Thai resignations ‘tip of the iceberg’ for sector under pressure

Dozens of faculty have left one of Thailand’s first autonomous universities, reflecting a pattern taking hold across the sector, scholars have warned. 

Thai researchers believe its institutions are rapidly losing academics as a result of a culture in which researchers are expected to rattle out papers and given scant institutional support. 

Several academics speaking to Times Higher Education estimated that dozens of scholars had quit Walailak University (WU), a public institution, over the past year. WU does not share these figures publicly; THE contacted the university for comment. 

Jirayudh Sinthupan, director of the South Asian Studies Centre at Chulalongkorn University, said WU had been losing substantial numbers of academics for several years. It was not alone, he noted.

“Higher education is no longer a happy place to work in, nor [is it] a community of intellectuals,” he said.

Dr Sinthupan attributed the problems to the “publish or perish” mindset in Thai higher education, with many universities demanding that faculty put out at least one Scopus-listed research paper and generate about 1 to 2 million baht (£22,000 to £45,000) in annual research grants. 

“This is on top [of] everything else that one must do in a Thai university,” he said, adding that most institutions “wouldn’t even consider a book or a chapter in a book published by leading scholarly publishers”, let alone research published in Thai journals.

While Dr Sinthupan said that some of the country’s top institutions have seen less of an exodus, he believed they too were starting to feel the effects of scholars’ disillusionment.

“Although universities like Chulalongkorn University or Thammasat University might not share similar issues…they do have some difficulty in recruiting people,” he said.

Another scholar, who wished to remain anonymous, said resignations at WU, while particularly bad, were “certainly not limited” to the university, but part of a “growing and worrying trend”.

“Fewer students want to do a PhD and even fewer want a job in academia. The job is no longer what it was and many students see their lecturers struggling and suffering and naturally decide that’s not for them,” he said.

He predicted dire effects for academia, barring a radical change in direction.

“If the staff are not more involved in decision-making, Thailand will suffer a major problem with declining availability of lecturers in, say, 10 years.”

A third scholar, who also requested anonymity because of job concerns, agreed. 

She critiqued the government for its spending in research, 70 per cent of which goes into “innovation” – a category that loosely encapsulates applied research, which she said often falls short of funding rigorous studies.

“If the budget has been allocated to genuine innovation, that is perfectly acceptable. However, Thai innovation typically consists of new soaps, shampoos, and other products that cannot compete with established brands,” she said. 

The outlook, she noted, doesn’t appear rosy. “Administrators have established a policy to merely check the appropriate sections to meet KPIs. In [the] majority of universities in Thailand…there are no defined and long-term plans for creating sustainable research ecosystems.”

pola.lem@timeshighereducation.com