Outgoing chairman Pratya Vesarach yesterday said the new university president would take up his post next month.

Wanchai was elected at yesterday's council meeting in Nakhon Pathom.

Pratya said Wanchai had a good knowledge of admission systems and university autonomy.

He revealed the council would next year focus on the university autonomy, the 2007 admissions, and the World University Games.

The council will also discuss the university-admission system for 2009 onwards and reach a conclusion by January 20, he said.

Pratya said yesterday's council meeting had discussed 2007 admissions. Student representatives proposed Ordinary National Educational Test (O-Net) results for Grade-12 students should be used for more than one year.

However, the council agrees with the National Institute of Educational Testing Service, which said O-Net results would be used once only.

Students can use O-Net results to apply to universities only in the year of those results, and if unsuccessful, they will have to re-sit O-Net the following year'.

Pratya said the council would help students by writing to universities asking them to consider taking those who had left another university and taken the 2007 admission tests but failed.

The council will ask the Consortium of Thai Medical Schools to consider accepting students who fail to meet its criteria. It requires applicants to score at least 60 per cent on O-Net.

Students had asked the council to have some faculties consider only the Advanced National Educational Test scores. It will ask universities to consider that.