Students who complete three years in the army reserve force may face a shorter stint in the army if they are conscripted, military officials say.
The army is contemplating ending the exemption from conscription granted to students who undergo the territorial defence programme (widely known as Ror Dor).
A shortfall in recruits through the normal conscription process prompted the move. Thai men who reach the age of 21 must submit their names for a conscription draw, but if they have served in the reserves at school they are normally exempt.
Army Reserve commander Lt Gen Wichit Sriprasert said yesterday students who finish the first three years of the territorial defence programme are currently exempt from conscription.
Officials said military service could be trimmed from two years to six months for those who are drafted after completing three years of the reserve programme.
Maj Gen Thaweechai Krisicheewin, commander of the Reserve Affairs Centre, said students have been competing to enter the territorial defence programme to avoid conscription.
More than 300,000 students have joined the programme but only about 10,000 of them went on to complete the fourth and fifth years of training.
Students who complete the five-year reserve programme will remain exempt from conscription, he said.
Lt Gen Wichit said those who are aged under 16 or leave school early were not eligible to join the reserves, which was unfair as they would have to put their names forward for the conscription draw. It was impossible to open up the reserves to all young men because it would reduce the number of young men available for conscription.