Potential barriers to the implementation of e-learning for the Royal Thai Government

Kongkiti Phusavat and Pornthep Anussornnitisarn
Kasetsart University
Bangkok, Thailand

This paper discusses three issues that may hinder the e-learning programme initiative of the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission (OPDC) in Thailand. The programme aims to improve various skills of the Royal Thai Government (RTG) staff in response to the requirements of the Good Governance (GG) Act of 2003.

The three issues considered are: (a) digital, (b) language and (c) competency. For the digital divide, the focus is on the infrastructure barrier (the speed and size of the Internet network varies between Bangkok and provincial areas). For the language barrier, the emphasis is on cost due to the rise in copyright fees and the need for future updates, which is critical for common subjects that have to be translated and modified. Finally, the competency divide concentrates on the low number of qualified developers for local-language content in the market. It is hoped that the identification of these issues will lead to better planning and coordination in implementing the e-learning programme.