The substantial rise in tuition fees inevitably following upon privatization will only lower this percentage even more. Commendably, the rectors of Thailand's state universities insisted on government scholarships and low-interest loans for poor students as one of the conditions for privatization. The altruistic motives of the founding vision led many private institutions to maintain generous scholarships for financially strapped but promising students. However, in most cases they simply cannot do so to the same extent that a national system can. Private goodwill can never fully replace national commitment to the common good for the next generation.
Privatization weakens that commitment.
While the government clearly needs to divest itself of certain state-owned enterprises in order to solve the present economic crisis, universities should not be grouped among these enterprises too lightly. Unless the state universities privatize for larger reasons than the profit motive or meeting IMF paybacks, unless they preserve their mission of service to the entire population, both quality and equity will deteriorate.