Starting from next year, King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB) will revert its academic timetable back to the old system which keeps Thai universities closed during the hot season in April and May.
Since 2014, Thailand has changed its university semester dates to bring them in line with other countries in Asean due to the establishment of the Asean Economic Community, prompting universities to make adjustments to their academic terms to allow them to work more effectively with other universities in Southeast Asian countries.
Under the current system, the first semester runs from August to December, and the second semester from January to May. Universities are closed from June to July. Under the old system, the year ran from June to October and November to March.
Teerawut Boonyasophon, chairman of the KMUTNB council, said switching the academic term back to the old system would benefit KMUTNB's students as it is more suitable to Thailand's way of life, culture and climate.
"The current timetable harms the quality of our teaching, particularly the second semester, which runs during the summer, and is not conducive to students' studies. The high temperature in April and May is not suitable for sitting in class. Moreover, universities have to pay more for air conditioning in the summer and several holidays crop up in the second semester, including Songkran," he said.
Mr Teerawut said the current university semester also does not match that of high schools and vocational colleges, causing problems when students in teacher preparation programmes need to get practical experience of teaching.
Kasetsart University, Maejo University, some Rajabhat universities and all nine Rajamangala universities have announced they would revert their academic year back to the old system.
They said students in agricultural programmes do not have enough water to grow crops and plants during the hot season.
Suchatvee Suwansawat, chairman of the Council of University Presidents of Thailand, said he supported Thai universities keeping their academic calendar in line with international norms as it may provide a better environment for Thai universities to promote internationalisation in higher education on a global scale.
"We need to adapt ourselves to the changing world. The misalignment between the Thai academic calendar and other countries may discourage Thai students from taking part in exchange programmes abroad, as they are concerned about semester lag and an incompatible credit transfer system," he said.
