Abac management conflict simmers on

At the time, it was unclear who had the right to sign off on the degrees – whether it would be embattled rector Brother Bancha Saenghiran or the self-proclaimed acting rector Sudhiporn Patumtaewapibal. The Education Ministry finally intervened and chose Bancha as the signatory. 

Though the problem with the degrees has been resolved in time, the conflict has continued as both sides engage in a war of words in the media, which has even led to several confrontations at one of its campuses.

Established as Assumption Commercial College in 1969, the institute then evolved into a university under the name of Assumption Business Administration College, hence the better-known acronym Abac. This private university with three campuses in Bangkok was the first in Thailand to implement an international programme and has the highest number of professors.

It is reported that the conflict erupted when a Bt350-million Airbus A320 flight-simulation lab project at Abac was given the go-ahead, giving rise to complaints of corruption.

The university council was split by the controversy. One faction, led by Sudhiporn, called for the Brother Surasit Sukchai-chaired university council to investigate Bancha. The council set up a panel, which issued an order temporarily suspending Bancha and assigning Sudhiporn as acting rector. 

Claiming his work as acting rector was being obstructed, Sudhiporn asked the Higher Education Commission and the Civil Court to consider relevant laws to back his position. He also urged the commission to confirm whether the council’s resolution to make him acting rector was final and binding.

On April 16, the university council resolved to set up a committee to investigate Bancha, who was suspended pending the investigation’s conclusion. However, the council’s chairman did not sign the order, and instead asked for it to be reviewed.

On June 18, the council confirmed the decision to investigate and suspend Bancha, and since Surasit refused to sign the order, the council had its member Brother Wisit Sriwichairat sign on the chairman’s behalf. Surasit then fought back, saying the order was illegitimate, and claimed the administrators had ignored his authority, which would affect the university’s work.

Meanwhile, Sudhiporn’s petition to the Office of the Higher Education Commission revealed the reasons behind the conflict. 

Other council members, led by Abac’s legal adviser and council member Weerasak Anusonthi-wong, explained that the flight-simulator project for the Engineering Faculty – of which Sudhiporn was dean at the time – was actually a joint-venture deal with a private company. 

Weerasak went on to say that an investigation into the project’s alleged lack of transparency had found no signs of corruption. He also said Bancha’s suspension was not legitimate because it could only go into effect at the request of the investigation committee. Hence, he said, Bancha was the rightful rector.

Citing Article 42 of the Private University Act – which stipulates that a deputy rector can only take over if the incumbent rector is unable to perform his duties – Weerasak said Sudhiporn’s claim that he held the acting rector’s post was illegitimate because it was only based on the council’s resolution and had not been signed by the council’s chair.

To back their claim, Sudhiporn’s side used the same Article as well as the civil court’s temporary injunction, which said Bancha had been suspended on April 30 and Sudhiporn made acting rector on June 22.

On October 30, the 18-member university council met with Education Minister General Dapong Ratanasuwan, who then assigned the ministry’s permanent secretary Kamjorn Tatiyakavee and the Office of Higher Education Commission to set up a neutral committee to study and solve this conflict.

With this committee nearing the 60-day deadline to complete its work, Sudhiporn and a new team of security guards tried to enter Abac’s original campus in Hua Mark on December 28. 

However, his group was barred from entering by the established security guards, resulting in a confrontation that had to be resolved by the intervention of police guards and soldiers.

Sudhiporn then filed a police complaint against the old guards, alleging they had obstructed a court order and trespassed, before he returned to his temporary office at the university’s Suvarnabhumi campus.

On December 30, Sudhiporn tried to enter the Hua Mark campus again and was once more barred. 

The long-standing dispute leaves the Education Ministry in a quandary over how to resolve the situation before it gets out of hand and affects the students and their quality of education.