By Chuleeporn Aramnet
Monthien Inthaket

Pathumwan Institute of Technology will open the 4th round of entrance exams after a protest by senior students blockaded the school entrance and then Rama I Road yesterday.

After only one person had passed two earlier entrance exams, the institute held the third round on the senior students' demand. But only 33 out of 170 applicants passed, although the minimum score for each core subject was reduced to 30 per cent from 50 per cent.

Yesterday afternoon the institute insisted there would be no 4th round and even announced a week-long school closure. The senior students responded with the road blockade, demanding the institute recruit all 3rd round applicants without entrance exams, and threatened to block Pathumwan intersection.

In the late afternoon, Pathumwan acting rector Somkiat Jongprasitporn said the school would open the 4th round exams, but stuck to previous criteria including the requirement of 3.00 GPA for entrance exam takers. A call by students for 2.50 GPA for student intake via a quota system would need to be studied, with a solution in 1-2 weeks, he said.

Higher Education Commission (Hec) chief Sumet Yaemnoon said Hec would issue a letter to unlock the regulations, giving authority to the institute's rector on student criteria for the first semester recruiting.

Earlier, Sumet met with Somkiat and deans of Engineering and Architecture faculties and they insisted all measures were taken to ensure standards and quality. Sumet said Pathumwan students told him they wanted the student recruitment based on GPA, or to use vocational-knowledge-based papers in the entrance exams, rather than using the Mathayom 6-based papers that emphasised science and maths.

One-hundred Pathumwan students, together with 80 student wannabes, gathered to pressure the rector and the wannabes vowed to study hard to meet the institute's standard if taken in. The group moved to block Rama I Road's lane and threatened to block Pathumwan intersection. They claimed to be calling for educational opportunity for those wishing to study and believed teachers should be able to develop the under-standard students to a good quality.

Third-year student Yossapol Houngnam said although they could not pass the exams, the institute had in the past adjusted the newcomers' foundation so they could catch up with peers. He said senior students would also protest by not registering for study courses.