Subsidy from the 15 Years of Free Education Program Since 2009, the government has provided another subsidy for education to students and parents under the “15 Years of free education program” from kindergarten to upper secondary level by allocating earmarked budget directly to schools and students under the 5 categories for tuition, school uniforms, textbooks, school equipments and school activity fees. (Table 3-3).
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Table 3-2a : Per-head subsidies per year by level of Education Education Level Preprimary school students Primary School students Lower Secondary Student
Per head subsidy / Year 1,700 1,900 3,500
Vocational College student (by field) Industrial Trades/Industrial Technology Commerce/Business Administration Arts and Crafts Technology Home Economics Agricultural Trades Fishery Tourism Industry Textile Industry Source: MOE statistics 2015
General Academic Track (Upper Secondary student) 6,500 4,900 6,200 5,500 5,900 5,900 5,500 6,500
3,800 baht/year
Table 3-2b: Per head subsidy of TVET students by field FIELDS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Industrial Trades/Industrial Technology Commerce/Business Administration Arts and Crafts Technology Home Economics Agricultural Trades Fishery Tourism Industry Textile Industry Information Technology Total
Number of Students
Per Head Subsidy Year1
Year2
Year3
Total
Estimated Subsidy Budget
95,911
64,051
81,495
241,457
1,569,470,500
51,156
40,489
45,184
136,829
670,462,100
6,500
4,900 6,200
4,352
2,603
3,054
10,009
62,055,800
5,500
5,733
3,830
4,344
13,907
76,488,500
5,900
5,449
3,625
4,375
13,449
79,349,100
5,900
220
156
144
520
3,068,000
5,500
6,884
4,149
4,555
15,588
85,734,000
6,500
89
131
59
279
1,813,500
1,354
856
415
2,625
14,437,500
171,148
119,890
143,625
434,663
2,562,879,000
5,500
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TABLE 3-3 :Subsidy from 15 Years of Free Education Policy (earmarked budget, cannot be used for other purchases) Items Vocational General Academic Track Where does the Students (from K1-12th grade) budget go to? (baht/year) (baht/year) School equipments 460 200-460 To student Uniform 900 300-500 To student Textbooks 2,000 200-1,109 To school School Activities 950 430-950 To school Total 4,310 1,130-3,019
Comparison between Financing of Vocational Education and General Academic Education Although in principle the education financing of all types of education is quite similar that budget is allocated to schools based on number of students. And all students are the beneficiary of the 15 Years of Free education from kindergarten to upper secondary. There are some differences in details between the financing of vocational and general academic track education (Table 3-4) Table 3-4: Comparison between Budget of TVET and General Education Vocational Education General-track Education Type of Budget (OVEC) (OBEC) Budget Percentage Budget Percentage 1.Personnel 9,578 42.97 236,828 74.17 2.Operations 3,324 14.91 23,789 7.45 3.Investments 2,394 10.74 16,615 5.20 4.Subsidies 5,364 24.06 41,931 13.13 5. Others 1,631 7.32 158 0.05 Total 22,290 100 319,321 100
From Table 3-4, for general academic track (grade 1-12) 74.2 % of budget is allocated to personnel which means that there are more teacher per student for the general-track education compared to the vocational education. As a result, vocational colleges may have to allocate budget from other sources such as operating or subsidy budgets to hire the vocational teachers. From the Table 3-2 and Table 3-3, we can see that the vocational students receive higher subsidy than general, academic track students. However, even though it seems that the per-head cost of vocational colleges is higher than the general track education but the actual 14
cost of operating vocational college (such as tools, equipments, factories) is much greater. Moreover, vocational colleges have to hire extra non-government teachers/instructors using its own funding (using subsidy budget or operating budget) while most teachers in general track schools are government officers and receive salary directly from the government. The general academic track schools may have to hire non-government teachers such as foreign teachers, language teachers or IT specialists but the ratio of non-governmental instructors in vocational colleges is higher than the general academic schools. Thus in sum, the overall per head subsidy of vocational college students is a little bit lower than the general academic tracks students (figure 3-2)
Figure 3-2: Comparison between total per head cost of TVET and General Track students
Source: Thailand Development Research Institute (2013)
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Figure 3-3: The cost of operation TVET education by field
Source: OVEC Survey (2013) Another issue is the per-head budget provided by the government does not reflect the true management costs of different subfields of TVET. Figure 3-3 shows that the real costs of TVET are different. According to the TVET cost survey, the field of „Metallurgy‟ is the most expensive of all compared to „Mechanic, Mechanical tools, Electronics, Circuit and Construction‟. But all of them are classified under the „industrial trade‟. They all receive the same amount of subsidy of 6,500 baht per year.
Conclusions: Effective budgetary system to support vocational and higher education: Currently, the government‟ budget allocated to support the development of vocational education is not as much as the general education. The per head budget of students in the vocational programs are still considered not sufficient for quality education since the operation costs of TVET are much higher than general track schools. Moreover, the budget system of Thailand is practically using incremental approach so that OVEC will receive gradual increase of budget every year regardless of their performance. The concept of performance-based budgeting must be applied if Thailand really wants to reform the TVET.
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4. Dual Vocational Education (DVE) in Thailand
Dual Vocational Education (DVE) is a model of vocational education where learning and training takes place at two venues; at a college and private firm/company where students go through the training and receive an allowance from the firm/company. The terms of contract depend on the MOU between colleges and firms. In Thailand the DVE occurs at both certificate and at diploma levels of education. History of Dual Vocational Education in Thailand The first Dual-Vocation Training (DVT) was imported from the German system of vocational training. In 1987, the two years program Mercedez-Benz Technical Apprenticeship has started in Thailand until the present days. In 1995, the department of vocational education (a predecessor of OVEC) launched the DVT programs which involve students in hand-on training in some selected organizations in the private sector. The training is for a period of three years with more than half of the time devoted to practical training onthe-job. The first Dual-Vocation Training (DVT) was imported from the German system of vocational training. In 1987, the two years program Mercedez-Benz Technical Apprenticeship has started in Thailand until the present days. In 1995, the department of vocational education (a predecessor of OVEC) launched the DVT programs which involve students in hand-on training in some selected organizations in the private sector. The training is for a period of three years with more than half of the time devoted to practical training onthe-job. The DVT in Thailand has been supported by the German-Thai Dual Excellence Education (GTDEE) which was founded under the cooperation of the German Thai Chamber of Commerce and German International Cooperation (GIZ).
However, the German‟s
Apprenticeship programs only applicable to small number of established firms such as Mercedez-Benz, BMW, Bosch, B.Grimm. Students have to divide their time between the factories and colleges. The German system requires that 60% of the time be spent learning on the factory site and 40% in colleges. It‟s a system of high standard. However, it may not be applicable to the small and medium size enterprises. But there is an attempt to create a 17
Thai-stllfyle Dual-Vocational Training (or Dual-Vocational Education) through the brainstorming with the Federation of Thai Industries, the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Revenue Department, the Ministry of Finance, the Department of Skill Development, the Ministry of Labor, the Thailand Professional Qualification Institute (Public Organization) and other organizations. In addition, MOE has several projects that private sector is involved in the production of manpower for the industries. Apart from the German firms such as Mercedez, BMW, Bosche, B. Grimm that have good relationship with OVEC on Dual Vocational Training, other companies such as MitraPhol Group, Homepro, Toyota, Siam Cement Group also cooperate with OVEC in terms of student training. Mae Ai Wittayakhom in Chiang Mai also cooperates with silk and cotton companies in that area.Moreover, many companies have decided to help with TVET curriculum or to open their own TVET institutes such as the CPALL group (Panyapiwat Institutes), Toyota Academy, PTT etc. The cooperation between private and public sectors on improving TVET is a positive sign of the future of TVET in Thailand. For the case of CP ALL, Panyapiwat Technological College is a private vocational secondary institution founded by CP All Company to develop the „right‟ employees for its workforce. At this college, three-year secondary vocational education is offered to those who have completed Mattayom 3 or grade 9 and are willing to work while they study. Graduates from Panyapiwat Technological College are guaranteed employment with the company but theycan also choose to further their education at post-secondary level. In each semester, students at Panyapiwat Technological College study theory in classes for three months and train at a 7-Eleven store for three months. For Toyota, Toyota Automotive Technology School (TAT) started in June 1998 provides two-year Higher Vocational Education Certificates in two programs of Automotive Technology and Automotive Service Technology. There are a number of programs for Automotive Technology in which students are trained in special knowledge and in professional skills. Certifications provided include the Higher Vocational Education Certificate; the Ministry of Labor Certification for Technician; Toyota Body and Paint Certificate provided by TMT and Toyota Pro Technician Certificate provided by Toyota Motor Corporation.
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Overall, the Dual Vocational Education (DVE) program seems like a popular program among TVET students because they can earn extra income while studying. The government‟s policy is also shifting towards encouraging students to enroll more into the Dual Vocational Education (DVE) program. As a result, the students enrolled in Dual Vocational Education Certificate program has been increased over the years (Figure 4-1) and Table 4-1.
Figure 4-1 Growth of Dual Vocational Education (DVE) program (from 2009-2014) 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 2009
2010 Vocational Certificate
2011
2012
2013
Vocational Diploma
2014 Total
Table 4-1: Number of Vocational colleges, students, firms which have participated in the Dual Vocational Education in 2014 and 2015 Year 1.Vocational Colleges 2.Students 3.Firms/Companies 4.Vocational Fields
2014 421 61,264 8,098 101
Source: DVE Center, January 2016
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2015 424 89,489 10,527 124
The Process of Dual Vocational Training/Education Firms
Handbook/Information on DVT Handbook/information on
DVT
Take application from students Interview/Select students Training contract/ Enrollment in Vocational College Registration Orientation for Students/Parents Learning/Training Supervision from colleges/teachers Evaluation, Follow up Examination, Test of skills Pass the examination Receive job certificate work/diploma
Vocational College diploma/certificate
Source: Office of Vocational Education Commissions (2015) 20
Schools
Financial Incentive for DVE In order to encourage the firms to participate in the Dual Vocational Education (DVE) by taking up Vocational college students to get trained in their companies the government creates a tax deduction incentive program that the firms can use the amount of budget spent on any student-related training for 200% of tax deduction. The firms can also receive the same rate of tax deduction by donation to educational institutions. Limitation of DVE in Thailand Although the government and TVET in Thailand have a plan to expand the DVE as much as possible there are some issues of concern that should be addressed here. Firm‟s preparedness for DVE: The most effective DVE programs in Thailand are operated by the large companies or multinational firms with good facilities, coaches, system of work where TVET students can get the best knowledge during their trainings. However, there are a limited number of such companies in Thailand. Most of the firms are small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In such case, the students may not learn a lot from training. Sometimes there is an issue of mutual understanding about the purpose of the DVE program. It is important that the companies do not think of the TVET students who intern in the firms as cheap labor that they can exploit.
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