"Please let my son be the last victim of this system," Preecha Sukkasempong said.

His son, Jiratthakorn, hanged himself at his home in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district on Sunday after learning that he had failed to win a seat at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Engineering.

He decided to end his life, even though he won a place at his second choice,  Kasetsart University's Faculty of Engineering.

Preecha said before the suicide, his son complained the current university-admission system was unfair to students in rural provinces.

Jiratthakorn's cremation will be held Sunday.

Basic Education Commission secretary general Kasama Varawarn said her office had now instructed local officials to closely monitor university-student aspirants especially those known to have high expectations from the university-entrance results.

"The children should be taught that there are many other educational opportunities available," she said.

Asked about Preecha's suggestion that the current system should be scrapped, Kasama explained that as long as there were fewer seats than applicants at some faculties there would be disappointments, no matter which system was used. Kasama said she was saddened by Jiratthakorn's death.

Education Minister Wijit Srisa-arn said it remained inconclusive whether Jiratthakorn committed suicide based solely on the current university-admission system.

"But at this point, this case will of course prompt relevant authorities to improve orientation guidelines so that children are better prepared to deal with disappointment," he said.