NACC keeps close eyes on Student Lunch Project Fund’s fraud as allegations of corruption have re-surfaced, causing malnutrition among Thai children
With concern for Thai students’ well-being, the Office of National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) vows to closely monitor and inspect the Student Lunch Project Fund projects nationwide after the NACC received many complaints concerning the rampant corruption and nepotism of the project re-surfacing on many social media and news reports.
Moreover, as a proactive measure to prevent fraud in the project, the NACC also urges all schools to follow the guidelines of the Office of the Basic Education Commission, Ministry of Education in preparing lunch for students to avoid misconduct and misuse of government funds.
The NACC informed that today as part of the anti-corruption mission, random inspections of student lunch programs are often conducted in many schools across the country. This is to make government officials, teachers, and related parties aware of the fraudulent and ensure that Thai students will have good dietary, with adequate amounts, along with the nutritional principles that children should receive at each meal, and most importantly, to alert for any frauds that may escalate to corruption practice.
“The fraudulent of the student lunch project fund not only causes huge amounts of budgetary losses for the country but also affects the quality and malnutrition of Thai children who are the future of the country. If Thai children lack good nutrition, it would even harm the country’s development,” the NACC pointed out.
To ensure that funds for student lunch projects are used appropriately, the NACC urges all involved parties to follow the guidelines provided by the Office of the Basic Education Commission, Ministry of Education regardless of preparation for a lunch project at schools or so-called Thai School Lunch Recommendation System Program, and the Child and Youth Health Database System (KidDiary) program.
Moreover, the NACC also suggests all parties involved including executives of schools, teachers, and other sub-contractors or suppliers of the school lunch project fund to aware of the procurement method which should be transparent for all.
Widespread corruption in the student-free lunch program was exposed years ago, leading to an investigation by the NACC and a cleanup of the malpractice. Alleged corruption re-emerged recently at some schools in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, with video clips showing meatless and vegetable pieces in soup being posted on social media. This has led to the NACC’s investigation of the student lunch project fund in other schools more seriously nationwide.
The NACC office, covering NACC provincial offices across the country, admitted that it received many complaints regardless of the student lunch projects fraudulent.
Although the NACC has been seriously and continuously investigated. It does not make those who intend to corrupt aware of this.
Recently, a complaint about fraud by a school’s executive in Bang Chan District in Bangkok was filed to NACC as an entrepreneur who won the school lunch project alleged being requested to pay over 300,000 baht for getting a chance to win bidding for a school lunch project. The school claims the amount of money would be an administrative fee, the NACC elaborated, saying that this case will be further investigated under the law.
The Student Lunch Project Fund is a government initiative aimed at tackling child malnutrition, which has found that many primary school students lack lunch or have insufficient lunches or low nutritional value. The school lunch project fund has been in operation since 1952, when the Ministry of Education experimented with providing lunches to students under its subordinates, which found that the school lacked an operating budget, making it impossible to provide lunches for needy students thoroughly.
Yet, the corruption involved in the school lunch project fund has been found from time to time by the NACC. Those involved whether they were government officials or teachers were punished according to the disciplinary and criminal offenses under Sections 147, 151, and 157 of the Penal Code and under the Organic Act on Prevention and Suppression of Corruption B.E. 2542 (1999) as amended (No. 2) B.E. 2554 (2011), Section 123/1 of the Organic Act on Prevention and Suppression of Corruption B.E. 2561 (2018), Section 192 and were sentenced to imprisonment by the court.
References: https://nacc.go.th/categorydetail/20180831184638361/20240305112415
*This press release translation is funded by the National Anti-Corruption Fund (NACF).
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