Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin on Wednesday told members of university councils not to jump to the conclusion they are already exempt from having to declare their assets and debts under a new anti-graft rule.
Dr Teerakiat said the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) order involving the asset declaration regulation did not "automatically" spare them from the requirement. More details of the changes were needed.
In order No.21/2018 issued by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, as the NCPO chief, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) was instructed to review the list of position-holders who would be subject to submitting asset declarations, he said.
According to Dr Teerakiat, the NCPO order, issued on Tuesday, only allows the NACC to review and make changes to the earlier regulation that covers university councillors.
"The NCPO order states clearly that the NACC must redefine the positions that must submit a list of assets and debts. So at this stage the university councillors aren't required to submit them yet. They have to wait for the revised regulation to see if they still have to do that," he said.
The NCPO order was seen as an attempt to appease university councillors upset by the requirement. They announced their intention to resign en masse to avoid the regulation.
There were fears the mass resignations would impact quorums of meetings at universities, which would adversely affect decision-making processes.
The NACC rule requires senior officials holding executive positions, such as department deputy directors-general, university council chairs and members, and other equivalent positions to declare their assets and liabilities.
It also obliges their spouses and children to submit declarations of their assets and debts to the NACC.
Dr Teerakiat said it would depend on the councillors to decide if they would proceed with their resignation threats or wait for the revision.
However, Viroj Limkhaisaeng, rector of Rajamangala University of Technology in Nakhon Ratchasima, welcomed the order to lift the asset and debt regulation imposed on university council members.
He said members of university councils who had stepped down could re-apply, and the selection process would take about two to three months.
Of the nine Rajamangala University of Technology councils, only one chairman resigned after the regulation was announced, he said, adding the rest are unlikely to follow suit after the latest NCPO order.
