The Election Commission (EC) has been asked to investigate the eligibility of the applicant who gained the most votes in the recent Senate election.
Sonthiya Sawatdee, a former adviser to the House committee on law, justice and human rights, filed a petition on Friday asking the EC to investigate Senator Keskamol Pleansamai's suitability for the position.
He claimed that he had obtained a copy of a document used by the senator to advertise her credentials before the election.
The document contains an educational background that may have been falsified, he said.
Mr Sonthiya said he had asked the EC to investigate whether the senator meets the criteria set by the Office of the Civil Service Commission (OCSC) and whether she gave false information to government officials.
He cited the organic law on the Senate election, which states that it is illegal for candidates to provide misleading evidence of their educational backgrounds to other candidates.
Dr Keskamol on Friday insisted on the authenticity of her educational achievements. "I earned my degrees, I did not buy them. The universities where I graduated from are not bogus ones."
She said election officials at the provincial level of the Senate election had already checked her educational background.
Dr Keskamol graduated in medical science from Rangsit University and obtained a master's of art in organisational management from Krirk University.
She went on to receive a PhD in resources management and development from Maejo University and another one in business administration from California University. She also received certification from the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine.
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— Bangkok Post (@BangkokPostNews) July 12, 2024 ">
Pradit Wannarat, president of the Higher Education Commission, said on Friday that those with master's degrees or doctorates who want to apply for work at state agencies must first receive accreditation from the OCSC.
The OCSC already has a list of universities accredited by the agency. Mr Pradit said that without accreditation from the OCSC, they cannot work at government agencies, but they can still work at private companies.
California University, from which Dr Keskamol earned a doctorate, is not the same as the University of California.
A check has found that its full name is the California University Foreign Credentials Evaluation (FCE) Institution. It issues certificates "equivalent" to degrees based on an applicant's educational and work achievements, not degrees.
Dr Keskamol's choice of university in the US has also drawn suspicion as it is the same university where Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Thamanat Prompow earned his PhD.
Capt Thamanat's dissertation was found to have been graded and issued by a degree-equivalency assessor.
The owner of four beauty companies, Dr Keskamol said she entered the Senate race to express her opinions and suggestions based on her experience as a preventive medicine specialist and adviser to the House Committee on Law, Justice and Human Rights.
When asked why she had applied to the freelancer group instead of public health or women, she said it was part of her strategy, as there was a lot of competition in the specialised groups, especially from senior doctors in the public health group.
She said that she had considered it thoroughly before submitting her application, adding that she did not know why the EC auditors had to be strict on this point.
Dr Keskamol also said she had faced similar complaints regarding her educational background. "Officials at the Phetchaburi Provincial Election Commission had even summoned me for an inquiry," she said, adding that she had already submitted documents to the EC, and there were no issues so far.
She also refuted netizens' claims about her educational background, saying that she had graduated from California University in the US and confirmed that she had done all of the research herself.
She added that the title "professor" from foreign universities cannot be compared to Thai ones.
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