CU, Rajamangala Uni reps meet to resolve 48-year-old dispute

Attending the discussion were representatives of the Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Ministry, with all sides hoping to find an acceptable solution to a dispute that started 48 years ago.

In 1975, CU announced that it needed to use the 21-rai plot (3.36 hectares) land it had rented to Rajamangala University because it wanted to expand facilities for its students.

CU offered a plot in Samut Prakan instead, but the proposal was rejected by Rajamangala executives and alumni, who said most of the students came from poor families and shifting the campus would add to their commuting costs.

In response, the Office of the Attorney General set up a committee, which in 2009 ruled that Rajamangala University return the land to CU as well as pay a compensation of about 1 million baht per year until the move is complete.

The ruling prompted Rajamangala to appeal at the Supreme Administrative Court, which ruled in December last year that the university move out of the CU campus in 60 days.

Meanwhile, Rajamangala students and alumni have been protesting against CU’s plan to have them shifted.

On Wednesday, hundreds of students and alumni gathered at the campus on Phya Thai Road, where the negotiations were taking place. They said they wanted to show their support for their rector, Assoc Prof Ruekchai Fupratheepsiri, who has refused to sign the relocation agreement and has called for a public hearing on the case.

Officers of Metropolitan Police Bureau Division 6 were present at the campus to monitor the situation and screen visitors.