The Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC) and IRPC Technological College (IRPCT), Thailand sealed their intention for partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on December 24, 2018 at the Office of Vocational Education Commission (OVEC), Ministry of Education (MoE), Thailand. CPSC was represented by the Director General Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane and Managing Director Dr. Photiwat Paopongchuang represented IRPCT.
The OVEC Secretary General Dr. Suthep Chittayawong graciously chaired the event. In his Congratulatory Speech, he considered having five out of five APACC (Asia Pacific Accreditation and Certification Commission) gold awarded institutions a huge uplift in the quality of TVET education in Thailand. APACC is the accreditation arm of CPSC.
CPSC Director General Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane (5th from left) and IRPCT Managing Director Dr. Photiwat Paopongchuang (6th from left) with IRPCT and OVEC Officials after the MOU Signing
IRPCT is considered as one of the leading private technical colleges in Thailand that is directly affiliated with one of its major petrochemical and industrial companies, the PTT group. It is one of the model institutions in ASEAN in developing the competencies and skills of the graduates in preparing them for a career in heavy industry.
The MOU, which is valid for three (3) years, serves as an agreement between CPSC and IRPCT to cooperate in exploring the potential for joint activities in education and training, identifying opportunities for training staff members in customized training program arrangements on need basis, skills development training programs, accreditation training and accreditation and certification of institutions, training of accreditors, cross training or exchange of faculty and staff, and sharing of facilities and human resources.
Source: Office of Vocational Education Commission (OVEC) Thailand website,
Date Taken: 2018 December 24
As mentioned by Dr. Lamichhane in his speech, the above could be achieved through conducting capacity building programs, benchmarking activities and staff/student exchanges on various fields of interest. Another one is subscription to APACC. If this pushes through, IRPCT could be the first private college in Thailand to be accredited by APACC. This was agreed by Dr. Photiwat Paopongchuang and expressed his hope to expand network and further raise the quality of education in Thailand.
