Thread: School Directors Who Pocket Cash May Be Fired

TEA MONEY SCANDAL
School directors who pocket cash may be fired


By The Nation
Published on November 20, 2008

Parents give more payment details to DSI



The Office of Basic Education Commission (OBEC) is considering the firing of school directors found guilty of pocketing cash donations - 'tea money'- from parents trying to get their exam failing children into schools.

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) deputy chief Colonel Suchat Wonganantachai, will get more reports from OBEC's deputy secretarygeneral on the investigation this afternoon, as parents continue to give DSI details about their payments to schools.


OBEC secretarygeneral Kasama Voravarn na Ayutthaya said yesterday that money donations voluntarily given by parents were used for development of school teaching and learning methods. It was only in a few cases that the money went to school executives' pockets.

Kasama said she had assigned educational zone offices to find the facts about alleged tea money. However, she said, schools were unable to run properly when depending solely on the government subsidy; it covered only 40 per cent of total expenses for middle and largesized schools. Normally these schools issued receipts for money donations they received, according to the Education Ministry's regulations.

Kasama said her office was willing to cooperate fully with the DSI investigation and urged DSI to reach a conclusion that included the schools' problems too. She said that in the past her office had threatened punishment for school administrators who pocketed money donations instead of developing the schools.

DSI investigator Pol Lt Col Pongin Inthornkhao said parents from Bangkok's Bodindecha 3 School, and Chiang Mai and Nakhon Ratchasima, gave information to the DSI yesterday about tea money payment procedures and about people reportedly involved. Declining to give details, he said the more famous the schools are, the more tea money taking allegedly involved.

Pongin said most schools took the money in a similar fashion, via the English program. Some, supposed to take in 500 students, reportedly recruited only 300 and left 200 seats open for tea money giving parents' children. He said parents quoting higher money donations could get their children admitted, while some schools claimed to have received money from certain associations that didn't exist. He said a school's English program had to state clearly the amount of money collected from parents, and approval from OBEC, but some projects had not been submitted to the office.

DSI deputy chief Colonel Suchat Wonganantachai said he would get details from OBEC today about tea money complaints filed with OBEC. He said that if private schools under OBEC did not receive a government subsidy, their requests for money from parents would be considered a business, not a law violation. As these cases might involve authorityabusing officials, he had had talks with the Office of National AntiCorruption Commission and the Public Sector AntiCorruption Commission. DSI would send the case reports to them.


School directors who pocket cash may be fired

Originally Posted by zehner

from parents trying to get their exam failing children into schools.

Failing exams...

Originally Posted by zehner

OBEC secretary general Kasama Voravarn na Ayutthaya...

This is one very busy Khunying. She's all over the place at the moment. Wonder how the bouffant is holding up under such a hectic schedule?

Originally Posted by zehner

...said yesterday that money donations voluntarily given by parents were used for development of school teaching and learning methods. It was only in a few cases that the money went to school executives' pockets.

Clearly in touch with reality, then.

Never fuckin' happen!

Another soundbite with zero follow through. This is how Thai society works. Take out the corruption and 90% of these private schools disappear overnight. as for these government schools. are any of the principals former teachers who've worked hard. Of course not,they're people who have position and supposed wisdom not people who know anything about education. Principals here only do the job because of the ease at which they can syphon off money. charge the kids for sports days, bullshit English camps with free volunteers, 15% more for your uniform, books, after school clubs, electric etc. when these inspectors come in and fine a school because some teachers didn't sign in for a few days do they ever look at the school accounts. My guess is that most principals give the inspectors a nice pink envelope and a free lunch to not even bother checking the school accounts.

Originally Posted by zehner

School directors who pocket cash may be fired

Maybe they should start with the MOE My school director last year made like 60k on the books and rolled into school with a shiny new E Class Benz. What happens in school administration here makes politics like angelic.