The future of education with high-speed trains
In the case of the Luban High-Speed Railway Institute, Ban Phai Vocational College, Khon Kaen Province
Ban Phai District, Khon Kaen Province is another community that will be passed through the Thai-Chinese high-speed train. From the vision of modern technology through the vision of the former director of Ban Phai Vocational College, Lt. Col. Jariya Phabu, who brought the curriculum in the field of rail transportation systems and high-speed trains into the college, aiming to create personnel with expertise in rail transportation systems to support the high-speed trains that will occur in Thailand. The China-Cross-Border Railway Research Project: A Comparative Study of the Impacts of Railway Construction Projects on Communities Around Main Stations in Thailand and Laos went to the area to collect data and talk to teachers at Ban Phai Vocational College, Khon Kaen Province in February 2023.
The starting point of the course, Lt. Col. Jariya, former director of Ban Phai Vocational College, saw that in the future, rail transportation would be a potential system. Therefore, he contacted the Confucius Institute to find a way to talk and create cooperation with high-speed rail educational institutions in China. Until being able to create cooperation with Wuhan Railway Technology and Vocational College. In addition, China has a one belt one road strategy, which has a project supporting education, namely 100+100 or the project of a hundred educational institutions in China must be paired with educational institutions in Asia to expand the curriculum and create cooperation until it becomes a dual degree program or receiving education in both Thailand and China with educational qualifications from both countries. This type of support will be in the group of premium vocational pilot colleges. In addition, we have also collaborated with organizations and entrepreneurs who have knowledge and are related to EMU trains (Electric Multiple Unit: EMU, a train that can be driven by electricity) in both Thailand and China so that students can access the most accurate knowledge.
However, under this curriculum, there are still many problems, including:
1. Lack of both budget and teaching equipment. Because these materials are quite expensive, the approved budget is not enough. Therefore, the college and teachers use the available materials to simulate train tracks, train cars, or other components related to trains so that students can see the picture while studying more.
2. Lack of personnel with knowledge directly related to high-speed trains to teach. The college must send personnel, who are teachers in other fields, to learn more, receive training in both Thailand and China, and make great efforts to gather all knowledge and skills to teach students. In addition, external lecturers from both Thailand and China are used to share knowledge with both teachers and students in the institute.
3. Lack of students. Because it is a new curriculum, there are not many students interested in the curriculum. And even though the rail transportation system is a new and modern future that is happening in Thailand, there is still no clear picture of the related work. This may be one of the reasons why students are not very interested and local parents do not support students to study. Compared to other fields such as mechanics or electricity, it is clear that after graduating, students can immediately work.
“...The railway system is a new curriculum. Although the market has demand, parents still want them to study electricians, electric engines, electronics, or computers because after graduating, they immediately start working. They have not seen any progress in studying this curriculum. Sometimes children want to study but parents want them to study something else. Or sometimes parents want children to study this curriculum but children do not want to study it. This happens... This makes our curriculum not full. Right now, if anyone is interested in studying, we accept everyone, both direct and high school students…” (Teacher of the Railway System Control and Maintenance Techniques Department, Ban Phai College)
The research team talked to Beam (pseudonym), a first-year student in the Railway Mechanics Department at Ban Phai Vocational College. Beam is from Hat Yai and graduated with a vocational certificate in electrical engineering from Phatthalung Technical College because she wanted to study in a field related to railway transportation, which was her passion since she was a child. In addition, her family supported her in this matter. Her father knew that there was a branch in Ban Phai, so she decided to apply and enroll. She was interested in two things: one, the curriculum that supported her to study in China. Two, she wanted to gain knowledge directly related to railway transportation because she had previously studied in electrical engineering, so she needed basic knowledge of rail systems and high-speed trains. Beam also said that in addition to studying in subjects related to rail transportation systems in Thailand and China (online), the school also provided basic Chinese language training. The college also took her to visit the Bang Sue Red Line Railway Station. There, Beam saw a real working atmosphere, train management, different trains, and maintenance of the entire route. This made Beam dream that in the future, after graduating, she would be able to work in a field related to high-speed trains. Beam is currently resigning to study for a bachelor's degree in Railway Transportation Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering. King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi
“…I’ve been to see the train controller, it’s an office where there are people in charge of that area, managing the trains, this train has to go this way. I saw this when I went to see the work at Bang Sue Station, it’s a Red Line station, we will see the trains from Rangsit, it should go all the way to Nakhon Pathom. We will see everything in that room. For me, in my mind, I want to work on anything related to this… I think this job will be stable to a certain extent in Thailand because if Thailand can develop, the rail system will go much further. In the future, it should be the most convenient system.”
(Nong Beam (pseudonym), a student at Ban Phai College, said)
The dream of a high-speed train, a modern technology that will change the future of travel in Thailand, has prompted many vocational colleges to try to create personnel to support the new industries that will arise. However, it seems that some institutions are facing obstacles in many areas, whether it is internal obstacles in terms of budget and personnel to help promote this study. It is necessary to create cooperation with the private sector to ensure proper access to knowledge. At the same time, external obstacles such as the small number of students are a challenge that the railway system curriculum of Ban Phai Vocational College is facing.
The research team assumes that one reason may be that the general public does not yet clearly see the use of high-speed trains in their daily lives, which may be a factor in the fact that there are not many students interested in studying in this field, and they do not receive enough support from their parents. However, the research team notes that even though the high-speed train is still just a future project that has not yet arrived, it has already created changes in the present. The railway system curriculum that was created at Ban Phai Vocational College is an example of the results of the prediction that the high-speed train will create new forms of work in Thailand. Although today there is still no clear answer as to when we will see such a project come to fruition, the expectation of the high-speed train in terms of creating stable careers in the future has led teachers at Ban Phai Vocational College and students like Beam to decide and take action to change their life choices to be in line with those dreams. Amidst the many risks and limitations…
The stories of the people along the way help to reflect that the high-speed rail project does not only have physical impacts that can be touched. The expectations and imaginations of the train have already affected and changed the details of many lives today, whether the project is successful or not.
* We would like to thank the teachers and students of Ban Phai Vocational College for their warm welcome and comprehensive information, as well as the tour of the college’s teaching area.
** This work is part of the research data dissemination activity under the project “Cross-Border Chinese Railway: A Comparative Study of the Impacts of Railway Construction Projects on Communities Around Main Stations in Thailand and Laos”, funded by the Office of the Higher Education Policy Council, Science, Research and Innovation (OHEC) by the Human Resource Development and Institutional Development Fund Management Unit (HPF) for fiscal years 2021 - 2023.
*** The research project is currently underway. The published content is part of the data collection, not a conclusion of the research results.
