4 August 2023 at 08: 37 PUBLISHED
After finding evidence that more than 100 academics affiliated with 33 universities across the country may have submitted research papers purchased online, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation( MHESI ) is taking legal action against at least five websites selling academic papers.
Supachai Pathumnakul, the lieutenant permanent secretary of MHESI, reported that 109 academics had been looked into for piracy in total. Nine scientific journals were discovered to have been purchased off the internet as of yesterday, while 21 have already been exonerated of the charge.
He claimed that investigations against the others were still ongoing.
After several instructors were discovered to have produced research papers outside of their area of specialization in an exceedingly short amount of time, authorities ordered 33 universities across the nation to investigate the veracity of the research conducted by their academic staff.
Out of the 33 colleges involved, according to Mr. Supachai, eight were not doing enough to look into the issue.
He urged the educational institutions to move quickly with their research and punish those who were found to have engaged in intellectual scam severely.
According to him, the government has also officially requested that the law file criminal charges against at least five websites that are selling a variety of research papers in contravention of the Tertiary Education Act.
The majority of people who purchased research papers online, according to the sheriff permanent secretary of knowledge, were employed by state-run institutions because their career aspirations frequently depend on the volume of research they publish.
According to Mr. Supachai, Chulabhorn Royal Academy has fired a worker whose function was discovered to include research that was purchased online.
One researcher has also been fired from Chiang Mai University, according to rector Pongrak Sribunditmongkol, who also serves as chair of the Council of University Presidents of Thailand( CUPT ). Two additional researchers are currently being looked into.
The process, which is a flagrant ethical violation, is condemned by the CUPT, he claimed.
It’s important to remember that this is not anything to take lightly. All it takes is one man, he claimed, to discredit the entire scientific community.
Anek Laothamatas, the rector of MHESI, urged universities to take legal action against any employees found guilty of or connected to scam or ghostwriting earlier this year.