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Published on December 8, 2007

"I will submit the petition next week," said Tul Sittisomwong, who teaches at the Faculty of Medicine, and is a key leader against the move to grant autonomy to CU.

The bill has already sailed through the first reading of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA).

Education Minister Wijit Srisa-an, who chairs the NLA committee vetting the bill, yesterday said the bill had already undergone minor changes in response to comments by some NLA members.

He said the changes ensured that the government would continue to adequately subsidise CU, prevent any person from staying as CU president for longer than two consecutive terms, and to assist cash-strapped students in their undergraduate courses.

"We are going to submit it [the bill] for the second and third readings," Wijit said.

He supported the plan to turn state universities into autonomous institutions saying the freer management would allow them to thrive academically.

However, Tul argued that freer management at CU would distract the university from its academic excellence.

"When CU becomes a public autonomous institution, it will be able to co-invest in business projects instead of just being a landlord. Then, much of the attention will be on business and profits," he said.

CU owns a number of plots in the heart of Bangkok, which allows it to earn a huge amount of money from rents. The university cannot sell these plots.

Tul also suggested that proponents of the bill should be barred from sitting on university boards for at least five years.

"This is to prevent any conflict of interest," he said.

Chularat Saengpassam

Supinda Na Mahachai

 The Nation