Police forensic experts have been called in to help education ministry officials clear up questions about the handling of an exam for teachers seeking jobs in Sa Kaeo province.
The questions came to light after a young teacher said her name came first on the initial list of candidates who had passed the test, but three days later a revised list was issued and her name was not on it.
Officials from the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec) said a preliminary investigation indicated that there had been errors on the first list, and that the teacher in question had not even finished in the top ten.
The original test papers will be sent to the Police Forensic Science Office for examination, said Thanu Wongjinda, the Obec secretary-general.
Other details of the preliminary investigation by an Obec fact-finding committee are still being withheld.
The teacher, identified only as Khru Ben, 24, said her name was published by the Sa Kaeo Secondary Education Service Area Office on Sept 9 as the first of nine successful candidates for state-school teaching positions.
Her name was removed and replaced by another in a follow-up list on Sept 12. Khru Ben had been working as a contract teacher in Ayutthaya and resigned after learning she had won a position as a science teacher in her home province.
However, Mr Thanu said Khru Ben was not in the top 10 based on her test score, while the candidate added later had the highest score. He cited the academic record and other factors as reasons for the decision.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission, meanwhile, found that the director of the Sa Kaeo office and some staff members had made errors in preparing and publishing the initial exam results. They will face disciplinary action.
Deputy Education Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul said earlier that Obec’s legal office had reviewed the exam results of 100 candidates to verify them and ensure fairness.
Should a review confirm that Khru Ben did not receive the highest mark, he said, she would receive compensation for the financial impact of resigning from her current post, a decision she took based on the assumption that she had won a new job.