Tears turn to smiles


Nithamanee Kusolsawat hugs her 15-year-old daughter, Issaree, after Bodindecha (Sing Singhaseni) School was told to enrol 57 Matthayom 3 students it had earlier rejected. APICHART JINAKUL

By Terry Fredrickson

There were smiles outside Government House yesterday as a student hunger strike ended after the Education Ministry told Bodindecha (Sing Singhaseni) School to accept 57 students it earlier rejected.

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School bribe inquiry ordered

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The Education Ministry has told Bodindecha (Sing Singhaseni) School to accept 57 students it earlier rejected and ordered a probe against the director for bribery.

The move ended the hunger strike of four students outside Government House which started on Friday in an attempt to pressure the authorities.

The ministry's order came after a meeting between Pornpichit Sukannan, adviser to Education Minister Suchart Thada-Thamrongvech, and parents who suspected irregularities in the school's admission system after their children were denied seats.

Academic Boontan Dokthaisong, a former senator, and Pol Maj Gen Wichai Sangprapai, deputy chief of Metropolitan Police Bureau, also attended the meeting as observers.

Last Friday, parents lodged a petition with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra asking her to look into the issue.

Narong Niyomraj, a parent who camped out in front of Government House, yesterday rejoiced at the news, saying he would not take any further action against the school.

"The school admits its fault. The students have done nothing wrong. We get what we want. There is no need to do anything more," he said.

Pakwan Boonpichet, 16, said she and her friends are happy with the outcome.

"We came to protect the right to further our study at the school. So we are going back to school when it opens[tomorrow]," she said. Pakwan said she and her friends have the right to continue their study at the school because they have a GPA of over 1.0, a minimum requirement set by the school.

Mr Pornpichit said yesterday that Mr Suchart and a group of parents will today talk to the media about the matter.

He said a committee has been set up to investigate Suwat Wiwattananon, the school director, for allegedly demanding money from parents in exchange for school seats.

Mr Suwat has strongly denied the accusation.

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Vocabulary

    hug –to put your arms round someone กอด
    enrol – to admit; to put a student onto the official list of members of a course or college ให้สิทธิเข้าได้, ลงทะเบียน
    reject – to not agree with a request, offer or proposal ปฏิเสธ, ไม่ยอมรับ
    bribe – money or a present given to someone so that they will help you doing something dishonest or illegal สินบน
    inquiry – a question intended to get information about someone or something การไต่สวน
    probe – an attempt to find out the truth about an issue, problem or accident, made by an official group (or by the media); an investigation การตรวจสอบ  การสอบสวน
    bribery – the crime of giving money or presents to someone so that they will help you by doing something dishonest or illegal การให้สินบน
    hunger strike – a refusal to eat by a person or group of people until a demand is met การอดอาหารประท้วง
    pressure – to try to make someone do something by forcing, threatening, or persuading them in a determined way กดดัน
    authorities – people who have the power to make decisions or enforce the law เจ้าหน้าที่ผู้มีอำนาจ
    adviser – a person who gives advice, especially somebody who knows a lot about a particular subject ที่ปรึกษา
    suspect – to believe that something is true, especially something bad  สงสัย
    irregularity – a situation in which the rules, laws, or usual ways of doing things have not been followed การปฏิบัติที่ไม่เป็นไปตามระเบียบปกติ
    admission system – the system for selecting students to a school or university ระบบการรับเข้า
    deny – to not allow someone to have or do something ไม่ยอมรับ, ปฏิเสธ
    academic – someone who teaches at a college, or who studies as part of their job นักวิชาการ
    senator – a member of the Senate  วุฒิสมาชิก
    deputy – a person whose rank is immediately below that of the leader of an organisation รอง
    metropolitan police – the police in responsible for a city ตำรวจนครบาล
    observer – a person who watches what happens but has no active part in it ผู้สังเกตการณ์
    lodge a petition – to formally give a document signed by many people to someone in power asking them to do something ยื่นคำร้อง
    issue – a problem that needs to be considered ประเด็น
    camp out – to sleep outside, with or without a tent or other shelter, to stay in a place without the furniture and equipment that you normally have ตั้งค่ายพัก, พักแรม
    rejoice – to feel very happy about something, or to celebrate something in a happy way ดีใจ, ปลื้มใจ, มีความสุข
    admit – to agree that something is true, especially when you are unhappy, sorry or surprised about it  ยอมรับ
    fault – something that is wrong or not perfect ข้อผิดพลาด, ข้อบกพร่อง
    outcome – a result ผล
    protect – to make sure that something is not harmed or damaged ปกป้อง,  ป้องกัน
    minimum – the lowest possible; the lowest allowed ต่ำที่สุด, น้อยที่สุด
    requirement – something that you must have or do in order to do or get something else ข้อกำหนด, ข้อบังคับ
    media – newspapers, television, radio, etc. สื่อ
    investigate – to try to find out the facts about something in order to learn the truth about it ตรวจสอบหาความจริง
    allegedly – claimed to have done something wrong, but not yet proven ที่กล่าวหา
    in exchange for – giving something to someone and receiving something else from them of a similar type or value แลกเปลี่ยน
    deny – to say that something is not true or does not exist ปฏิเสธ
    accusation –a statement that someone has done something wrong or illegal even though this has not been proved ข้อกล่าวหา