A school director in Chon Buri province accused of inflating the number of students in the school's lunch programme to pocket more state subsidies could face disciplinary and criminal charges for corruption if found guilty.
A preliminary investigation found irregularities in the school lunch programme committed by Nipawan Suwannoi, director of Wat Mai Noen Phayom School in Si Racha district, said Kosol Prathumchat, an adviser to the Education Ministry.
The irregularities came to light after a teacher at the school filed a complaint with the Office of Basic Education Commision (Obec). In response, Obec ordered the Primary Educational Service Area 3 in Chon Buri province to set up a committee to investigate.
Mr Kosol said an initial investigation found evidence of possible corruption as the total number of students enrolled in the school and the number of students registered for the lunch programme did not match. Mr Kosol did not reveal the numbers to the media.
"The number of students registered for the school lunch programme was higher than the total number of students enrolled. This means the number from the free lunch scheme has most likely been fabricated so the school could benefit from the meal subsidies," Mr Kosol said.
The lunches are funded by the Department of Local Administration Promotion. The school receives 20 baht per day for each student having lunch at the school, but the management of the meal fund is the responsibility of the school director.
The money goes towards buying the ingredients and paying those cooking the food. Mr Kosol said the investigation committee also conducted a quality inspection of the lunches at the school and found them to be nutritious and prepared hygienically.
"Despite students being served up-to-standard lunches by the school, corruption is corruption. Someone must be held responsible for the wrongdoing," he said.
If the director is found guilty, she would face severe disciplinary punishment and the ministry would file criminal and civil lawsuits against her, Mr Kosol said.
