IntEdSource

On 2/12/2020 at 2:27 PM, BobbyL said:

Interesting question.

 

I work in a British international school, but I am not fully clued up on all of the governing side of things.

 

OPEC (Office of Private Education Commission) seem to be referred as the company who control international / private schools in Thailand. In my experience, I have never known them to visit the school in any capacity with regards to teaching and learning. As I assume all the staff at OPEC are Thai, I very much doubt what they can do that is beneficial to a western managed international school and most likely have their name there just for the sake of it. 

 

ISAT (International Schools Association of Thailand) is who most international schools are members of. In theory, they don't 'govern' the school, but promote certain standards, guidelines etc that schools adhere to and they do make key decisions such as recently with the pollution and the coronavirus.

 

We are a member of CIS (Council of International Schools) who act like an OFSTED body that come to monitor and inspect the school every 4 or 5 years (I think). A thorough report has to be submitted to CIS every so often to outline strengths and weaknesses and what new policies are being put in place. However, a CIS visit is absolutely nothing like an OFSTED visit in the UK. 

 

The Thai Ministry of Education probably have to stamp a piece of paper somewhere along the line for international schools, but as far as I am aware, have no control over what actually goes on day to day. I believe the only thing they do stipulate is how many hours a week that the students must learn Thai (2 hours for non - Thai students and 3 hours for Thai students is usually the norm per week). 

Most of these points are correct, though I would add a few clarifications:

• OPEC is the department of the Ministry of Education tasked with--as you observed--oversight of private and international schools. They coordinate with the Office for National Education Standards & Quality Assessment (ONESQA) in ensuring that schools under their purview meet standards. However, within the last two years there has been a shift to allow this to be a process guided by the overseas accrediting bodies, whose findings are then confirmed by ONESQA's report. It's unclear as to whether this will continue to be the process in the future.
• Since ISAT is an organization for which membership is voluntary, it does not have the power to make decisions in respect to closures. Member schools must follow directives from OPEC and in turn the Ministry of Education, just as was the case for the current quarantine for students/families who have traveled to countries identified as high risk due to the spread of COVID-19.
• All other overseas accrediting bodies follow their own processes for quality assurance, and many are actually quite intensive, including CIS. The final reports from their visits often exceed 100 pages and cover multiple aspects of the school, including academics, culture, governance, operations, etc.
• International schools are granted a specific license that distinguishes them from other private schools and requires that they include particular points in their charters. Additionally, they are also still required to abide by all of the regulations in the Private School Act.

1. This case does indeed involve a top international school, one that is very well recognized and employs a large number of foreign teachers. This was why the applications did not initially raise any red flags.
2. It is common at this school, and others like it, to have a small government liaison team who handles all paperwork for the foreign teachers.
3. A single case had been previously brought to their attention by immigration based on a discrepancy in the paperwork. When asked if the documents belonged to one of their teachers, they indicated that the person in question did not work for them at all. At that point they investigated the employee referenced in the article and discovered that she had been using the school's name to provide others with visas and work permits. She claimed this was the only case, but her employment was terminated at that point.
4. Following this, she and her accomplice attempted to continue processing the fake documents, at which point they were caught.
   
   The reason they have not released the name of the school is that it would cause unnecessary harm to their reputation. This was illegal on the part of the employee, not the school, and she is rightfully being held liable.
   
    

21 hours ago, dakineto said:

I studied at BSM as well and never heard about that difference or anyone there explained it to me.   

 

Sorry, but the whole response sounds like to be written by BSM/EGS and not a fellow graduate.  

You are exactly right @dakineto and the response you received from a brand new account is hilarious: 'don't let insecure thoughts ruin something amazing'. In other words, don't listen to the person who has a record of posting on this forum and said that he is also a former student.

You are also right about BSM writing it. They simply copied what they already have uploaded on their website: https://www.bsm.ac.th/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/European-Global-School-EGS-@-BSM-Thailand-RecognitionProfile-Information-.pdf

The many red flags should be obvious. Again, people should be objective and rational by researching facts on their own.

• The second page shows BSM's certificate from the ASIC (http://www.asicuk.com/international-directory). Also listed on that page is European International University (EIU), another Paris-based 'university' with no actual physical location. (Check Google street view again. It's a storefront in a major shopping area!)
  • Look at the people listed on the team page of the EIU website: https://eiu.ac/who-we-are/team. Pay close attention to the ones in Business Development and Executive Board. Do exact Google searches (with quotation marks) of all of the people. What kind of results do you find? Do these reflect what you what expect to see in the profiles of deans, university presidents and other executives? Do you notice similarities in many of the other institutions they are connected to on their very brief LinkedIn profiles, especially in terms of location?
• The third page shows a letter from EGS titled 'Certification of Affiliation'. Look at the recipient. Does that person also appear on the EGS and EIU websites? Google that person. What results do you find? Look at the sender and Google that person. Does this appear to be the profile of a university vice president?
• The seventh page is identified as a 'Letter of Confirmation from French Embassy in Thailand'. It is not from the French Embassy. Campus France Thailand is a consulting agency, identified as such on their Facebook page. Google search the person who signed the letter. Is there any indication that they ever worked for the French Embassy? Contact the embassy and ask them. What is their response?

There is an extraordinary amount of effort in the rest of the document put towards defending the validity of EGS and by extension BSM and EIU. Like all of the other points, this should raise a red flag. Do thorough research and form your own opinion about all of these institutions, especially in relation to institutions in France: https://www.campusfrance.org/en/certification-labels-institutes-France. Do not fall for accusations of being irrational, emotional or negative.

A very good assessment of some of the other red flags can be found here: https://www.quora.com/Is-the-European-Global-University-and-European-Global-School-accredited-by-ASIC.

@philipnz Your instincts are right on this. Due to Thailand's strong libel laws, I won't say much here, but do a few things:

• Look up the "head office" in Paris and go to Google's street view. Do you see any signs or any indication whatsoever of a university, or even an office, being there? Compare what you see to the website's images.
• Google search each of the people listed under the Deans & Faculty page (which itself doesn't reflect how universities typically publish full directories of their faculty) using exact searches (with the names in quotations) and look for their LinkedIn profiles, as well as any other content. Do you notice something about their locations? (Note the plural.)
• In particular, pay attention to what you find for the person listed as their Head of Institutions. What do you find in relation to his background? What other institutions does he seem to be connected to? 
• Try to verify some of the data on their Facts & Figures page. Can you find external sources to corroborate any of what you see there?

This has been ongoing for years in Bangkok with particular people connected to this institution and unfortunately have never been held accountable.

In fairness, a few factors make this more reasonable:

• While Thailand's GDP per capita remains low in comparison to Singapore and other more developed economies, the share of wealth held by the top 20% has been decreasing since the early 1990s, while those of the second 20% and third 20% have been increasing, meaning there is a robustly growing middle class. (I suspect that if we were able to isolate the top 1%, however, their share of the wealth would also be growing.) Although many of the larger international schools would still be out of their reach, a significant number of affordable schools are affordable for a middle class Thai family.
• This is particularly true of Bangkok, as the greater metro area accounts for nearly half of Thailand's GDP. The average household income in the city is thus significantly higher than it is in other locations, and the greatest concentration of international schools is naturally there.
• Demand for places at international schools has stayed high despite the market being saturated. Over 100 international kindergartens and schools are now in operation in Bangkok, yet only one (St. John's) has closed due to enrollment issues (as well as other factors). Even more are set to open in 2020--most of which will be on the higher end in respect to fees. Combined with the projections of continued growth in GDP per capita, it's unlikely this will change.

That being said, I do agree that there is a significantly higher disparity between overall GDP per capita and international school fees here than in other countries.

I have used Bangkok Tailors House (in MBK) ever since I moved to Thailand eight years ago. In at least half a dozen visits there, I've only had a minor issue with a shirt once. Every other suit and shirt they've made for me has been excellent. Fair warning: I've never sent them measurements to have a suit made. It's far better to visit the shop, as measurements can vary based on a large number of factors. When I had to attend a wedding back in the U.S., I sent my measurements only to discover that the suit that was waiting for me did not fit at all.