One person, for example, was found cheating in an exam in China.

“I must admit that there are several problems from the first four batches of people who received ODOS grants,” Education Minister General Dapong Ratanasuwan said yesterday.

“Some of them are unable to complete their studies and abandoned their courses midway.”

He also complained that some who received grants were found to have come from well-to-do families. The project was, in fact, initially designed to grant scholarships to good students from cash-strapped families.

Dapong expressed an intention to adjust the ODOS criteria and add more conditions for those who receive grants. For example, an obligation for them to study in fields that the country needs people with such skills – and to return after their graduation to contribute to the country’s development.

Permanent secretary of the Education Ministry Assoc Prof Kamjorn Tatiyakavee said the ODOS committee was looking at requiring grantees to work in their hometowns after they graduate.

“For example, they may serve as teachers,” he said.

Dapong said the new conditions would not retroactively apply to students already in the project. “It will apply to new recipients of the grants only,” he said.