68 Pad Lavankura and Rattana Lao
its income. According to Chalapati (2007), international programmes in
Thailand mostly focus on the “sell well” programmes such as Business and
Engineering. Although Business Administration and International Business
remain the most popular international programmes with international
students in Thailand, latest research however demonstrates a greater
specialization and diversity of subjects. For example, Kasertsart University
offers an international Bachelor of Science programme in Agro-Industrial
Innovation and Technology, while the Faculty of Arts at Chulalongkorn
University has started international courses in Thai Studies, Chinese as a
Foreign Language, and French for the Business World. At the same time,
there are more students attending courses on Thai language, Buddhism,
and Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicines (OHEC 2011a; Sinhaneti
2011 a, p. 372).
International Students
Similar trends can also be found in terms of the increase in the number of
international students in Thailand. Since 2005, the OHEC has conducted
surveys on international students in Thailand in selected public and private
higher education institutions. In 2007, 96 institutions participated in the
OHEC survey: 62 public institutions and 34 private institutions. In the 2008,
2009 and 2011 surveys, out of the 103 institutions which participated, 64
were public institutions and 39 were private institutions. The most recent
data indicate that there is a total of 20,309 international students in Thai
higher education.
A recent survey conducted showed that students from more than
130 countries are studying in Thailand; 41 Asian countries, 34 European
countries, 10 North American countries, 33 African countries, 4 Australian/
Oceanian countries and 8 South American countries (OHEC 2011b). It is
evident that the majority of students are from Asia. In 2011, students from
China, Myanmar and Laos, the top three sender countries to international
programmes in Thailand, accounted for 41.90 per cent, 7.35 per cent
and 6.67 per cent of the total international students respectively (OHEC
2011 b). Thailand is a popular destination for Asian students due to its
lower educational costs, which are much less than going abroad to study
in Europe, North America or Australia (Chalapati 2007). Even though
the number of foreign students participating in Thai higher education
has more than doubled from 8,543 to 20,309 between 2006 and 2011, the