Black day for prestigious Bangkok school

[webfact]

Black day for prestigious Bangkok school

By The Nation

 

 

Hundreds of teachers, parents, students and alumni of a prestigious Bangkok school, Saint Gabriel's College, held a protest on Monday, calling for the resignation of its director, Brother Assistant Professor Vinai Viriyavidhayavongs.
 

The protesters want an inquiry held into an alleged lack of transparency in the way the school operates and its mishandling of several matters over the past five years.

 

The demonstrators, all wearing black, gathered at the school's Martin De Tours Stadium at 8am, then moved to the front of Vinai’s office to urge him to resign and to suspend the work of his “special adviser”.

 

The school had never had a special adviser to the director until recently, they said, and they had doubts over the adviser’s qualifications, relationship to the director and need to be employed at all.

 

Leading protesters also read out a statement criticising various ways the school had mishandled its responsibilities.

 

These included the pupils’ lunches, which had become less nutritious, staff pay rises that didn't adhere to the regulations, the way the school had invested Bt70 million and other “questionable” ways it had distributed its funds.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30339200

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-02-19

[trainman34014]

Every day is a black day in Thai 'Education' !

[webfact]

St Gabriel’s director steps down amid protests

By The Nation

 

Assistant Professor Vinai Viriyavidhayavongs

 

Assistant Professor Vinai Viriyavidhayavongs, the director of Saint Gabriel’s College, announced that he would temporarily step down from his duties pending an investigation into his alleged wrongdoing.
 

“I will write to the St Gabriel’s Foundation asking for my suspension,” he said yesterday, bowing to protests at the school by students, alumni and parents. 

 

“I am not stubborn,” he added. “If St Gabriel’s doesn’t want me, I will leave.” 

 

 

He spoke before the crowd of protesters as loud boos continued. 

 

Established in 1920, St Gabriel’s is one of the country’s most prestigious boys-only schools. Its alumni include high-profile figures including Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwon and Privy Councillor and former prime minister General Surayud Chulalont.

 

Admiral Pajun Tamprateep, a close aide to Privy Council President and statesman General Prem Tinsulanonda, joined protesters at the school on Monday. 

 

Earlier in the day, demonstrators, many wearing black, gathered at the school’s Martin De Tours Stadium at 8am, then moved to the front of Vinai’s office to urge him to resign and to suspend the work of his “special adviser”.

 

The school had never had a special adviser to the director until recently, they said, and they doubted the adviser’s qualifications, relationship to the director and need to be employed.

 

Leading protesters also read out a statement criticising various ways the school had allegedly mishandled its responsibilities.

 

The complaints included pupils’ lunches, which had become less nutritious, staff pay rises that did not adhere to regulations, the way the school had invested Bt70 million and other “questionable” ways it had distributed funds.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30339218

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-02-19

[impulse]

I suspect photos of the "special adviser" would clear up a lot of questions left hanging by the articles.

 

[rebo]

Nowhere in the www I can get a name of this "special adviser". Is he real?

[webfact]

St Gabriel’s director capitulates after protest against alleged affair and diversion of funds

By The Nation

 

 

PARENTS HAVE petitioned Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin and Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha over a perceived lack of integrity regarding the director of the prestigious St Gabriel’s College.

 

Asst Professor Brother Vinai Viriyavidhayavongs, who heads one of Thailand’s most distinguished boys-only schools, was hit by a scandal after hundreds of students, parents and alumni rallied against him on the school’s grounds yesterday. 

 

 

Bowing to pressure, he agreed to step aside to pave the way for investigations into his alleged wrongdoings. 

 

“I will welcome an investigation,” he said, while denying allegations against him.

 

 

In an attempt to defuse loud protests by students, parents and alumni, he also tendered a request for his own suspension yesterday.

 

Hundreds of protesters rallied at the St Gabriel’s College for hours until they were shown Vina’s written request for his suspension in the afternoon. 

 

According to protesters, Vinai renovated a room at the school and bought new furniture to provide accommodation for a specialist he had recruited.

 

 

However, the group stated that the specialist had been rude and allegedly used Vinai’s name to demand reimbursements against school regulations. 

 

The protesters said they also suspected that Vinai had had an affair with a consultant, who remained unidentified yesterday. 

 

Protesters said they were also angry that the school had begun offering students salty snacks for lunch. 

 

There have also been complaints about unusual staff pay rises, the use of school funds in a Bt70-million investment made under the name of a single individual and other questionable disbursement issues.

 

Admiral Pajun Tamprateep, a close aide to Privy Council President and statesman General Prem Tinsulanonda, was among the protesters yesterday. 

 

According to the school’s rules, the director of St Gabriel’s College cannot quit on his own because only the St Gabriel’s Foundation has the authority to decide who governs its schools, which was why Vinai wrote to the foundation asking for his suspension. 

 

 

“I am not stubborn,” Vinai said. “If St Gabriel’s doesn’t want me, I will leave.” 

 

A parent representative, Kasem Jamninkul, said he was satisfied with Vinai’s response.

 

“He has agreed to provide explanations and give up his role as the school’s director,” he said. 

 

Kasem added that he expected the St Gabriel’s Foundation to launch an investigation soon. 

 

He said he trusted that the foundation would not try to protect Vinai if evidence confirmed his wrongdoing. 

 

Protesters also received assurances yesterday that students protesting against Vinai would not face punitive action. 

 

 Established in 1920, St Gabriel’s has educated many prominent figures in Thailand. Alumni include high-profile figures such as Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwon and Privy Councillor and former prime minister General Surayud Chulalont.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30339254

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-02-20

[LazySlipper]

Wasn't the St Gabriel foundation under scrutiny for accepting tea money for special admission rights for fortunate parents not too long ago? 

 

Funny cos the final conclusion of this never reached the media's attention. Or, if it did, it was hushed up.

 

Just gotta love how the church is just as corrupt as any other establishment around...

Edited February 20, 2018 by LazySlipper

[irwinfc]

16 minutes ago, LazySlipper said:

Wasn't the St Gabriel foundation under scrutiny for accepting tea money for special admission rights for fortunate parents not too long ago? 

 

Funny cos the final conclusion of this never reached the media's attention. Or, if it did, it was hushed up.

 

Just gotta love how the church is just as corrupt as any other establishment around...

it never got media attention because it wasn't news to begin with. the disgusting practice of handing out unknown sums of bribes were openly practiced by parents who wanted their kids in. you know, it's the typical "me first", "i'm more important", i have more money", etc thai thing

[asiaexpat]

Worldwide the Catholic Church is corrupt and harbors criminals. Thailand is no exception. Most Arch Bishops continue to turn a blind eye to the misdeeds perpetrated by his priests and church members, Bangkok is no exception. Look at ABAC and other educational institutions that have a history of corruption by priests.

[greenchair]

There should be a law against dragging children into what is quite obviously an adults domain. 

It has always irked me that children can have a patty tantrum to have teachers and directors sacked. These children by law should be in classes. 

Most of those children wouldn't even understand why they were there, let alone have the ability to choose to be or not be there. 

Children should be protected in times of divorce. 

They should also be protected from people that would use them unscrupulously for politics.