Interior Ministry Cancels Recruitment List Amid Irregularities

The Interior Ministry's central committee for local government recruitment examinations on Friday ordered the cancellation of the recruitment list involving 5,924 candidates after investigators found irregularities in examination scores. Interior permanent secretary Unsit Sampuntharat said the committee has invoked its authority under the Administrative Procedure Act to revoke the recruitment list and issue a new one. "We reviewed the scores of over 279,000 candidates who sat the exam, out of around 400,000 applicants in total. Among those 279,000 candidates, irregularities were identified in the scores of 5,924 individuals who had already been appointed," he said. All appointments made from the cancelled list will be revoked, and candidates who passed the examination fairly will be placed on the new list and called for appointment. He said the chairman of the central committee will sign a new list of successful candidates after all examination scores have been rechecked, which is expected in early next week. No re-examination will be required. He said the irregular examination scores include candidates whose scores had been increased significantly, candidates whose already high scores had been raised further without explanation, and candidates whose scores differed by only one mark but whose answer sheets or supporting documents required further examination. The Interior Ministry plans to appoint an independent organisation, such as Thammasat University or the Office of the Civil Service Commission, to re-examine more than 800,000 answer sheets submitted by over 400,000 candidates. Meanwhile, a source said the Crime Suppression Division will file additional charges against 11 people found at a Nonthaburi house during a police raid, after three key suspects in the exam fraud case were arrested this week.