Or, whether the new constitution to be drafted soon will be any better than the one shredded by the September 19 coup. It's not even about the new, highly provocative question: Are Thais really ready for democracy after all?

That's for the residents of ivory towers, perhaps. The real intellectuals, at least at some of the country's best-known universities, are debating whether they should become autonomous. Well, it's not precisely about autonomy. It's more about opting out of bureaucratic control. But again, that's not really the issue. Of course, no well-educated person in his right mind, especially a faculty member or student activist, would admit to being against self-government, autonomy or the chance to get away from power-hungry, stuffy, old-fashioned, and slow-witted bureaucrats.

So, why are some leading faculty members and student leaders protesting against the Cabinet-approved bill to let universities run their own affairs? Some of the dissidents have threatened to boycott classes to underscore their dissatisfaction. To be fair, nobody in any position at any institute of higher learning, not even the most outspoken objectors, is against autonomy as such. Nor is anyone in that category against getting bureaucrats off their back. The protesters are afraid that "autonomy" may be synonymous with commercialisation of the country's highest-level education facilities. Some of the most vocal detractors even fear that certain universities, left to their own devices, may resort to "selling degrees" if it enables their business to survive.

Are they over-reacting to part of an international move that, sooner or later, as pointed out by "mainstream" faculty members in most universities, will become inevitable anyway?

The opponents' fears, of course, aren't totally unfounded. Like it or not, autonomy in this case means government subsidies would be considerably reduced, forcing universities to charge students more. This will inevitably put tertiary education out of reach for poor students. What's worse, even as tuition fees go up, there is no guarantee that academic quality will rise proportionately.

This worst-case scenario has been painted by those taking Education Minister Wijit Srisa-an to task for "bulldozing" this legislation through the interim government. Once universities are made into money-making business concerns, the vital goal of providing a diversity of academic activities will be marginalised because loss-making courses, no matter how important they are to the country's youth, will sooner or later be either reduced or eliminated altogether to make way for profitable courses that only serve "the market". Education, the critics claim, will end up serving only the elite.

But "mainstream" higher-education leaders seem to have convinced themselves that the long-delayed change can't be held back and that some serious damage to the system is inevitable. And the newly appointed National Legislative Assembly (NLA) has accepted, for deliberation, draft bills that would allow Chulalongkorn and Thaksin universities, as well as King Mongkut's Institute of Technology, to leave the bureaucratic system once and for all.

Autonomy, the advocates argue, will enable universities to be run more effectively. A higher degree of flexibility should improve academic standards. One of Chulalongkorn's senior faculty members argues that an ideal university should be free and independent of political and bureaucratic influence. Boosting teaching quality and keeping a close eye on faculty members' academic standards - which has been a serious problem so far - will be easier once universities can govern themselves and face up to the fierce competition in all fields.

Education Minister Wijit, a staunch advocate of the change since it was first mooted over a decade ago, isn't going to bow to the vocal protests. He will tell any sceptics that he has fought hard for the autonomy of universities for over 10 years and has successfully taken at least six of the country's new colleges out of bureaucratic control.

"Now, I would like to see another 20 universities follow the same path speedily," the minister declared. Of course, the final decision rests with each university. There may be strong persuasion and perhaps some coercion to make it happen, and there will be corresponding incentives to ease the initial pain of the process. But the unwilling won't be forced into it.

Won't the poor suffer? Won't tuition fees rise five-fold or more once state control is lifted? Wijit insists this is nothing but unfounded paranoia. We are, after all, dealing with people in the country's highest education level. "Let's talk facts," he said the other day. "Let's take the reality of the six universities that have chosen to take the autonomy path. None of the six is charging what one could call expensive fees … after all, if things go wrong, if those who run universities mess things up, then it's the students and their parents who will scream and shout. Nobody else can correct the wrongs for them," he said.

In the end, though, each university's community will have to go through the proper process of public hearings, ensuring that all stakeholders have a say before a final decision is reached. Something went awry at Khon Kaen University, though, because complaints were lodged to the effect that the University Council had not followed a thorough sounding-out process over the issue. The controversial topic hadn't even been listed as a crucial item on the agenda of its meetings before the bill was submitted.

Once that flaw was highlighted, Education Minister Wijit had to take a step back. He pulled the bill from the Cabinet's weekly deliberations so that it could be put through a process whereby all parties concerned got a fair and proper hearing. Cynics may say, fairly or not, that this is a classic case of a bird that refuses to leave the cage for fear of being unable to cope with freedom. But some intrepid souls have seen the future and first reports say it's awesome out there. Autonomy isn't as terrifying as it has made out to be by the faint-hearted, after all.

Suthichai Yoon