Assistant teachers fired over technicalities mull ways to get jobs back amid online storm

By The Nation

 

Wanalee Thunmak

 

TWO YOUNG women saw their career dreams shattered when they were suddenly disqualified over technicalities from their assistant-teacher jobs at Umphang Wittayakhom School in Tak.

Wanalee Thunmak of Sukhothai and Nirawan Cheuboonmee of Loei had been assigned by the Secondary Education Service Area Office 38 (Sukhothai-Tak) to the teaching jobs in Umphang district on May 4. They qualified for the jobs because they ranked 66th and the 67th respectively on the office’s successful-candidate list, which had a two-year validity period that ended on May 10. 

 

Wanalee taught at the school without pay for five months, from May to September, assuming that the money had been delayed by a bureaucratic process, and Nirawan quit her other job at a Loei kindergarten to join the school.

 

They were shocked on October 24 to discover that they could not officially be hired because the Tak Education Committee had not approved the shift in their major subjects, which made them eligible for the jobs, and had not approved the two positions for which they were hired.

 

Wanalee returned home to make inquiries how she could get her teaching job back. Nirawan stayed with Wanalee for eight days before going to stay with a relative in Uttaradit in hope that she would get her job back. She did not returned to her hometown of Loei, where her parents are waiting for her.

 

The acting director of the Secondary Education Service Area Office 38, Warin Chamnanpha, declined to comment on this case, saying that his office was formulating a report for the Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec) chief Boonrak Yodphetch.

 

Boonrak, meanwhile, said that he had three solutions: To report the case to the Permanent Secretary’s Office at the Education Ministry to have a fact-finding committee investigate steps taken in hiring the teachers; to find guidelines to provide protection for the two innocent teachers; and to have OBEC provide initial help to the women. 

 

On Saturday, Boonrak presented an initial Bt30,000 in assistance money to Wanalee and said he would also send money to Nirawan. 

 

The case received public attention and drew criticism after the Facebook page of Sukhothai media Seu Thonthing Muang Pra Ruang and the “Northernnewsthailand” website published the women’s story.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30330894

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-11-06

The priorities within the education system here are pathetic.

just some red tape that I'm sure they can iron out ......       media over reaction  !

They were probably disqualified because they didnt pass on the 100.000 baht that new teachers have to pay to get their positions.

It used to be 200k to 'pass' the exam and get up the vacancy list, and that was 15 years ago. 

The very least that Obec should do is to pay them their salaries for the period of work, while reviewing what when wrong. Don't punish these women because of administration errors! 

Seems bureaucracy bordering on corruption is rampant.  My suggestion to would be Thai teachers.  The country has no respect for you - consider a different career path.  
But then again - what else is new.  

Edited November 6, 20178 yr by connda

9 hours ago, Somtamnication said:

The priorities within the education system here are pathetic.

Yep here are the priorities in the education system 1 Make sure Minister gets his fair share of money 2 make sure his staff are looked after 3 Lots of junkets overseas 4 Make sure there work offices are the best ( latest computers coffee machines) 5 Schools have a little bit of money  6 Keep school teachers on low pay so they take no interest in their job

I guess those jobs are provided to the most influential bidders under the table.... ne????

I have a solution. 

Pay them ??