As he painted a bleak picture on Tuesday about how rising automation would affect Thai graduates in the future job market, Deputy Education Minister Udom Kachinthorn failed to illustrate a clearly mapped out plan to help them not only survive the onslaught but succeed in the age of technological disruption -- if the ministry has formulated one at all.
He merely sent a warning to universities that they must adapt, modernise, shut down outdated majors and further diversify the subjects and skills they teach to stay relevant.
While it is true that changes in higher education are important to create new skills that will keep the workforce more competitive amid growing automation, a much broader overhaul of the entire Thai education system is needed so that Thai students are not just forewarned but forearmed, and in this the Education Ministry should be leading the charge.
