THAILAND: Teaching certificate sales may be rife

Up to 80 state and private universities may be involved in selling teacher certificates or offering courses without accreditation, reports the Bangkok Post. The Office of the Higher Education Commission, or Ohec, which is investigating a university in Khon Kaen province found to have sold professional teacher certificates to graduates, said it would widen its probe to 77 other providers which had produced an unusually high number of teaching graduates.

Secretary-General Sumeth Yamnoon said some of the suspect universities had opened branches and centres around the country, but appeared to lack "proper" standards.

Ohec has appointed a 17-member panel to run E-Sarn University in Khon Kaen after it was found to have sold teacher certificates to its graduates. The university's Rector Atsadang Sawangkarn will be fined 200,000 baht (US$6,686) for failing to abide by Ohec standards.
Full report on the Bangkok Post site