ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the implications of government responses in Thailand. It expresses that the often expressed sentiment in Britain that education and politics should be kept separate is both ethnocentric and unrealistic. The chapter focuses on the interaction between politics and higher education by examining how far political considerations have changed or influenced educational developments. The traditional role of the Thai university was linked with government service. The general policy of expanding higher education according to manpower needs was justifiable but not on the massive scale that occurred, especially in Ramkamheng University. In fact very little real thought was given to the role of higher education in national development, especially the problem of linking the courses offered to the nation's needs and employment opportunities. Student aspirations to gain employment in the public sector frequently came to nought because of low individual achievement in course work.
