‘Ghosts’ listed to justify promotion

SCHOOLS: The directors of 10 schools in the lower Northeast listed “ghost students” on their rolls to facilitate their promotion, an anti-graft agency has found.

Samart Chainarong, director of the Office of Anti-Corruption in Public Area 3, said yesterday that the directors marked up the numbers of their students to make them eligible for transfers to bigger, more established schools, where the parents are more likely to pay bribes for admission.

The probe followed an investigation at Kham Sakae Saeng School in Nakhon Ratchasima province, where 196 such students were put on the roll in order to get more government subsidies.

The investigation is being expanded to Amnat Charoen, Buri Ram, Chaiyaphum, Si Sa Ket, Surin, Ubon Ratchathani and Yasothon provinces.