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This speech showed that the King did not forget common citizens. He had a policy toset up schools throughout the kingdom, together with institutions of higher learning. Heinsisted: “…Education in this country is the first priority, which I am determined to develop…”In 1899 Prince Damrong Rajanupab, a younger brother of King Chulalongkorn who wasthe Minister of Interior at the time, submitted a proposal to found the Civil Service TrainingSchool with Phraya Wisutsuriyasak (M.R.Pia Malakul—who later assumed the title of ChaoPhraya Phrasadej Surendradhibodi) as the principal. However, since the students of the schoolhad to work as royal page trainees in their third year of study before graduation, the name of theschool was changed to the Royal Pages School in 1902. The Royal Pages School progressedsteadily and produced an increasing number of graduates for the government each year.However, King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) saw that the original intention of his father, KingChulalongkorn (photo right), was to establish an institution of higher learning. In the beginning,the course of study was focused on government, but as time passed the curriculum should beexpanded to include more disciplines so as to meet the expanding needs of the kingdom. Suchdisciplines included law, international relations, commerce, agriculture, engineering, medicineand teacher education. Thus King Vajiravudh ordered that the Royal Pages School become aninstitution of higher education and gave it the name the “Civil Service College of KingChulalongkorn” on January 1, 1911.The Civil Service College received its original funding from the remaining sum of themoney which had been contributed by members of the royal family, government officials andordinary citizens to erect a statue of King Chulalongkorn the Great. After the statue wascompleted, about eight hundred thousand Baht remained in the Royal Treasury Ministry;withinterest the sum totalled 982,672 Baht. King Vajiravudh gave this sum as the original capital ofthe college. Furthermore, he graciously donated the palace of his brother, the late Crown PrinceVajirunhis, as the site of the college. He also gave a large plot of land adjacent to the palace inthe Patumwan district measuring about 523 acres in area, for its present use and futureexpansion. Later the Administration Building was constructed as the first building whichbelonged to the college from the beginning.After the Civil Service College had been in operation for some time, King Vajiravudhconsidered that it had achieved a level of readiness. Therefore, he declared that it shouldbecome Chulalongkorn University, in honour of King Chulalongkorn, on March 26, 1917.The newly founded university was under the supervision of University Affairs Department,Ministry of Education. Phraya Anukijwithoon was the first principal (the title was changed toRector in 1935). There was a University Council, which was responsible for policy making,planning, and advising on the affairs of the university. Prince Damrong Rajanupab was theChairman of the Council and the Principal of the university was the Secretary.When it was first founded, the university had 380 students taking classes in fourfaculties which were located in 2 campuses. The Faculty of Medicine was located at SirirajHospital while the Faculties of Public Administration and of Engineering were at theAdministration Building and the Faculty of Arts and Science was located at Prince Vajirunhis’palace. The latter three faculties were in Patumwan district. The Law School was under theresponsibility of the Ministry of Justice until the university was ready to take over, and theTeachers’ Training School was handed over to the Ministry of Education. The categories ofstudents were the same as in the old Civil Service College.In 1923, the university accepted high school graduates to study in the Faculty ofMedicine, which was being supported by the Rockefeller Foundation to organize a Bachelor’sDegree program. Five years later the first group of 18 graduates finished their studies, the first tobe awarded degrees in the kingdom.47