Office of the Education Council secretary-general, Sasithara Pichaicharnnarong, will fight her dismissal from the civil service saying she is being persecuted.
Sasithara Pichaicharnnarong will fight dismissal from the civil service. (Bangkok Post file photo)
Ms Sasithara was accused of violating regulations that caused millions of baht worth of damage in a project to procure education supplies for vocational colleges when she was the secretary-general of the Office of the Vocational Education Commission (Ovec). She was found guilty of approving payment for the procurement despite not having documents detailing the specifications of the products ordered.
She said the case had been wrong from the beginning because there was no appointment of a fact-finding committee. Instead a committee was appointed to investigate severe disciplinary breaches. Therefore, she has filed petitions with the Criminal Court and the Administrative Court.
Ms Sasithara said she believes her litigation against those who ordered the disciplinary investigation has pressured the Education Ministry’s civil service committee into speeding up the resolution to dismiss her.
She said when the committee made its decision, it did not have a full roster of members who are nominated by position, appointment and election.
Ms Sasithara also said that the caretaker minister had no authority to appoint or transfer a civil servant.
She said the payment involved a total of 122 million baht, while the remaining contracts for the educational supplies were handled by the current Ovec secretary-general Chaiyapruek Serirak, so he should face the same punishment.