However, when looking at Thailand’s current educational standing, it is obvious there is enormous room for improvement.

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Thailand is one of the least successful countries in terms of education. The country, based on the 2015 Programme for International Student Development (PISA), was ranked 54th out of 70 countries, compared to Vietnam’s eighth, despite Bt480 billion being spent on education as of 2019.

Furthermore, students in Thailand are yet to achieve a passable level of understanding in basic subjects and science. Thailand’s percentage of students performing below level 2 (the second-lowest level, with fifth being the best for proficiency in certain subjects) in science was 47 per cent with the other countries’ average being 21.

An apparent pointer to its lack of success is the existence of tutorial schools, a Bt8-billion industry in Thailand. According to a survey in 2015 by the Office of the Education Council, spending by parents on children at the lower secondary level could be as high as Bt18,200 on mathematics tutorials, or a total of around Bt37,400, which contradicts the government’s claims of free support at the lower secondary level. Besides extra tutorial sessions, the more well-off students can also access a wider range of extracurricular activities to build and broaden their experiences as well as their resum้. These unfair advantages for students who can afford them could lead to them have more success academically as revealed by the United Nations’ World Inequality Database on Education (WIDE). The UN report found that Thai students categorised as from families from the lowest socio-economic status performed two times worse academically in upper secondary than students from among the “richest”.

Logically speaking, income and education levels are inter-related. Those with lower income cannot receive good education and end up having a bad career; and a bad career means they cannot escape poverty.

As shown by WIDE, serious disparities may not reveal themselves as a result of economic status until primary education. However, as the level of education gets higher, the disparity becomes wider. Only 8 per cent of youths from low-income families go for higher education while 48 per cent of the richest families do. Mostly, higher education leads to higher future earnings. According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) survey, a person with an upper-secondary level of education earns on average Bt12,010 per month while a person with a bachelor’s degree earns on average Bt23,035 per month.

Even though it is difficult to pinpoint the reasons for such inequality – whether it is the lack of wealth or the lack of education – it is inevitable that a failing education system will worsen income disparity.

Altering the education system seems like a plausible answer to address the cycle. However, based on the history of PISA results, after revolutionising the education system in 2003 the students’ results are almost on a downward trajectory. This could be caused by “too many” changes that were made in the Thai education system. With too many adjustments, students and their parents simply cannot keep up.

So what changes are needed in the school system? Let’s look at countries that are educationally successful: South Korea, for example, is 100 per cent literate. However, the country’s education system is too demanding. It puts huge pressure on students to work hard and perform. At the other end of the spectrum is Finland, also one of the most successful countries in education, which provides a mixture of academic studies and extracurricular activities. Both ends stay at the top rank of the PISA tests regardless of their education styles. So, which one is the most suitable for Thai students is still debatable.

No matter what style we choose, it is undeniable that our current academic evaluation is still based on the ability to answer through memorisation while systematic problem-solving, analytical skills and creative thinking are not given as much importance. Emphasis should be placed on “how the knowledge is taught” rather than “what is taught”. Instead of just saying that there are many theories to explain the origin of Thai people and list them out, ask the students to research them and say which theory they believe in and why. It is not the technology that education 4.0 needs, but the creators and users.

Views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of TMB Bank or its executives. Biz Insight is co-authored by ARCHANYA ROJVATUNYU and DUANGRAT PRAJAKSILPTHAI. They can be reached at tmbanalytics@tmbbank.com

In an interview with The Nation, Gu cited China as an example where EV sales have already topped 1 million units due to the Chinese government’s adoption of a car ownership policy that favours EVs.

Free ownership licences have been granted to those who want to buy electric vehicles so the country’s EV adoption has accelerated over the past several years.

China is currently the world’s largest automotive market with annual sales of over 22 million units.

According to Gu, appropriate market mechanisms are also needed to ensure that the EV demand growth is sustainable in order to deliver a better quality of life for city residents currently affected by air pollution resulting from combustion-engine vehicles.

For Thailand, he suggested that the government start with the introduction of electric buses that can go for 200-300 kilometres after one charge. In addition, electric motorbikes should be widely adopted as in China and Vietnam to help reduce air pollution.

In a bid to promote the concept of e-mobility, ABB has been a key sponsor of the Formula E or E-Prix, with the latest two races held in Hong Kong and another in the Chinese city of Sanya last month.

Formula E races are seen as a powerful platform to communicate with global audiences to boost public awareness for smart transport as part of the ABB vision for smart cities.

However, Gu said the advent of e-mobility in the form of various electric vehicles will also lead to global energy structural changes.

Gu said e-mobility is more efficient and friendly to the environment when compared to vehicles using fossil energy, especially in mega-cities around the world where the quality of life will be improved due to adoption of EVs in place of combustion-engine vehicles.

EVs are now capable of achieving a 300km drive after one charge while ABB’s technology can now charge a battery pack for a 200km drive within eight minutes.

Power utilities in Thailand and other countries will also have to upgrade their infrastructure to cope with the new demand/supply patterns with more renewable energies added to the current energy mix.

e-mobility

Meanwhile, Claudio Facchin, ABB’s president of power grids, said e-mobility will likely account for 10-15 per cent of the world’s total electricity consumption in the next 1-2 decades.

This will pose new challenges on power grids or the supply side of electricity.

According to Facchin, ABB has been transitioning to the business of industrial digitalisation, robotics, automation, smart cities, and a new energy structure with more renewables such as solar and wind energies.

However, these renewable energies are intermittent, making it necessary to manage the supply side with storage facilities to achieve energy stability.

By 2030, renewable energies are forecast to account for as much as 85 per cent of the new capacity installed, up from 50 per cent in 2015.

He said storage batteries are required to handle intermittent renewable energies along with the adoption of micro-grids for interconnection of the national grid.

In addition, digitalisation of energy management has advanced with more sensors and data analytic tools adopted to increase efficiency as well as to improve infrastructure maintenance.

According to Facchin, the e-mobility progress depends on the cost of the battery, which has been declining due to greater global demand as the cost of EVs is projected to be on par with combustion-engine vehicles around 2023.

For e-buses, he said, big cities should consider adopting an urban transportation system with overhead charging equipment while buses stop at every bus station.

Regarding the “Industry 4.0” initiative, he said the firm has launched the ABB Ability platform for cloud-based edge and other computing facilities to support digital transformation of various industries.

In Thailand, food and beverage, automotive parts and other sectors have turned to automation and digitalisation to lower cost, while boosting efficiency with the use of data analytics.

The research show that Thailand has become an ageing society with more than 10 million elderly people accounting for 10 per cent of the total population since the year 2014. On the other hand, children under the age of 15 accounts for only 18 per cent of the total population, with a significant 2 per cent drop each year.

Thailand is predicted to become an ‘aged’ society in 2031 and a ‘super-aged’ society in 2050, with 20 and 30 percent of the total population being aged citizens, respectively. This means that out of every three Thais, one will be a senior citizen.

This demographic shift appears in several countries around the world, particularly in developed countries. However, Thailand will be the first middle income, developing country to enter an aged society while other countries in this ageing process will have already escaped the middle income stage. This translates to challenges with employability, lower economic growth, and care and support of senior people.

 “Overcoming the health worker deficit and looming staffing crisis presents the single biggest challenge for healthcare during the next decade,” KPMG Global Chairman for Healthcare Dr Mark Britnell said.

“The short-term fix of simply addressing headcount is too simple and short-sighted – seismic changes are needed across healthcare to avert this impending disaster. If we go about this the right way I believe we can grow the capacity to care by as much as 20 per cent to meet the anticipated staff shortfall”.

Thailand is already making efforts on health issues regarding senior citizens. The second National Plan on the Elderly (2002-2021) that was initiated by The National Committee on the Elderly indicates a key strategic plan to establish security and good living standards for seniors.

This includes having access to healthy and friendly environment, having appropriate welfare and services, leading a valuable life and having access to data, information and news.

Further actions that Thailand and other countries need to explore is using digital and technological innovations to enhance healthcare and increase productivity, as well as explore new models of care outside of the traditional doctor-patient model.

“By re-framing the productivity debate, re-imagining clinical services, changing national investment strategies, empowering patients and harnessing the power of technology and AI, we can avoid the inevitably bleak future we face if we carry on as we are,” Britnell concluded.

He added that healthcare is one of the largest sectors and employers in the world, worth over $9 trillion globally and consuming an average 10 per cent of a country’s GDP.

However, with longer life expectancy and global population growth, having enough healthcare facilities and workforce is a growing concern in many countries – especially those that are moving towards an aged society.

Britnell warned that a shortfall of 18 million health workers by 2030 will have a devastating impact on the world’s healthcare sector.

There is not enough staff to care for patients, and if swift action is not taken, there will soon be a workforce crisis with severe implications on a global scale.

The increase in the elderly population and decrease in children population means that countries are faced with more strain and challenges in the care and support of not only the entire population, but significantly, the elderly.

BOT senior director Don Nakornthab said that, based on the decision to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at the MPC’s last meeting, it would be necessary to keep monitoring economic conditions. He noted the increased uncertainties on the domestic political front, as well as those arising from Britain’s unclear terms for its exit from the European Union, the global economic slowdown and the US-China trade war.

However, Don said the MPC’s unanimous decision to maintain the policy rate has not put an end to the consideration of a further rate rise. Such an increase would be based on the current economic conditions. As such, the committee’s view has not changed much compared with its assessment of a month one or two earlier.

The country’s rate of economic expansion and level of inflation will be assessed, while its financial stability will be reviewed.

 “If a shock occurs in other countries, the global economy may slow down or fall into a recession and Thailand would follow suit,” Don said. “Similarly, the Federal Reserve has indicated that an expected (US) rate hike may not happen and that there could be a rate cut if a shock occurs and leads to a recession. But there’s less chance to see a rate cut. It’s the same for Thailand. If the world does not face a shock, it’s difficult to see a rate cut,” Don said.

The markets and the central bank have been closely monitoring local political developments, which may raise concerns and create an impact on the overall economy, he said, referring to the aftermath of the general election.

Thailand could face risks to the economy in a later stage if a political agreement fails to materialise, and this could lead to conflicts on the streets outside the parliament, he said. But if a new government is formed smoothly, this would be unlikely to affect the overall economy.

Kalin Sarasin, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said that the private sector remains concerned over the possibility of the suspension of the country’s administration during the two months in which it will operate without a new government.

“We don’t want to see a vacuum period. This [current] government has full authority and should continue the country’s administration until the new government comes to take over,” he said. “We don’t want [the current government] to cease administration as there could be impact on the business sector and investors’ confidence.”

Anuphong Assavabhokhin, chief executive officer of developer AP Thailand, believes the unresolved election outcome has not yet affected foreign investors’ confidence, as they have continued to invest in the country. However, if political chaos erupted, this could change.

Siri Ganjarerndee, chairman of Tris Rating, said that he wants to see continued public investment, in line with the announced budget for infrastructure works as planned, as well as the efficient use of the national budget.

“Every credit rating agency is not interested in who will form the government, but instead pays attention to the capacity for economic management. But politics remains a factor for close monitoring,” he said.

Kobsidthi Silpachai, head of capital markets research at Kasikornbank, said that if the formation of the new government is delayed, decision-making on private-sector investment and foreign investment in Thailand may be affected.

The bank will cut its forecast for this year’s economic growth within the next week, based on higher internal and external risks, he said.

 She added that Asean and China are the main markets for Thai fruits, acounting for $2.13 billion or about 80 per cent of the total value of Thai fruit export last year, The top three export items are durian, Longan, and mangosteen.

Advanced Info Services Plc has announced a total dividend payment of Bt7.4 billion to foreign investors, Bt7.2 billion from PTT , and Bt4.6 billion from Kasikorn Bank, said the bank’s economic and capital markets research manager Kobsit Silapachai said yesterday.

He added that the exit of capital will weaken value of the baht to between Bt31.50 and Bt32.50 per US$ from the average of Bt31.77 per US$.

Meanwhile, the country’s political uncertainty will have an impact on capital outflow in the second quarter of this year. Foreign investors are waiting for the return of political stability when the new government is formed, he said.

The proposed amendments aim to increase clarity and consistency with regard to listed companies’ transactions by taking into account appropriate investor protection and reasonable burdens towards listed companies.

Given the changing economic and business environments, listed companies are increasingly engaged in more diverse and complex transactions; however, the current rules may not cover – or in some cases are not applicable to – certain types of transactions. For example, giving financial assistance to a third party which is not considered a transaction in the normal course of business of listed companies; therefore, shareholders are not involved in the decision making regarding such transaction.