Parliament, 22 Oct – The Senate has voted to accept in principle the draft Higher Education Act, along with 3 related laws. A government representative confirmed the Higher Education Development Fund in the bill to increase competitiveness and create excellence in higher education institutions.
Today’s (22 Oct 2024) Senate meeting considered the draft Higher Education Act (No. ..) B.E. …. and 3 other related bills, namely the draft Science, Research and Innovation Promotion Act (No. ..) B.E. …., the draft Act on the Administration of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (No. ..) B.E. …., and the draft Act on the National Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council (No. ..) B.E. …., which the House of Representatives has already voted to approve. Senators discussed extensively, with the majority agreeing with the content of the 4 bills, which aim to increase competitiveness, which is a very important matter. Because if competitiveness is to be increa
sed, it is necessary to have a fund for higher education development. The assignment of duties in allocating funds, including monitoring and supervising the development of excellence in higher education institutions and promoting the production of specialized high-level personnel, and the recommendation that during the 149th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union from October 13 to 17, there was a discussion of artificial intelligence, which was of global interest. The impact of AI on democracy, human rights, and the rule of law was considered. Therefore, it is hoped that this Act will help create faculties and fields of study related to artificial intelligence, which will help Thai society keep up with world-class technology.
Mr. Supachai Jaismut, Assistant Minister to the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, explained that this draft bill is an addition to the draft Higher Education Act of 2019 to cover higher education and research in order to develop the excellence of higher
education institutions and promote the production of specialized high-level personnel. Therefore, the government added the fund because it places more importance on research and development, emphasizing higher education, science, research and innovation in Thailand to create national growth and benefit the people, in order to strengthen the country’s important industries to meet the needs of the labor market that the government has policies and prioritizes.
After the debate by the members, the Senate resolved to accept all 4 draft bills and set up a special committee of 21 people to consider them, setting a period for amendments within 7 days. .319.-Thai News Agency
Source: Thai News Agencyl