In the lush hills of northern Thailand, nestled within the prestigious halls of Mae Fah Luang University, a legal drama unfolds that could be ripped straight from the pages of a gripping novel. The central character, known affectionately to all as “Dr Keng”, is at the heart of a maelstrom of academia, finance, and the ironclad will of bureaucracy.
It was on a balmy Monday morning when Dr Keng found herself sharing her side of the story with the nation, perched delicately on the edge of her seat on the Morning News TV3 set. Across from her, the sharp-eyed hosts, Sorayuth Suthassanachinda and Pitchayatan Chanput, leaned in, anticipating her words.
The conversation, which would ripple through the halls of higher education, centered around a most peculiar predicament: the ex-lecturer’s defense of mental distress for her abrupt departure from what was a full-fledged academic destiny at Mae Fah Luang.
Yet, the university in question harbored doubts, heavy as the mountain fog, questioning the very existence of her mental turmoil—the crux of her plea for absolution from a hefty financial obligation. They issued a statement as crisp and formal as the gowns at graduation, stating plainly that during her tenure, Dr Keng had cut no corners in providing evidence to support her claims.
An odyssey through the annals of Dr. Keng’s academic career serves as a striking backdrop: a bright-eyed lecturer joins the university’s school of management on October 3, 2005, and is swiftly entrusted with a golden opportunity. A scholarship whisks her across the seas to the storied University of Kent in England, chasing the dream of a doctoral degree.
Upon her triumphant return, decked in the mantle of a PhD on August 2, 2013, Dr Keng seems the epitome of academic success. But the plot takes a twist just over one year later when, without warning, she tenders a resignation that would reverberate throughout the university’s corridors.
The contractual web weaved by her scholarship is unforgiving, with a price tag that reads like a king’s ransom: over 16 million baht. The agreements, as stern as the university’s ivied walls, dictated that Dr Keng was to work off her debt, unless stymied by ill health, with evidence to prove it.
The tale takes a turn once more as the court in Chiang Mai, surrounded by ancient temples and whispering tales of yore, weighs her late defense. But alas, the clock had not been kind. Thus, it ruled with an unwavering gavel that Dr Keng’s scholarships must be repaid in full.
A twist of fate, a dash of hope—as Dr Keng appeals to the court of highest esteem on April 18, her journey through the labyrinth of law hanging delicately in the balance.
In their scholarly wisdom, Mae Fah Luang University closes its statement on a note of stoic decorum, aligning with legal procedure and awaiting the Supreme Administrative Court’s decree. And yet, whispers of the past linger, of a university’s support for a mind yearning for academic exploration, now adrift in a sea of contractual constraints.
This is the saga of Dr Keng—a tale of scholarship and scholarship repayments, of mental health and legal arguments, a narrative that leaves us pondering the price of knowledge and the true cost of ambition.
Be First to Comment