The university admission system got back on track yesterday after the Supreme Administrative Court suspended a temporary injunction barring the use of admission criteria announced by the University Presidents Council of Thailand (UPCT).

Issued by the Khon Kaen Administrative Court, the temporary injunction had previously threatened to upset the university admission schedule.

The Office of Higher Education Commission (Ohec), which has been responsible for the central university admission system, appealed against the injunction.

Education Minister Wijit Srisa-an called a press conference late yesterday afternoon to announce the Supreme Administrative Court's ruling.

"This means Ohec will be able to use the original criteria to process applicants' chances of winning seats at their favourite higher-educational institutes," Wijit said.

The education minister thanked the court for expediting its decision. The university admission results are due to be announced on May 15.

"Now that the Supreme Administrative Court's decision has been made, the announcement should not be delayed," Wijit said.

The court said the temporary injunction had to be suspended - or there would be no university admission criteria, which would make it impossible for new students to be admitted for the 2007 academic year. That could have caused serious damage in a way that would be difficult to remedy at a later time.

The court battle stems from the Onet (Ordinary National Educational Test) scores. Since last year, Onet has become a main criterion in university admission alongside students' grades from their senior secondary-education years, and in some cases, the Anet (Advanced National Educational Test) scores.

The National Institute of Educational Testing Service (NIETS) holds the Onet once a year. However, hundreds of students who completed Grade 12 last year sat the Onet test for a second time this year to boost their chances of getting into their favourite universities.

According to UPCT, the Onet is a measure of students' academic performances at their completion of Grade 12. Thus, it announced last year that only Onet scores from the first test would be used as university-admission criteria.

However, 25 of the repeat students lodged a complaint with the Khon Kaen Administrative Court, asking that their Onet scores from the second test be used. The court accepted their complaint and issued a temporary injunction pending a review of the case.

Although the Supreme Administrative Court suspended the injunction, the Khon Kaen Administrative Court still has a mandate to rule on the case.

Parent-Youth Network for Educational Reform president Kamolpan Cheewapansri yesterday vowed to stand by the students who petitioned the Khon Kaen Administrative Court. She said limiting students' chances to get into their favourite field at their favourite university to a single Onet test was a breach of their rights.

Wijit said after the university-admission results came out on May 15, the successful applicants would not suffer any backlash, regardless of how the Khon Kaen court rules.

"By then, if the court says the scores from the Onet second test should count, we will recognise the repeat test-takers' new scores and if their scores are high enough, they will be admitted to the university of their choice," he said.

The National Education Standards and Quality Assessment Office said Onet scores were likely become a factor in determining whether students complete Grade 12 next year.

"The scores should carry a weight of 30 per cent," office director Somwang Pitiyanuwat said yesterday. He said from 2009 onward, the Onet that Grade 9 students took would determine whether they would graduate from junior secondary education as well.