The cabinet accepted in principle Tuesday a proposal to establish a Ministry of Higher Education, Innovation, Research and Science tasked with developing the country's human resources in line with the Thailand 4.0 policy.
Tossaporn Sirisamphan, secretary-general of the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission, said Tuesday the new ministry was commissioned mainly to oversee research and development to steer the nation towards the digital era.
The new ministry has been made possible by a legislative amendment to the Reorganisation of Ministry, Sub-Ministry, and Department Act. The draft amendment bill is to be submitted to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) for deliberation.
It was expected that the NLA will finish deliberating the amendment by November to pave the way for the new ministry to be set up in February next year.
Mr Tossaporn said a "superboard" to supervise policies of the ministry will be set up, as will committees responsible for higher education and research. Also, a special unit will be established to oversee the operation of the ministry.
