Thailand looks out for degree mills

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by EllisZ, Jun 14, 2002.

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  1. EllisZ

    EllisZ Member

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    EDUCATION: Phoney foreign degrees

    Published on Jun 15, 2002


    Govt urged to crack down on purveyors of fake qualifications

    Academics yesterday urged the government to take strict action against foreign colleges and universities that are trying to sell low-quality educational services in Thailand.

    Some of the foreign schools are not even recognised in their own countries, they said.

    The academics also told Thai students to thoroughly investigate any foreign school before signing up for study.

    The warning follows a complaint filed with the Crime Suppression Division by the Ministry of University Affairs that the University of the Northern Philippines is offering a doctoral programme to Thai students without its permission.

    Dr Jirapan Bunyakiat, deputy rector of Thammasat University, said that due to the country's economic downturn a lot of Thai students had scrapped plans to study abroad.

    As a result, several foreign universities have started offering services in Thailand, either through public universities or private representatives, she said.

    However, not all of them are accredited universities in their own countries.

    Moreover, the Ministry of University Affairs and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) do not recognise some of them, said Associate Professor Pawich Thongrot, rector of Maha Sarakham University and chairman of the University Rectors' Assembly of Thailand.

    Pawich said several foreign institutions, apparently unaccredited ones, had e-mailed him, offering a degree without requiring him to sit in class or submit any written assignments, just pay a specified amount via credit card.

    However, Pawich said most of the universities under the supervision of the Ministry of University Affairs that have jointly organised programmes for Thai students with foreign institutions had thoroughly examined the credentials of their partner institutions.

    Associate Professor Jeerasak Noppakhun, deputy rector of Chulalongkorn University, said several foreign institutions not widely known to Thais had asked his university to be their partner. The university always declines, Jeerasak said.

    Jessada Paisalpijitsotsai

    THE NATION
     

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