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jonclark

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Posts posted by jonclark

  1. 4 minutes ago, 2530Ubon said:

    Government schools have also been providing online classes. School fees for government schools are usually for IEP programs etc. They are able to be taught online. These fees are tiny in comparison to private schools. How do you know these fees have not been returned?

    Do you know if they have?

  2. 6 minutes ago, 2530Ubon said:

     

    So what? My points are still valid. They are missing out on a lot that parents are paying for. An online education IS NOT the same as being in a classroom. Think about all the fees you are paying that your kids can't use - library, gym, snacks, field trips, building fees etc. 

     

    They went above and beyond to provide a full daily timetable? NO, that's their job...their whole reason for being. Online teaching is a very poor substitute when you are already paying for a bespoke service. It is a gap filler. Online education is supposed to be a supplement, not full time.

     

    Do you think these schools run tight budgets? Some of them charge close to a million baht a year - do you think these schools are not run at a very healthy profit? They're not government schools.

     

    It's worth noting that nobody has suggested a full refund - they have suggested partial refunds, especially for fees that aren't being used.

    We will agree to disagree. 

     

    Good luck with your request for a refund. 

  3. 3 minutes ago, jonclark said:

    My son and daughter's school, an international one, went above and beyond in providing a full daily timetable with teachers online and teaching in every lesson.

     

    Blanket statements like this serve no purpose other than reinforcing the idea that all online teaching is poor. 

     

    Money that is returned or refunded will just mean private schools have less funds for buying resources, employing teachers etc further down the line. If you wish for your child to go to a school with fewer resources and larger classrooms then by all means ask for a refund. 

     

    Or is the expectation that after the refunds are handed out all schools remain well staffed with low teacher:student ratios and are well resources? 

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  4. I would also question why government schools are not being requested to provide compensation. Many government schools have extra paid programms that run in parrallel to basic classes, surely if the government truly believes in their own words all government schools that take cash off parents should return it as well.

     

     

  5. 7 hours ago, 2530Ubon said:

    I'm sure we all agree that you should get paid. Let's face it, the fees from just one kid in school probably more than covers your annual salary. I don't think giving a 10-20 percent rebate is going to put you on the streets. Private schools are run for a profit - a fat one.

     

    I don't think you would disagree that these parents are paying a fortune for a bespoke education, and they're not receiving that sitting at their desk on a computer at home.

     

    Do you honestly believe that the kids are receiving the same educational experience? Are they in an immersive environment, able to talk with their friends freely and share ideas? Are they surrounded by educational resources, libraries, gym/sports equipment and a multitude of teachers they could instantly go to and ask a question?

     

    Think about the parents who pay for all of this. They're now having to take time off work to look after their kids, or pay for someone to come and look after them. Everyone else has been affected by COVID, why do these institutions think they should be exempt?

    My son and daughter's school, an international one, went above and beyond in providing a full daily timetable with teachers online and teaching in every lesson.

     

    Blanket statements like this serve no purpose other than reinforcing the idea that all online teaching is poor. 

     

    Money that is returned or refunded will just mean private schools have less funds for buying resources, employing teachers etc further down the line. If you wish for your child to go to a school with fewer resources and larger classrooms then by all means ask for a refund. 

     

     

     

     

     

     

  6. I think the question any potential grower of legal hemp would want answering is....is anyone gonna come round and check you are growing hemp in 6 months, 2 years etc. down the road?  As every single grower will want to stick a couple of proper weed plants in with every harvest. For one thing its a nice additional and lucrative income, especially for a poor farmer etc.

    • Haha 1
  7. Well lets just hope that Covid doesn't turn out to be one of those pesky influenza type viruses that rapidly evolves and mutates, so that a new vaccine is required every year, otherwise this proposal probably won't work, as it would require the production / updating of a new passport every year. 

     

    I mean there is only one strain of covid isn't there? (rhetorical question). 

  8. 1 hour ago, Eric Loh said:

    Growth is measured against previous year. There are few causes for optimism that 4% is achievable. Thailand 2nd largest trade partner is China and their economic turnaround has been quite remarkable  after successfully containing the pandemic. US under Biden will support global trade and benefit Thailand export. The ASEAN trading partners have also more or less managed the pandemic well. Then there is the vaccine positive effort on hospitality and leisure industry. I can see some improvement in business sentiment in my contacts with the export companies. Let's hope this will be the year that the world can recover from the pandemic. ????

    Eric I genuinely hope Thailand (like the rest of the world) can recover from this pandemic. 

     

    I am a little less optimistic than you for two reasons;

    1) I always take Chinese economic data with a large dose of salt. Pretty much all the official data from China is apporved by CCP before its made public. Its neither transparent nor scrutible. But i think Biden will be more global and less protectionist than the lame duck al orange, who has just vacated the white house. 

    2) Whilst the vaccine will make things way better, the tourists themselves simply won't have large amounts of money to spend on overseas holidays, combined with many governments are pushing for domestic tourism (just like Thailand) and i think in Europe espeically, staycations this year will be what most people can afford or risk. I am also waiting to see how effective this vaccine is against different strains in the longer term. Influenze provides different versions of itself every year, which is why at risk groups (immune compromised, old and frail) etc require yearly vaccinations as influenza adapts and evolves very quickly. If Covid follows as similar evolutionary pathway to influenza  (and recent data suggests it is fairly good at evolving) then that opens up a new tin of worms. We get vaccinated, but next year the vaccine is ineffective Then what? 

     

    But I hope we can recover quickly from this pandemic - there are too many people suffering economic hardships both in Thailand and globally. 

     

  9. 2 minutes ago, Antonymous said:

     

     

    Canada-based academic and developer Loy Chunpongtong on Sunday told Thai media that the government’s drive to control the app meant that it was not serving its original purpose, leading the developers to withdraw from the public-private team.

     

    Medical technologist Parkpoom Dejhutsadin on Monday said “various agencies” were allegedly putting pressure to keep some infected users’ status as green in the app, effectively hiding their status from other users, rather than changing it to orange or red and allowing others to avoid a risk of contagion.”

     

    So users of this app can now rest assured that the Thai govt has their best interests at heart.

     

    Government interference...in Thailand...never. If this is true and I stress IF, this is a total deriliction of the givernments duty of care to its people. Basically means the app is worthless and not fit for purpose. No wonder the digital economy minister is scrabbling to put out a press release denying everything. 

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