Four public universities to be privatised

Laws to privatize four leading universities in Thailand are to come into force amid concerns from many student activist groups.

On Friday, 17 July 2015, laws on the privatisation of four leading state universities Thammasat, Kasetsart, Suan Dusit Rajabhat, all in Bangkok, and Khon Kaen in Thailand’s Northeast, were published in the Royal Gazette.

In the Thai legislative system, a law is officially enacted a day after it is published in the Royal Gazette.

In November, Education Minister Adm Narong Pittatanasai said that the cabinet had approved bills to privatise Thammasat University, Thailand’s second oldest tertiary education institute, and Khon Kaen University, the oldest and largest public university in northeastern Thailand.

Shortly after, the cabinet also gave a green light to privatise Suan Dusit Rajabhat and Kasetsart universities.

The proposals to privatise the four tertiary educational institutions were protested by many student groups at the four universities who pointed out that the authorities did not give students and university staff an opportunity to participate in the process of drafting, proposing, and considering the privatisation bill.

In April, the student council and organisations from various faculties of Thammasat University issued a joint statement urging the junta’s National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to postpone the final reading of the bill to privatise the university.

In the same month, about 10 students of Khon Kaen University gathered to hold banners with messages reading “Opposing university privatisation = Opposing the coup d’état” and “President + National Legislative Assembly (NLA) + coup d’état = university privatisation” in front of the Food and Service Centre on the university campus.

Plans to privatise public universities have been proposed under many civilian administrations. But the plans were often dropped due to popular public disapproval, mostly led by student groups. After the coup d’état in 2006, however, seven leading universities in Thailand, including Chulalongkorn University, the oldest university in the country, and Mahidol University, were hastily privatised in 2007-2008 by an unelected legislature. 

Since 2007, Prachatai English has been covering underreported issues in Thailand, especially about democratization and human rights, despite the risk and pressure from the law and the authorities. However, with only 2 full-time reporters and increasing annual operating costs, keeping our work going is a challenge. Your support will ensure we stay a professional media source and be able to expand our team to meet the challenges and deliver timely and in-depth reporting.

• Simple steps to support Prachatai English

1. Bank transfer to account “โครงการหนังสือพิมพ์อินเทอร์เน็ต ประชาไท” or “Prachatai Online Newspaper” 091-0-21689-4, Krungthai Bank

2. Or, Transfer money via Paypal, to e-mail address: [email protected], please leave a comment on the transaction as “For Prachatai English”