BANGKOK, 11 February 2013 Adviser to the Minister of Education Dr.Phawit Thongrote has voiced his support for a salary increase for university lecturers, saying that they are the workforce who should be well taken care of. Dr.Phawit will propose this idea to Education Minister Phongthep Thepkanchana this week.
The adviser said the salary rate of university lecturers should not be lower than that of primary school teachers, and he had already assigned the Office of the Higher Education Commission to draft a law to allow university lecturers to increase their salary autonomously.
University lecturers are education personnel in the same way as primary school teachers are; therefore, they should be able to raise their pay in the same fashion, Dr.Phawit said.
Presently, there are around 30,000 civil servants working in university institutions. Some of them have more than 20 years before retiring and deserve to see an adjustment to their salary scale. The adviser said he would request the education minister to look at the proposed salary increase rules this week.
