NIDA quashes abandonment rumours as it unveils new plans for Nakhon Ratchasima campus
The National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) has unveiled plans to use properties allocated to it in Nakhon Ratchasima province for education and vocational training.
This announcement on Tuesday quashed allegations that NIDA had abandoned these properties instead of using them for public interest.
In 1993, the Interior Ministry allocated 104 rai (16.64 hectares) of land in Sikhiu district’s Ban Khlong Tabaek area to NIDA.
The institute then constructed two buildings on the plot for its Master of Public Administration (MPA) programme, Assoc Prof Asawin Nedpogaeo, assistant to NIDA’s president for corporate communications, said on Tuesday.
This land is part of a bigger plot of 1,083 rai that the ministry had earmarked for public use, he said.
“To make travel easier for students, NIDA in 2020 shifted the MPA programme to Suranari Wittaya School 2 in Muang district,” Aswin said. “That year, Thailand was struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic and the institute had transformed the buildings in the Sikhiu campus into field hospitals.”
After the field hospital was closed in 2022, NIDA has continued maintaining the properties and has never abandoned them as accused by Nakhon Ratchasima locals.
“NIDA plans to use the Sikhiu campus for education and vocational training to ensure sustainable development of community leaders and locals,” he said. “We are looking to open new master’s degree programmes in fields like tourism management, social development, environment management and other vocational training.”
NIDA is also working with partners to design smart farming programmes that can be implemented at the Sikhiu campus with an aim to generate additional revenue for locals, he added.
