Thailand senator under fire for questionable PhD certificate

A Thai senator is facing criticism over her educational background after many academics and Thai netizens pointed out that her doctorate from California University was allegedly obtained for 8,600 baht.

The newly elected senator, Associate Professor Doctor Keskamol Pleansamai, garnered the highest number of votes (79) in the recent selection of the Thai Senator election. The top score and her attractive personality are not the only aspects that make Dr Keskamol famous. The finger of suspicion has been pointed at Dr Keskamol over her educational background also drawing a spotlight on her.

The 45 year old senator is known in the beauty clinic industry as Dr Keskamol. She is a successful business operator with multiple branches of health and beauty clinics in Thailand and a social worker.

Dr Keskamol has a strong educational background, including a PhD in Resource Development and Management from Maejo University, a master’s degree in Organisational Management from Krirk University, and a Bachelor of Medicine Programme from Rangsit University.

What made people suspicious was her PhD as an Associate Professor in Business Administration from California University.

Many pointed out that California University does not provide instruction or issue degrees, but rather assesses the educational qualifications of those who graduated from overseas and issues equivalent certificates.

Bought PhD

An X (Twitter) user, @iwhale, claimed that the PhD certificate from California University can be obtained by entering information on the official website of the university, paying the service fee, and then paying the delivery fee for the certificate to be sent to Thailand. According to the X user, the entire process cost only 8,600 baht.

Dr Keskamol and her lawyer, Deachai Kittiwittayanan, urged anyone suspicious of the certificate to check Dr Keskamol’s published research to see that her PhD is legitimate.

A famous Associate Professor Doctor Weerachai Phuttawong later pointed out that Dr Keskamol’s research might have been completed by someone else because the pronoun his was used instead of her.

Moreover, one of Dr Keskamol’s research projects reportedly took only ten days to complete, unlike most research projects, which require at least three months to finish and about a year for proofreading and other related steps.

Due to these suspicions, many urged the Election Commission of Thailand and other relevant departments to thoroughly investigate this matter and punish Dr Keskamol if she is found guilty.

The Office of the Civil Service Commission was the only organisation to respond to the issue. On July 14, the commission issued an official announcement that a person who graduated from California University was not certified by the commission because no information had been submitted to the authorities previously.

As of now, it is unclear whether Dr Keskamol is qualified as a senator with her PhD from California University.