Lisa Phakamon questions the results of the local exam cheating investigation, warning against limiting blame only to officials and examinees, which would become a "con" rather than merely fooling the public.
On 13 Aug 2026 GMT+7, questions remain about the investigation into the 2025 local government staff recruitment exam cheating. The fact-finding and legal committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Pakorn Nilprapunt found irregularities at multiple stages—from position quotas, TOR preparation, contracting, exam administration, result announcements, to appointment. They plan to name over 100 individuals involved from both government and private sectors, stressing that inclusion does not imply guilt.
Meanwhile, the Central Committee on Local Government Staff Examinations (CCLGSE) resolved to cancel the previous candidate list announcement after discovering 5,924 irregular scores and will reorder all scores. The investigation and actions against those involved are ongoing by relevant agencies.
Ms. Phakamon Noon Anan, a party-list MP from the Prachachon Party and chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Political Development, Mass Communication, and Public Participation, expressed concerns over the government's handling of the issue. She believes tough rhetoric against exam corruption is insufficient if investigations stop at operational-level culprits and do not reach political figures or top officials possibly involved from the start.
Ms. Phakamon noted that based on the committee chaired by Pakorn's report, it appears blame is being selectively cut off to exonerate political factions and the Ministry of Interior, despite over 5,000 individuals reportedly paying to alter scores to gain government positions.
She also raised concerns about information regarding relatives of political figures implicated, and the transfer of personnel seen as political allies into key positions like department directors within the Ministry to influence the exam management.
"Political factions sent in their relatives, and personnel were transferred into director and key official positions to manage the exams," Ms. Phakamon said.
Ms. Phakamon explained the problem's origin: Burapha University won the exam contract by bidding the lowest price of 82.5 million baht, averaging 275 baht per candidate, with a contract signed on 16 Jan 2024 GMT+7.
However, on the same day, it was claimed that complainants arrived in two vans at the Ministry of Interior, alleging Burapha University’s cheating in exam administration.
Ms. Phakamon questioned the complaint's origin, stating that her committee found no complaint letters or photographic evidence of citizens arriving as claimed, and questioned, "How could cheating occur before the exam was even held?"
Following this, then Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul appointed a committee to investigate the complaints and ordered a suspension of contract signing. Ms. Phakamon noted that this process was delayed for about 1 year and 1 month, after which there was a leadership change at the Department of Local Administration and cancellation of the contract with Burapha University.
Previously, Ms. Phakamon had questioned the hiring timeline, noting that Burapha University initially won the bid but was later replaced by Srinakharinwirot University with a revised TOR. She believes this change should be thoroughly investigated to understand the reasons behind it.
She also observed that throughout the process, the Ministry of Interior, the Department of Local Administration, and related agencies never seriously attempted to combat corruption, instead relying on investigations by the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Central Investigation Police, and other bodies.
Ms. Phakamon suspects there is an attempt to create a "scapegoat" responsible only for ordering the contract cancellation with Burapha University, while the real issue—the authorities who designed, altered, and supervised the entire exam process—is neglected. "It seems blame is being narrowly assigned without investigating any political factions," she said.
Shortly after the corruption case became public, Anutin declared readiness to prosecute everyone involved, promising no staged cover-ups. Ms. Phakamon responded, "The tough stance and announcements should reach the root cause, not just fool the public; otherwise, this is outright deception."
The committee chaired by Pakorn found defects and irregularities at many stages and will specify individuals involved at each step to forward to competent authorities for legal action. Pakorn emphasized that naming over 100 persons does not mean all committed offenses, but each is linked to certain steps for further investigation by proper authorities.