"Don't be too obsessed with bureaucracy or the autonomous system. There could be many other ways to develop universities. The key question is: What you want the universities to be?" Chirmsak told a seminar on the plan to turn Thammasat University into an autonomous institute.

Several lecturers clearly expressed their opposition to the plan.

Thammasat rector Surapol Nitikraipoj urged everyone to trust him. "I am going to come under the new system [if and when the plan is implemented] like everyone else," he said.

Also yesterday, a panel of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) held a meeting to listen to opinions on the plan to turn Chulalongkorn University into an autonomous institute.

The panel is under the NLA subcommittee that vetted the bill that would give Chulalongkorn autonomy.

"We will listen to the opinions of all sectors of Chulalongkorn members within two weeks and will present the information to the subcommittee," the panel's chairman Dr Sujit Boonbongkarn said.

Sujit said the information would be made public and more comments could be added.

During yesterday's session, a lecturer asked why Chulalongkorn, which ranks as one of the 200 best universities in the world, needed to become autonomous.

Another participant said the post of lecturer would become less attractive if it no longer offered civil-servant status while others wanted to know how to reject the bill.

"We would like to know whether we can completely reject the bill, not just seek to amend it," one participant said.

The meeting drew about 40 participants. Most opposed the plan to turn the university into an autonomous institute.

Critics of the plan to make state universities autonomous say the move could lead to the commercialisation of higher education and that some of the countries best schools will end up selling degrees. Some lecturers have threatened to boycott the classroom over the plan.