The Ministry of Higher Education has resolved to request 11 additional documents regarding the qualification trading issue before concluding the results this August.

The fact-finding committee meeting on the private university degree trading case resolved to request 11 additional pieces of evidence and summon 9 people involved to give statements before concluding the results in August. It will scrutinize whether all universities submit correct information on students who have received degrees. Ms. Supamas Isaraphakdi, Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI), revealed that after ordering the Permanent Secretary of MHESI to set up a fact-finding committee in the case of the purchase and sale of degrees from private universities, chaired by Prof. Dr. Supachai Patumnakul, Deputy Permanent Secretary of MHESI, and the committee comprised of external experts and executives of the Office of the Permanent Secretary of MHESI, totaling 9 people. The latest report from Assoc. Prof. Dr. Supachai is that the committee held its first meeting to set guidelines and action plans and resolved to request all 11 relevant documents and evidence from the univer sity. The university was given a 15-day deadline to submit them to the committee. It also agreed to call in 9 people to testify. If more than 9 people are involved, more will have to be called in for questioning in order to obtain complete facts and be fair to all parties involved. The committee is expected to conclude the facts within August. Previously, the committee visited the area and held a meeting with the university's executives, which provided initial information. They confirmed that the investigation will proceed straightforwardly to ensure fairness for all parties. In addition, to prevent such incidents from happening again, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation will use strict measures from the Ministerial Regulation Announcement 'Specifying the Criteria, Methods and Periods for Disclosing and Submitting Higher Education Data B.E. 2566', in which Section 3 specifies that universities must submit student data, such as student lists, national ID card numbers, as well a s graduates or diploma recipients, to the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation. This data will allow us to verify whether those whose names have graduated have received their diplomas correctly, such as if their names were just registered this year, but they will receive their degrees next year. This is definitely considered abnormal. Source: Thai News Agency