NACC arrests Khon Kaen school deputy director for allegedly receiving cash bribe
In a crackdown against corruption in the field of education, officials from Thailand's National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) together with local police arrested a school's deputy director in Khon Kaen province on Monday.
He was accused of asking a parent for a bribe to help their child transfer schools in the middle of the school year. The payment of cash allegedly occurred in the deputy director’s private office within the school premises.
Following the arrest, the Khon Kaen Primary Educational Service Area Office 1 issued an order transferring temporarily the accused to the district office after his release on bail, pending an investigation.
The local education authority has set up a fact-finding committee led by the school’s director, who supervised the accused.
The committee is expected to report its findings quickly to the secretary-general of the Basic Education Commission to determine if disciplinary actions were warranted alongside the ongoing criminal proceedings.
Bribery issues in Thailand appear in the news continuously, especially in Thailand’s educational system. Despite awareness and previous crackdowns, unofficial payments have remained a persistent problem, especially in competitive schools where such transactions are strictly prohibited.
The NACC was contacted in response to a complaint from a parent who stated that they were asked to pay 20,000 baht for their child's admission to the third grade, which was later lowered to 10,000 baht in cash after the parent provided proof of the child's literacy.
The cash was allegedly handed over to the deputy director on Monday at his private office, when NACC officials, police officers, and the investigative team, arrested him and informed him of the accused's rights and charges under Sections 149 and 157 of the Criminal Code.
