THAILAND: Call for term calendar to match the world

When the chairman of the Council of University Presidents of Thailand (CUPT) recently suggested that the country's universities should realign their semester dates to more closely match the United States and other countries to promote internationalisation in higher education, it caused a stir among policy planners.

Prasart Suebka, Rector of Thailand's Suranaree University of Technology and the CUPT chairman, proposed last month that universities in Thailand change their academic calendar in order also to match universities in other Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN) countries, in preparation for ASEAN community integration in 2015.

Thailand is one of a few ASEAN countries where academic calendars do not match the US system, which is becoming common in other parts of the world.

Within the 10-country ASEAN group, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia and Singapore already follow the international bi-semester system, with the first semester running from September to December and the second from January to May.

However, the first semester at Thai public universities currently runs from June to September, and the second from November to March.

The change in term dates was to start as early as next year, according to Prasart. But widespread criticism from institutions, parents and students led to the plan being postponed pending consultations.

"The issue is very sensitive and has a lot of impact on Thai society, especially on schools and on education of every type and level. So I have confirmed to parents and students that the academic calendar change will definitely not be carried out in 2012, since we would not have been able to achieve it on time anyway," Prasart said.

Consultations on academic calendar alignment will be on the agenda at an upcoming CUPT meeting on ASEAN higher education collaboration in October in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Whether the Thai academic calendar will be changed to match other ASEAN countries, or whether others should match the Thai calendar, is the matter to be resolved, Prasart said.

Nantana Gajaseni, Executive Director of the ASEAN University Network, told University World News the misalignment of the Thai academic calendar had been one of the factors discouraging Thai students from taking part in exchange programmes abroad, as they are concerned about semester lag and an incompatible credit transfer system.

"We need to adapt ourselves to the changing world," she said, while acknowledging there could be some problems during the transition. Successfully aligning the Thai calendar would create a more vibrant environment, not only for academic exchange but also for social and cultural exchanges, she argued.

While some say the realignment is unnecessary, most agree that certain measures need to be implemented to prepare students for ASEAN community integration in 2015.

Preang Kitratporn, Rector of Phranakhon Rajabhat University and President of the Council of Rajabhat Universities of Thailand, a group of almost 50 public universities, said realigning dates was unnecessary.

"The semester dates do not affect academic collaboration in ASEAN countries. Rather, academic calendars evolve from each country's own policies and other factors like geography, seasons, lifestyle and culture," he told the Thai-language Kom Chad Luek daily newspaper recently.

Instead of focusing on changing the academic calendar, Thai universities should mobilise their resources to prepare students and faculties for ASEAN higher education integration, Preang said. Priorities should be improving skills such as English language proficiency and knowledge of neighboring countries' languages and cultures. Partnerships between universities within ASEAN should also be strengthened.

Nantana said students' attitudes needed to change to increase the number of successful academic exchanges in ASEAN.

"Many Thai students like to look outwards and choose exchange programmes in Europe and the United States. They think ASEAN countries are not interesting. But in order to achieve successful regional integration, we need to understand our neighbors more," said Nantana.