Bangkok--5 Nov--AIT
Issues related to the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) will be taken up in a meeting on 5 November 2012. Chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Royal Thai Government, the meeting has been called following a request by the AIT Council. This was stated by H.E. Mr. Anil Wadhwa, Ambassador of India to Thailand, during the Institute Forum organized at AIT on 30 October 2012.
In a brief address to the AIT community, Ambassador Wadhwa remarked that the AIT Council is seized of the AIT issues, and it had been holding regular talks with the Government of Thailand. Calling 2012 a “transition year,” he said, “The Council members were unanimous in their view that it is imperative that the host country Thailand should on board the Council and take on issues regarding matters of the Institute.”
The Institute Forum witnessed its first-ever participation by members of the AIT Council, represented by ambassadors and diplomatic representatives of nine countries ratifying the AIT Charter, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Japan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sweden, and Vietnam. Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Timor-Leste are the other countries who have signed but are yet to ratify the Charter, along with UN Women, the only international organization to sign the AIT Charter.
The fully-packed AIT Conference Center Auditorium was home to one of the most participative and dramatic forums in AIT history. It included a sea of family, staff and students, and had a share of emotive moments when students pleaded for validation of their degree. The forum was replete with ardent appeals by students to resolve the degree validity issue at the earliest. The tone for the Question and Answer session was set by the AIT Student Union President Mr. Rajeev Sinha, who wanted to know the steps taken by the Council with regard to validation of AIT degrees, time-frame for resolution of issues and the legal issue of ownership of AIT.
Three main issues raised in the forum included validation of AIT degrees, legal status of the Institute, and governance issues.
Ambassador of Bangladesh to Thailand, H.E. Mr. Kazi Imtiaz Hossain, who answered most of the questions on behalf of the Council, stated that the Council was operating by keeping the best interests of students as its priority and that the Council was very hopeful and positive about an early resolution to AIT’s issues. Ambassador Hossain was joined by H.E. Gen. Shantha Kottegoda, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Thailand, and H.E. Mrs. You Ay, Ambassador of Cambodia to Thailand, in stating that they are hopeful of resolving the issue in the November 5 meeting. Council members reiterated that the degree awarded by AIT was valid internationally and also in their respective countries. Ambassador Hossain asked the students to reflect if it was fair to call the degrees invalid when it was earned after significant hard work and through the rigors demanded by the quality of education provided by AIT.
In response to legal status of the Institute, Ambassador Hossain stated that the Council is confident about its legality but it is very important that the Government of Thailand joins the AIT Council at the earliest. We are regularly holding talks with the Government and concerns of the students are paramount, the Ambassador added.
Responding to issue related to the non-validity of AIT Degrees possibly by the Civil Service Commission of Thailand, H.E. Mrs. You Ay, Ambassador of Cambodia to Thailand responded that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Commission of Higher Education, Thailand are in a better position to answer the question. She further added that the members of the AIT Council agreed to take on the role as the rightful governing body of AIT based on the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thailand to the respective countries to sign and ratify the AIT Charter and join the AIT Council. She further added that the Council was not in a position to clarify on the host country’s position.
AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust, who welcomed the Council members and set the ball rolling for the Institute Forum, responded on the issue of transparency. Prof. Irandoust stated that the AIT Council and the AIT Administration had not received the letter of complaint written by the AIT Alumni Association to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thailand despite repeated requests by the AIT Council, they have not been provided the letter. This letter has been cited as the only reason that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thailand has suspended the process of ratification of the AIT Charter. The President further remarked that it is surprising that the AIT Alumni Association Thailand Chapter wants to keep its complaint letter “hush-hush” if it was raising issues of transparency and governance. It is impossible for any organization to clarify its position, if allegations are not communicated, the President stressed.
Mr. Tetsuo Hasegawa, First Secretary, Embassy of Japan to Thailand; Mr. Dornath Aryal, Charg? d’affairs, Embassy of Nepal to Thailand; Mr. Ata-ul-Munir Shahid, Charg? d’Affaires a.i., Embassy of Pakistan, Mr. Christoffer Berg, Minister Consellor Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Sweden to Thailand; and Mr. Vu Quoc Chinh, Minister Counseller, Embassy of Vietnam to Thailand represented their respective countries in the Forum.
Besides the President, the Deans of the three AIT Schools, Dr. Nitin Afzulpurkar of School of Engineering and Technology (SET), Dr. Weerakorn Ongsakul of School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD), and Dr. Barbara Igel of School of Management (SOM), Dr. Jonathan Shaw, Executive Director of AIT Extension and Dr. Amrit Bart, Director of AIT Center in Vietnam also addressed the forum. A detailed presentation on AIT finances was provided by the Head, Finance, Mr. Noppadon Rittipongshusit. Dr. Sandro Calvani, Director, ASEAN Regional Center on Millennium Development Goals (ARCMDG) and Interim Director, Human Resources; and Mr. Ahmed Amjad Ali, Head, External Relations and Communications Office (ERCO) moderated the forum.
Mr. Noppadon Rittipongshusit, Head-Finance AIT presented AIT’s financial statements during the forum and informed the audience about the financial situation of AIT, as of September 2012. He mentioned that although AIT suffered financially because of the flood and non-release of already signed and contracted scholarship amounts by the Royal Thai Government from 2011, AIT was still financially secure and that there are no issues of the institute coming into a financial crunch in the immediate future. Dispelling rumors and misinformation in the media and other anonymous communication, Mr. Noppadon presented that the financial performance of AIT is congruent with past performances, while there has been significant surge in incomes through outreach activities and sponsored and contracted projects.