South Thailand Exam Scores Show Highest Irregularities; 5,924 Disqualified

The Southern region has recorded the most significant irregularities in local government employee examination scores. The Permanent Secretary of the Interior Ministry announced that next week will mark the conclusion of the process after the central civil service examination committee voted to disqualify 5,924 candidates. He dismissed rumors of manipulation, stating that detailed verification was completed overnight before today's meeting.

Of approximately 279,000 test-takers from over 400,000 applicants, 5,924 showed score anomalies that were corrected. The committee voted to cancel the previous exam results and will issue a new certified list. The Permanent Secretary emphasized this is not a new examination but a re-tallying of existing correct scores, with the 5,924 irregularities removed and reranked. Early verification showed significant anomalies in the initial phase, with some scattered throughout later entries.

When asked about cross-referencing the new list with the National Anti-Corruption Commission's data, the Permanent Secretary noted that timestamps on answer sheets and result sheets were recorded within 4 minutes of the exam, providing clear chronological records. Regarding the committee's authority to disqualify candidates, he confirmed that the agency responsible for approving results has the authority to correct its own decisions when data is found to be inaccurate.

The official stated that today's decision represents completion of the entire verification process, not a partial review, addressing public expectations. He clarified that while there were minor differences of opinion on data presentation, all committee members unanimously agreed to disqualify all 5,924 problematic candidates. Regarding rumors of efforts to remove disqualified candidates from misconduct records, he stated such maneuvering is now impossible as the process is complete.