Pansak Siriruchatapong, director of the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center, said the specifications of the tablets matched the price of US$81 (2,482 baht) apiece.

Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development Co (Scope) was selected on Monday by a government panel to supply 900,000 tablet computers for first-graders in primary schools.

The company offered the lowest prices among four bidders, all of them Chinese companies.

“There is nothing to worry about in terms of safety. Students may normally not be allowed to charge the battery by themselves,” Mr Pansak said, adding that the tablets have six hours of battery life _ enough for use in study time.

He said there were still questions about how to best maximise tablet use among students and how to measure learning results.

Pathom Indarodom, general manager of ARIP Plc, the organiser of Commart Thailand, a computer and technology trade show, said Scope’s tablet price is adequate considering the specifications. But the government should make public the content and applications that will come preloaded on the devices.

He urged the government to encourage development of educational content and mobile applications, a market which is expected to be valued at 2 billion baht this year, up from 200 million baht last year.

The Information and Communications Technology Ministry did not ask the cabinet at its meeting yesterday to approve the contract with Scope as earlier planned.

ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap said he had decided to hold off on presenting the contract as an extraordinary agenda item that could attract criticism. He will instead propose it as a regular agenda item at next week’s cabinet meeting or the week after.

A source from the Education Ministry said almost everybody on the tablet committee had preferred the units proposed by Huawei Technologies Co. But the company wanted $135 per tablet, far more than the three other bidders.

TCL Cooperation had offered to sell its tablets for $89 each and Haier Information Technology (Shenzhen) Co had offered $105.

“The committee members who visited China early this month mostly preferred Huawei’s tablet PCs because of their additional functions and better look compared to the others,” the source said.

All four companies’ tablet PCs met the panel’s specifications.

All of the tablets passed tests, such as touch screen response, battery heat and duration and a 50-cm drop test on a stone floor.

Then, delivery conditions and insurance were considered.

As the budget was too low too buy Huawei’s $135 tablets, the Scope bid was considered the best choice.

“A good thing is never cheap. If you ask me, I would like to buy a Huawei-brand tablet for my child,” the source said .

Education Minister Suchart Thada-Thamrongvech said the government plans to hand out tablet computers to Mathayom 1 (Grade 7) students in the next academic year.

“The ministry will provide Mathayom 1 students tablets in the next academic year 2013, or sooner,” he said.

Tablets will be distributed to Prathom 1 students this year and they will be able to keep them for themselves after three years of use.

Students will be allowed to take the devices home.

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Thailand and Cambodia have agreed not to demarcate the disputed area along the border near Preah Vihear temple.

Bandhit: Hopeful of progress

However both countries will start the demarcation process from the first pillar that borders Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province and Thailand’s Surin province.

They reached the agreement yesterday at the conclusion of the two-day Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission meeting in Bangkok.

The meeting was jointly chaired by Thai delegation head Bandhit Sotipalalit and his Cambodian counterpart Var Kim Hong, who is also senior minister in charge of border affairs.

Mr Bandhit said both countries had agreed in principle to solve their border problems according to the degree of difficulty.

If the joint survey teams encountered areas on which both sides could not reach an agreement, they would skip those points and move to survey other points instead.

The countries will return to negotiations at the appropriate time, he said.

Thailand adopted a similar strategy when dealing with Laos on the same boundary demarcation issue, Mr Bandhit said.

“Bangkok and Phnom Penh have initially decided that we will not touch on troubled points such as the Preah Vihear temple as the issue is still in the [trial] process of the International Court of Justice,” he said.

“But we will wait for the verdict and comply with it.”

Var Kim Hong said the first thing both countries should do is to demarcate the area around Preah Vihear temple but as related documents have not been completed, the nations agreed not to demarcate this area this time.

Thailand and Cambodia have also agreed to open a new permanent border checkpoint linking Ban Nong Eian in Sa Kaeo province’s Aranyaprathet district and Stung Bot of Banteay Meanchey province on March 5, said Mr Bandhit.

“Opening the checkpoint has nothing to do with the border line. Officials from both countries will still keep collecting details around the area for use in the future,” he said.

The technical teams from both countries will survey pillars numbered 1-23 starting from Sa-ngam channel in Surin province that had been demarcated since the French colonial era, said Mr Bandhit.

He said this operation would start after the teams have finished their work at Stung Bot checkpoint.

Thailand and Cambodia share 798km of border, with 73 pillars.

The countries have agreed to let the technical teams determine the qualifications of companies, technical instructions and cost-sharing for developing an orthophoto map.

Mr Bandhit hopes the cordial climate between the countries will continue to help the survey and demarcation of the borderline, creating peace and prosperity for both nations.

Var Kim Hong said the meeting had helped build trust between Thailand and Cambodia.

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“This is a new chapter in the two countries’ relationship. The border problem is sensitive. This burden [to discuss it] is quite difficult but we will try to make this duty successful. I also hope that the trust between both countries will happen at all meeting levels,” he said.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/279854/preah-vihear-demarcation-delay-agreed

Suranaree University of Technology has proposed to develop a university hospital in the northeastern region.

Deputy Public Health Minister Surawit Khonsomboon said the university has sought approval to build a 700-bed hospital costing 1.77 billion baht.

The project would enhance medical services and research in the region and help overcome a shortage of doctors.

If endorsed, the hospital will become the second university hospital in the Northeast.

The first university hospital, Srinagarind Hospital, is under the supervision of Khon Kaen University.

Suranaree University of Technology is an autonomous public institution, under government supervision in Nakhon Ratchasima.

The cabinet in 1995 approved the hospital project with a budget of 4 billion baht.

But the project was suspended following the economic crisis in 1997.

The university has also sought approval to establish a faculty of dentistry. The High Education Commission is considering its request.

Only eight universities nationwide have a faculty of dentistry, and half of them are in Bangkok.

Dr Surawit said the Public Health Ministry and the university also reached an agreement to turn out new doctors for Chaiyaphum Central Hospital, which will serve as a base for university internships. The university’s medical students have filled internships at Surin and Buri Ram hospitals.

Dr Surawit said under the plan, Suranaree University of Technology will increase admissions of medical students, from 48 students to 68 students a year, and will increase admissions of student nurses from 48 to 80.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/health/278583/new-varsity-hospital-sought