NACC in trouble again

A decision of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to hand swift and severe punishment to a kind-hearted teacher in Chiang Mai has triggered public uproar and raises questions about the need for such a heavy-handed sentence.

Chaiyot Sooktor, of Ban Yang Pao School in the remote district of Om Koi, earned respect for his sacrifice and kindness to poor students. Nevertheless, he was dismissed from school for negligence in causing damage to the state. He now earns a living selling roti.

In past years, Mr Chaiyot has been known for his kind deeds, giving school lunches, originally served to Pratom-level students, to older students who had no food. He said he could not bear seeing students attend class on an empty stomach. But such kindness may have compromised their nutrition and some unhappy parents filed complaints with the NACC.

During an interview with a television programme, Puthep Taweechotanakul of the NACC said irregularities turned up in purchase documents, counter-signed by Mr Chaiyot in 2018.

The teacher, who had another two years in the job before his mandatory retirement, said he had no knowledge about the purchasing rules and agreed to counter-sign the documents out of trust in his colleague, a female teacher who ordered ingredients from local traders.

It’s apparent the agency gave undue weight to technicalities and there are some hard-to-understand terms in the findings.

For instance, the NACC said the troubled teacher had switched to a procurement method which allowed the school team to borrow money from the schoolmaster, 60,000 baht for each week in advance, instead of making school meals a project. In these matters, certain purchase regulations must be observed.

Without providing details, the change of practice looked fishy. Mr Puthep said the female teacher used only 48,500 baht out of 60,000 for the ingredients each week. He did not say where the rest of the money went or whether the teachers kept it for themselves, which appears not to be the case for Mr Chaiyot.

Mr Puthep said there were pictures showing missing eggs from several egg cartons. This suggested corruption, he said. But on the face of it, how can the NACC be so sure?

The NACC admitted it had only checked historic documents, as the incident occurred in 2018, and it appeared the agency did not question Mr Chaiyot. The female teacher did not admit to graft or say where the rest of the money went.

During the interview, Mr Puthep conceded that some teachers may not know about procurement regulations and are at risk of breaching them. It’s the duty of the Education Ministry to work with teachers across the country to fill the knowledge gap. “Teachers should have followed instructions to avoid such problems,” said the NACC officer, who at one point showed sympathy to the troubled teacher.

Budget regulations, when excessively rigid and complicated, are not useful for tackling graft in the bureaucracy. Mr Chaiyot, who is disheartened, will have to prove himself in court.

On a wider front, the anti-graft agency can do better service to the country if it speeds up its work in some high-profile cases, like the fatal hit-and-run involving the Redbull scion, which has dragged on for more than a decade. Only with quick action in such cases can the agency win back public trust and respect.