269areas of research excellence and designate each particular research-intensive uni-
versity to strengthen their research and innovation in specific areas through the
financial support from the national government research budget. Currently, there are
ten CoEs that focus on Chemicals, Chemical Management, Toxic Waste
Management, Petroleum, Energy and Environment, Agriculture and Biotechnology,
Mathematics, Physics, Biodiversity and Harvesting. In September 2015, a seminar
to reify the third strategic plan for the development of the centre of excellence will
be held in order to ensure the smooth operation of the promotion of scientific and
research excellence in the country.^4
Although the OHEC does not choose to directly support the areas of Education
or Higher Education, the policy and research infrastructure webbed through the
establishment of networking, especially international networking, for HEIs are evi-
dent in the country. These units, such as Thailand Cyber University or UniNet, as
well as those regional organisations based in Thailand such as the SEAMEO
Regional Centre for Higher Education and Development (SEAMEO RIHED), the
Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning (ASAIHL-Thailand)
and the ASEAN University Network (AUN), are financed partially by the OHEC
while having obtained the status of regional organisation. Their missions, apart
from promoting cooperation among HEIs in general, are promoting research as one
of the main areas of academic activities in the form of international networking.
However, research in Education or Higher Education is still not considered a prior-
ity in Thailand. The scenario is coupled with the fact that the trend of student admis-
sions into universities in the country has been leaning towards Science-based
subjects. This is due to both higher scores required for admission and popularity of
Science-based subjects among secondary students.^5 Accordingly, Thailand’s
National Research Policy through the Central Agency could be seen as placing more
emphasis on the Sciences rather than on the Social Sciences or on Education. In
practice, by promoting the autonomy among HEIs, the OHEC leaves the issue of
teaching and learning as well as research under the jurisdiction of each institution.
Whether or not Education and Higher Education would be promoted as a flagship
discipline apparently depends on the consideration of each HEI.
In a nutshell, the Higher Education Research Policy in Thailand is not a stand-
alone policy, but has been webbed through the establishment of CoEs. The role of
the Central Higher Education Agency in terms of research stimulation is limited
when compared to research funding agencies like the Thailand Research Fund
(TRF) or the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT). This limitation of
Higher Education research in Thailand could be derived from the following factors.
Firstly, with limited funding from the OHEC, the targeted research areas are mostly
Science and Technology based. Higher Education seems not to be in the mainstream
of research in the country. Secondly, the existing Higher Education research in
Thailand is somewhat multidisciplinary, especially the mixture of Higher Education
and Management or Public Policy (this will be discussed in more detail in section
(^4) PERDO, (n.d.). http://www.perdo.or.th/centres_of_excellence_thai.aspx
(^5) The Central University Admission System, OHEC (http://admission.cuas.or.th/adm57mxmn/)
15 Higher Education Research in Thailand: Current Trends and Development