Doctoral graduate
production must be strict
Dr.Kriengsak Chareonwongsak
Senior Fellow, Harvard University’s Center for
Business and Government
During the past
5 years, the number of doctoral degrees granted has dramatically increased. The
Ministry of Education surveyed the number of students enrolled in post graduate
programs (higher than a bachelor’s degree) in
both government and private sector institutions. Results indicate that the
number of students in doctoral programs has steadily increased: 6,213 in 2002;
7,715 in 2003; 8,264 in 2004; 10,516 in 2005; and 13,959 in 2006.
In the past, most people with a PhD have
gone overseas to study. Few students have received a doctoral degree from a Thai
institution because few Thai universities have offered programs at that level.
The number of
programs offering this level of courses is increasing. In 2006, 53 public and
private universities offered doctoral-level programs. The survey also indicates
that students enroll in these courses for a variety of reasons, including the
desire to strengthen their skills for job-related responsibilities or to
upgrade their social status. Also, some organizations require doctoral
graduates, and so would send their employees to these programs.
However,
some academics are worried about the quality of these programs and have labeled
them “pay your tuition and receive your PhD certificate” because of the relative
ease with which these degrees are given. Many universities offer their doctorate
program in both normal and special semesters, making it possible to graduate
within a relatively short period. They also emphasize theory rather research,
and they do not limit the number of students enrolled.I have a deep concern and
have been warning about this for a long time new. Here are some noted academics
who have also expressed their concern:
Prof.
Dr. Somwang Pitiyanuwat, Director, Office for National Education Standards and
Quality Assessment (a public organization), thinks
the market for Thai doctoral programs has grown too quickly. He says quantity now
comes before quality in these programs.
Assoc.
Prof. Dr. Varakorn Samakoses, Deputy Ministrer of Education, is worried that the
rapid growth of Thai doctoral programs will produce “Banana Doctors”, academics
that only engage in research once, that is, only for their thesis, but later
cannot engage in ongoing research. This is like banana trees that yield fruit a
few times and then yield nothing more until they die. PhD programs producing “Banana
Doctors” typically accept 40 to 50 students each term, and they hire professors
who have retired or are close to retiring as presidents of their programs.
These programs typically only employ 4 to 5 advisors, meaning each advising professor
must supervise an inordinately high number of students.
Disadvantages
of producing unqualified PhD gradates
PhD graduates flood
the labour market. Each year, the number of PhD grads flood the labour market,
something that also happens in the USA, where each year more than 40,000 PhDs
are granted. Only half of these graduates will find jobs in their field because
most of them are unwilling to take jobs requiring less education than they
have. Also, many employers are afraid of hiring an overqualified job candidate
because as soon as a higher paying job requiring a more qualified person comes
along, the person will quit and go for the better paying job more suited to
their qualifications. This is especially true of PhDs in English, Education,
and Sociology, 90% of whom do not know whether or not they will have a job upon
graduation. Thailand does not need to repeat this paradigm.
PhD
graduates are underqualified. When Thai universities accept too many PhD
candidates, the quality of the teaching will be diluted when each professor
must supervise too many students. As a result, the supervisors have to reduce
the attention they give to each student. The emphasis on theory over research
has resulted in many PhDs who do not know how to research and cannot apply
theory into empirical work and practice. When these gain positions as professors,
the poor quality of education is compounded when students receive sub-standard
instruction.
It
affects administration at both the organizational and national levels. When
unqualified PhD graduates become executives in organizations or, worse still, are
elected to administrate our nation, their lack of knowledge and skills will
cause mistakes and prevent them benefiting our nation. Consequently, people in
organizations or people in the country are adversely affected.
Direction
for a solution
Although PhD
graduates are needed in the labour market, accepting limitless numbers of doctoral
students may affect the quality of those graduates to the point that society in
general suffers. Therefore, the Ministry of Education should create measures to
control the quality of doctoral programs by cooperating with the Office for
National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (a public
organization) and related organizations in the following
ways:
Control
the quality of PhD graduates using a standard-based evaluation system. If testing
reveals that a particular university’s doctoral program is not up to par, the Ministry
of Education may order that university to stop accepting students for a while
or to accept fewer students until it improves its standards; otherwise, that university
may release less qualified PhD graduates into the labour pool.
Study
the consistency between labour market needs and the quantity of PhD graduates
in each field. This would solve the
problem of a flood of PhD graduates in one field and a lack of them in other fields.
A
doctorate degree is considered the highest level of education. So anyone who graduates
with this degree is considered someone with the most theoretical and
research-based knowledge in that area in the world, and an important resource
for developing a country. But at present, some doubt the expertise of those
with a “Dr.” in front of their names. However, we must encourage those who are in
the middle of their doctoral studies or for those who have almost graduated to really
gain the knowledge and ability they need to participate in the development of
organizations and the nation as much as possible.
Therefore,
anyone who is related to this issue, such as those in the Ministry of Education
and the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment should work
towards controlling the quantity and quality of PhD graduates. Universities
should allocate enough budget to enable them to produce quality PhD graduates,
so these graduates can really create knowledge for the nation.
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