University students will today stage simultaneous rallies against the ongoing legislative process to transform some state universities into autonomous institutes.

"There will be stages set up to condemn the process at various institutes, such as Chulalongkorn University and Khon Kaen University," Students Federation of Thailand (SFT) representative Nitiwat Wan said yesterday.

Chulalongkorn University doctoral candidate Kengkit Kitiriangrarp called on like-minded students and people to show up at these venues to make their voices heard.

While autonomy will give universities a freer hand in their administration, many students are concerned these universities will receive less money from the government and in turn charge higher tuition fees.

Khon Kaen University third-year student Anantachai Bodhikham said a large number of students were against the university's plan to become autonomous because of concerns that this would lead to higher tuition fees and the loss of educational opportunities for youths from poor families. "The university executives have ignored what students are thinking. They have never come to talk to us," Anantachai said.

He vowed to stage bigger protests if the university executives and relevant authorities continued to turn a deaf ear to their pleas.

Justice Ministry permanent secretary Charan Pakdithanakul, who chairs a committee assigned to gather opinion on the subject from Chulalongkorn University's community, insisted that the autonomous status would deliver many benefits.

"Regarding concerns about possible lower state subsidies, the university can introduce special courses [that charge high tuition fees] and should be able to keep the tuition fees for regular courses at the current level," Charan said.

Chiang Mai University president Pongsak Angkasith said his university would receive about Bt3 billion in subsidy from the government one year after it became autonomous, so students should not worry about tuition-fee increases.

He also expressed confidence that Chiang Mai University could become more competitive once it had autonomous status because the bureaucratic system had restricted the university's development.

"We have been preparing for the transformation into an autonomous institute for more than 15 years," Pongsak said.

Chiang Mai University Student Council chairman Chalee Burimjit said his council would not participate in today's protest against the autonomy plan. "Many people reckon that the autonomous status will allow more efficient management. They believe that if state universities don't embrace the new status, they might lag behind private universities in the end," Chalee said.

He added that Chiang Mai University had frequently raised tuition fees even though it was a state university.

The Office of Higher Education Commission's acting secretary-general, Jiranee Tantiratanawong, said the agency's study had shown that tuition fees at autonomous higher-education institutes and state universities were not as different as many students had feared.

"You can come and see the information," she said. Only four of the country's state universities have become autonomous so far, but many more are expected to follow suit.