Naresuan University offers 13 ‘Wild Boars’ full scholarships
NARESUAN UNIVERSITY has sent a letter to the governor of Chiang Rai governor, offering full scholarships to all the 13 Wild Boars Academy footballers who were recently rescued from the flooded Tham Luang cave.
The letter signed by Naresuan University President, Professor Kanchana Ngourungsi and sent on July 10, after the completion of the rescue mission, said: “Naresuan University is delighted to offer full scholarships to all 13 Wild Boars Academy footballers if they wish to complete their bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees at Naresuan University, Phitsanulok.”
“The decision was made by top executives of our university,” Sirimas Senarak, director of General Affairs Division, Naresuan University, confirmed in a phone interview.
The offer to waive all tuition fees for them received a mixed response from the public. Some netizens said the 13 footballers were survivors, not heroes. They believed the reward should go to volunteers who had helped save the 13 lives while some online users urged Naresuan University to instead take care of the poor students in their campus.
Responding to the criticism, the director said, “Naresuan University has been taking care of our underprivileged students financially. We never abandon them. But the decision to grant full scholarships to the Wild Boar team was already made by our executives.”