ASIA, THAILAND, Students push to stop university autonomy bid

A group of students from Thammasat and Kasetsart universities in Thailand has petitioned Education Minister Pongthep Thepkanchana to stop the two public institutions gaining more autonomy.
 The students fear greater independence will result in higher tuition fees.

About 20 students submitted the petition to Pongthep last week. The Education Ministry drew up university bills that were approved by the cabinet and are now set to be debated in parliament.

The bills seek to give the universities more independence in their management and administrative affairs, while lecturers would become state employees rather than civil servants.

"The bill is unjust as lecturers and students were not allowed to take part fully in the drafting process," said Prachaya Nongnuch, head of Thammasat University's student council.

 He said the university had arranged a forum to gather opinions from faculty members and students.
However, the views obtained were not included in the bill