The inequality of opportunity to participate in Thailand higher education

Abstract

The understanding of changes in educational opportunity among different households in Thailand is an undiscovered knowledge. Most of the previous studies usually focus to an enrolment rate, equality of education attendance, educational resources distribution and equality of income distribution. For the first time in Thailand, this study aims to understand and analyse the inequality of participation opportunity in university education. The findings show that the inequality of opportunity to participate in university education is improved over time but do not facilitate for the poorest in the beginning of the student loans policy. During 1998 to 2000, there is no distinct improvement of university attendance among various family income deciles, even though the loans highly expand in terms of borrowers and amounts. But later, during 2001 to 2003, the 40% poorest got higher opportunity to participate in university education and the rest declined. The gains from improving the inequality circumstance become lesser over time, rising from 83.27% of university attendance for all range of income deciles in 1997 to 73.94% in 2003.