Privy Council presient Prem Tinsulanonda leads Prime Minister, Council for National Security members, cabinet members and high ranking civil servants to make vows against corruption in Thailand to mark His Majesty the King's eightieth birthday at the Government House on May 10.

A code of ethics and social responsibility

Civil servants who mismanage public assets should be held accountable under the existing code of ethics

The article which appeared in the "Perspective" section of the Bangkok Post on July 22 intimated that at least 10 million baht had been "misallocated" for unnecessary travel and recreation.

A three-day trip to Khao Yai for teachers during the summer holidays was given as an example. The 300,000 baht trip included sightseeing, not the originally scheduled seminar.

More examples followed against a backdrop of decaying infrastructure in the university itself, culminating in 60 staff members visiting Switzerland, Italy and France, and another 60 going to Australia. More than 100 visited China.

There were other problems mentioned, including teachers signing in and leaving the campus to work elsewhere; and textbooks arriving three weeks into the semester, wasting valuable time. Most universities face similar mismanagement problems. However, these pale into insignificance when compared to the large amounts of money spent on overseas travel.

Accountability for one's actions

The article's glaring omission is that the person divulging the information to the reporter remained nameless. For me, this is a major concern.

Who is to say that this person was not a disgruntled employee and wanted to get back at the establishment? If someone wants to "dish the dirt," then they must "name and shame" in order to give the story credibility and allow it to stand up to scrutiny. Transparency is sadly missing in many walks of life in Thailand.

Civil servants have a Code of Professional Ethics, which was announced in the Royal Gazette, volume 111, section 19d, on March 8, 1994, and as far as I am aware, is still in force. It's provisions ensure appropriate conduct and responsibility towards one's duties, and efficient and effective work performance.

This code of conduct was designed to "uphold the honor and reputation of civil servants, so as to encourage admiration and respect amongst the general public." Unfortunately, as with many areas concerning social responsibility, there isn't any means of enforcement. It takes individuals with strong moral fiber to do the right thing and not put self interest before others. Every mismanaged baht takes away from a student's education.

Personal qualities and a dedication to duty

If the details of the newspaper article in question are correct, then those responsible have contravened the Code of Ethics for Civil Servants in that they performed their duties in a way that was not honest and they sought personal gain when in fact they should be acting for the benefit of the public. These are public servants, after all!

While a code of ethics is welcome, without enforcement it has no power. If those in management are truly honest and fair, then codes of conduct like this would be redundant, and there would be no need for enforcement. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world; and human nature being what it is; there will always be those who seek personal gain and those who are easily led to commit wrongdoing.

In my opinion, it is up to the general public to hold civil servants accountable for their actions and to push for more transparency in the education sector. In addition, more involvement of parents in the decision-making processes of the state universities will ensure that their children will have the best education available to them, while ensuring that mismanagement, such as that detailed in the newspaper article, is a thing of the past.

Steve Graham is an English language teacher at the Language Center, Udon Thani Rajabhat University in northeast Thailand. If there are any comments or areas for debate that you would like to discuss, you can contact Steve at: shed_chelsea@hotmail.co.uk .