Educational Finance in Thailand - UNESCO Bangkok

Final Report, Volume II/3 Anthony. Cresswell: Educational Finance UNESCO-PROAP TA 2996-THA
Education Management and Finance Study July 1999
c. A similar pattern of disproportionate expenditure burden is found when the
impact is examined by the family’s main occupation. The comparison of expenses
as a proportion of income for varying occupations is shown in Figure 16 below.
The discrepancy between the highest and lowest income groups by occupation is
not as large as in the previous comparison (Figure 15). But the burden on the
agricultural families, and to a lesser degree those in the informal sector, is still
significant. Even the cost of public education for agricultural families requires
almost four times the percentage of income compared to government and state
employees.
d. A similar pattern of income-related burden is found in the results of the higher
education survey. The respondents to that survey were asked to indicate if their
income were sufficient to support higher education for their children. The answers
to that question by income group are shown in Figure 17 below. The pattern there
is quite striking. Slightly over 70 per cent of the highest income families reported
that their income was sufficient to support higher education for their children. For
the lowest income group, the comparable number was less than 5 per cent. Only in
the highest income group did more than half of the families indicate that they
thought they had sufficient income for these purposes. Of course whether the
income is sufficient requires a subjective judgment, and can vary a great deal from
one family to another. And given the high levels of subsidy to higher education
generally, this reporting of “insufficient income” in the upper income groups is
suspect. But the equity implications of the responses of the lowest income groups
do appear to be meaningful and should be taken into account in equity policy
formulation.
Figure 17 - Per cent of families with sufficient income to support higher education
Per Cent of Families with Sufficient Income to Support Higher
Education
Percent of Respondents
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
< 3,000 3,000-
6,000
6,001-
10,000
10,001-
20,000
20,001-
30,000
over
30,000
Family Income (Baht per month)
e. Overall these survey results clearly indicate that even the poorest families are
willing to make major sacrifices to support their children’s education. The results
also indicate that the method of financing that relies on heavy private sharing of
68