A private school in Pathum Thani named Jutarat Wittaya School made headlines over the past week after seven students who hold its certificates were rejected by a vocational college from enrolling into their courses.
The vocational college claimed the applicants used uncertified degrees to apply to study at its campus and asked Pathum Thani Provincial Education Office and the Office of the Private Education Commission (Opec) to look into the matter.
An initial probe set up by Pathum Thani Provincial Education Office found many surprising things.
For example, these students spent just two days a month for a period of six months, or about 10 days in total, at school under a programme called "Jutarat Brings Ashore" before receiving their junior high school certificates or high school certificates which Thai students, in general, spend three years earning.
Moreover, their names were not registered in a list of students who receive a subsidy from Opec, but were put into a separate account by their school instead, meaning they did not receive any subsidy from the state and had to pay tuition fees and other expenses on their own.
The Jutarat Brings Ashore programme takes students rejected by other schools and transfers the credits they had earned to this programme.
According to an online advertisement posted by the school, the application fees for its 10-day course curricula are 4,600 baht for junior high school level and 4,900 baht for the high school level.
The provincial education office also found the school had taken in more students than it was allowed.
Under Opec's regulation, Jutarat Wittaya School is allowed to admit 900 students, based on the number of its teachers, staff and facilities, but reports say the school had admitted more than 1,000 students to its Jutarat Brings Ashore programme alone.
In response to the findings, Opec secretary-general Chalam Attham has ordered a full investigation and barred Jutarat Wittaya School from accepting new students until the probe is complete.
"The problem seems to be bigger than we first thought. It's not just seven students, but we are talking about more than 1,000 students who are now studying this 10-day course and there might be around 4,000 people who have already graduated," he told the Bangkok Post.
Mr Chalam said if the investigation committee concluded the course is substandard and uncertified, the school will be punished for conducting a course without proper permission and all certificates issued must be revoked, meaning thousands of people will be affected.
"I understand that students are innocent. They saw an advertisement and believed the course is certified and approved by Opec, but we cannot turn a blind eye to an incident like this. It doesn't make sense that students only go to school for 10 days and then get junior high school certificates or high school certificates," he said.
When asked why Opec wasn't able to detect this kind of misconduct sooner, Mr Chalam said it's difficult for Opec to examine all schools under its control due to staffing constraints.
"We require all private schools to inform us how many students do have, so we can provide a subsidy and check whether the number is in line with our regulations. But in this case, you can see the school divided students into two accounts, so it's not easy to find out what is happening unless someone files a complaint," he said.
Denying it is a degree mill, Jutarat Wittaya School claimed it has done nothing wrong and its Jutarat Brings Ashore curricula fully complies with Section 15 of the Education Act which allows non-formal educational institutions to have flexibility in how they provide education to theri students.
The school claimed Section 15 also indicates that credits accumulated by learners can be transferred, regardless of whether the credits have been accumulated from the same or different institutions, including non-formal and informal education, vocational training, and work experience.
"The course is aimed at helping students who have problems and have to drop out from other schools to finish their education and get a certificate, so they can move on with their lives," the school said.
Metchanon Pachubrap, a legal representative of the school, said students who attended the course already have work experience and transferable credits from their old schools, so they don't need much time at school to earn certificates.
Mr Metchanon said that according to the law, Opec does not have the power to stop Jutarat Wittaya School from recruiting students into its "Jutarat Brings Ashore" course.
"We have asked the Central Administrative Court to interpret the law as to whether we are able to conduct this kind of curricula," he said.
Opec secretary-general said he acknowledges the school's move but insists its conduct is against Opec regulations.
"Jutarat Wittaya School is registered as a private school, not a non-formal educational institution, so it must comply with our rules. Our investigation has started and is expected to finish within a month," Mr Chalam said.
