Officials hands 'tied' by limits on punishments

Ovec now plans to use disciplinary guidelines in place at Don Muang Technical College as the standard for all technical/vocational colleges.
Ovec secretarygeneral Chaipreuk Serirak said the agency’s centre for monitoring and preventing student violence in Bangkok, which has communication centres in the Chatuchak, Victory Monument, Suan Luang and Thon Buri areas, started operations yesterday.
The centres will work with police, colleges, Education Ministry student inspectors and the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority. The public is also encouraged to help by calling 1156 if they witness student clashes.
Chaipreuk said he had assigned his deputy Pradit Rasitanont to study vocational colleges’ prescribed punishments for misbehaving students and would call a meeting of agencies and colleges to brainstorm solutions to the student violence issue.
Pradit said that other than awarding poor behaviour scores, Ovec could not do much about the problem. The Child Protection Act 2003 limited their options, Pradit said; teachers cannot cane students or move them to study elsewhere, and are liable to be sued by parents if they break the rules on punishment.
As Don Muang Technical College’s regulations are considered more thorough than those of other colleges, Pradit said he would apply them as the standard. The college establishes a yearly committee comprising a deputy college director, teachers and studentaffairs administrators. The panel considers allegations and makes suggestions on how to punish students for wrongdoings, such as by cutting behaviour scores.
For example, making an impolite remark to another student would cost them one point, while smoking a cigarette would cost them 10 points. More serious violations are subject to probation and a 20to40point penalty. These include starting or partaking in a brawl, possessing a gun or explosives, and selling drugs. Those facing a police probe or criminal prosecution would be suspended.
Meanwhile, Senator Tuang Anthachai urged the Education Ministry to invest Bt100 million to enable agencies under its supervision to tackle the violence. He urged the ministry to use as a model the tackling of Chiang Rai’s “Samurai” student gang in 1997 through the use of privatesector funding of constructive activities.
The Parents’ Network and its allies issued a statement urging the media to educate parents on the need to supervise kids, and calling on teachers to monitor student hazing and prevent senior students from negatively influencing younger kids, while watching out for problematic students.
They urged the government to limit access to weapons, impose tougher punishments for illegal gun possession, fund research on preventing violence, and provide space for constructive activities. They also called for the dropping of college symbols.
Ayutthaya police have stepped up random checks on Internet cafes, temporary closed cafes that let students in during school hours or gather for fighting, and even cancelled licences for repeat offenders. Police were also stationed at four brawlprone locations across Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya Island.