As Thailand wrestles with the concept of a Constitution designed to erode centuries of corruption, a historic ruling by the Thai State Council on April 26 delivered a small but important lesson. In deeming that quotas allowing privileged students admission to leading schools were discriminatory, the council assured Thais that the new Constitution was not just about cleaning up government and politicians. It was about creating an even playing field for all citizens. Many leading schools in Thailand and elsewhere provide automatic entry to the children of those who donate large sums of money.
Schools everywhere can do with extra cash.
And all students benefit from added resources. Yet in countries where there are not enough schools, this arrangement can become so pervasive that children from poor families are permanently disenfranchised. In 1998 Sumalee Limpaovart's daughter was rejected by state-funded Kasetsart University Demonstration School after taking an entrance examination. This took time and was achieved only after she petitioned the Official Information Commission, also set up under the new Constitution. Yet when the school finally coughed up, it insisted her daughter had failed the grade by one point.