Govt 'cleaning house' in corrupt education sector

Of the five major education agencies, two are regarded as “weaknesses”: the Office of the Basic Education Commission and the Office of Vocational Education Commission.

Education Ministry permanent secretary Suthasri Wongsaman will become Educational Council secretary-general; Educational Council secretary-general Assoc Prof Piniti Ratananukul has been moved Office of Higher Education secretary-general; and Assoc Prof Dr Kamchorn Tatiyakawee will be the ministry’s new permanent secretary.

The permanent secretary post is like a housewife who organises and co-ordinates between the ministry and the government and the National Council for Peace and Order.

It is a significant post, as she has to tackle tough teacher and educational personnel issues. 

The government and the National Reform Council want to improve the quality of teachers by overhauling teacher training and education, improving the system to grant teacher licences, reform the teacher evaluation system and their academic standing. These issues directly involve the Office of the Teacher Civil Service and Educational Personnel Commission, Khurusapha, and the Teachers Council of Thailand, which are under the supervision of the ministry permanent secretary.

The transfer order is also aimed at eradicating ill practices and corruption in connection with educational agencies such as in the office of the Welfare Promotion Commission for Teachers and Education Personnel and the Business Organisation of the Office of the Welfare Promotion Commission for Teachers and Educational Personnel. Corruption scandals hitting these agencies have eroded public faith in them.

After removing the three boards of directors, NCPO order 7/2558 dissolved the three boards – the move seen as the seizure of management power of three agencies that puts them under the Education Minister’s control. 

The order empowers the Education Minister to have unprecedented full authority over the three agencies. 

The order also resulted in the suspension of the heads of the three agencies, pending corruption probes by the Budget Scrutiny committee. 

Putting the jigsaw together, the transfer is nothing short of “cleaning the house” in the teacher arena. The mission certainly needs a strong man who can withstand pressure till all the issues are resolved.

Suthasri and Piniti are set to retire this year and Kamchorn next year. The latter has experience in investigation because he has probed the corruption at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Latkrabang.

Kamchorn had been handpicked for the “super board” in the education sector. It is not surprising that he has been picked to be in charge of this important mission.

Reportedly, no one except Kamchorn knew about the transfer in advance. It is apparent that this 

transfer is not politically motivated or interest-oriented and is not about punishing anyone. This is about a crackdown on corruption related to teacher circles.