Thailand’s education minister takes ‘no-conflict’ stance to school corruption

In a bold move against corruption, Police General Permpoon Chidchob, Thailand’s Education Minister, issued directives to all education officials, mandating the avoidance of potential conflicts of interest. This action aims to eradicate graft, corruption, and fraud which can stem from such conflicts.

Concerning this, Pol. Gen. Permpoon stated that all agencies must strive for total transparency and accountability. He believes, it “will go a long way in preventing malfeasance. To aid this, several guidelines have been provided to education personnel, designed to prevent any rule violation.”

Chidchob also revealed that education agencies are required to maintain a record of gifts exceeding 3,000 baht in value, received from academic staff. In addition to this, agencies are to log any bribery-related complaints and submit these records to their respective supervisors every six months.

Chidchob believes, will foster a culture of accountability within the education sector. “The goal is to ensure that everyone in the education sector is operating with the utmost integrity and transparency,” Chidchob expressed.

This move represents a significant stride in Thailand’s fight against corruption in its education system. It is expected to foster an environment of honesty and integrity, thereby ensuring the quality of education in the country is not under threat by the problematic behaviour of a select few, who try and break the law, reported Bangkok Post.

In related news, the Anti-Corruption Police conducted a second search of the office of the Mayor of Bang Kaeo in southern Thailand after his arrest for alleged under-the-table solicitation of 1.5 million baht.

The mayor, Nathapong Taengsuwan, had earlier been taken into custody for reportedly demanding bribes in exchange for approving a 13-million-baht LED screen installation project. A shocked Nathapong had attempted to discard 1,560,650 baht in cash to evade culpability, as previously reported. Read more about the story HERE

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