Cost of School fees per month for local thai children

[Aussie Macca]

Hi Guys, 

Just trying to find out  the cost of School fees per month for local thai children at local schools around the isaan area, not international students, I have heard it is around $3500 baht per month, this seems a lot considering local wages in the area, this might include 2 meals a day at school included.

[ubonjoe]

Are you asking about public schools or private ones.

Public schools are basically free.

 I pay about 22k baht per semester for my 14 year old daughter to attend a private school. Granddaughter about 12k per semester at another school.

[Aussie Macca]

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Are you asking about public schools or private ones.

Public schools are basically free.

 I pay about 22k baht per semester for my 14 year old daughter to attend a private school. Granddaughter about 12k per semester at another school.

ok thanks, I am guessing it might be private school if public schools are free, is your daughter thai or a foreigner in the private school? 

[ubonjoe]

35 minutes ago, Aussie Macca said:

ok thanks, I am guessing it might be private school if public schools are free, is your daughter thai or a foreigner in the private school? 

She is Thai.  

[kamalabob2]

The Op should consider going in person to the school(s) in question. In the three private schools I enrolled my daughter they have written price sheets. Mandatory insurance, uniforms, school trips, all sorts of options and at least five or six mandatory fees. It is fairly clear.  Food is one of the fees. No mystery if you go in person. They will have someone who speaks English they will pull down to the office to explain to the foreigner. Air conditioned classroom costs more than a fan classroom. Real fees written down on a price sheet in Buriram province. 

[Rc2702]

School by us is more of a nursery looks like 2.5 years old upto 8 I think.

 

Lovely small place and I enquired with a neighbour whose 2.5 yr old attends and they advised it's 2500 per month. It's in khon kaen.

 

Not sure on the hours and meals. Thought it did seem a bit costly to be honest but very local and very nice looking place and if it was an all day job amd includes meals and good pre schooling then it's a decent option I think.

 

 

[stbkk]

I guess from your Username you are talking Aussie dollars.

 

In that case 3500 Aussie a month is over 80,000 Baht a month on published rates. That's more than I pay for my kids to go to a mid-range international school in Bangkok. Not including food, but the difference will buy a LOT of somtam!

 

Strongly suggest you do what the previous posters say, go to the schools yourself and get prices directly from them. It may be there are 'commissions' being included in the price you were quoted....

[ubonjoe]

50 minutes ago, stbkk said:

 

In that case 3500 Aussie a month is over 80,000 Baht a month on published rates.

He wrote baht.

19 hours ago, Aussie Macca said:

I have heard it is around $3500 baht per month

 

[rosco14]

The privately owned kindergarten/primary school that my son attends in Udon Thani is about 12,000b per semester for the Thai program and 35,000 per semester for the English program.  I've enrolled him in the Thai program because the English he learns from myself and via English TV is far more advanced than what he will learn at school.

[stbkk]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

He wrote baht.

 

Only saw the dollar sign! Sorry, need to read more closely in future.

[tweedledee2]

We have 2 daughters attending government school 10 km NE of Surin and it is free. We have already registered the oldest daughter who will be starting high school in Surin next year. The cost including uniforms, books, meals and English class with a fee for native English speaking teacher totaled 5050 baht.

[rickudon]

My daughter in Udon Thani attends a church school, teaching is about 50% English (going by the homework). One of the top schools in the town. Prices just gone up, about 18.000 baht a term (2 terms a year)

[SantiSuk]

20 hours ago, stbkk said:

Only saw the dollar sign! Sorry, need to read more closely in future.

[I read it closely and I only see a $ sign in relation to an amount of 3,500. Maybe ubonjoe needs to read it more closely. Anyway, no sweat!]

 

My 8 year old goes to a local Isaan amphur town's school for roughly 6-14 year olds (an Anuban school? - sorry don't have a complete grip on Thai classifications except for Wittayas. She's on an English programme where the morning is taught in English and the afternoon in Thai. English teachers are non-Thai, some native English but mostly Phillipinas (with good diction/vocab/low turnover) and the odd indigenous African from ex-English colonies. Her English speaking and reading is coming on well; the kids in the older classes have good English.

 

ThB 17,500 per term basic term fee (2 terms); about ThB per year 5,000 additional fees for books/repair fund/insurance (billed with the summer term fee) and ad hoc optional summer/English camps (5k being the total for all those extras) plus occasional requests to buy some special kit or take in a small tambon amount. I'm happy with it and delighted that this option is available in the depths of Lower Isaan. I could wish for class sizes a little lower than 28, but there is often a teaching assistant also in the room.

[ubonjoe]

41 minutes ago, SantiSuk said:

I read it closely and I only see a $ sign in relation to an amount of 3,500. Maybe ubonjoe needs to read it more closely. Anyway, no sweat!]

I think the $ sign was a typo since he put baht behind the 3,500 number.

 

On 1/17/2018 at 6:17 PM, Aussie Macca said:

$3500 baht

 

[SGD]

Thai school or international school. A world of difference.

 

I guess it depends on whether you want them to be a better educated Somchai or to have a (slim) fighting chance of being educated in a world class sense and able to go to a foreign university etc.

 

Most folk seem to go with the former for inherited kids with their Thai partner and those that can afford it choose the latter for their generic offspring.

 

Worryingly, the largest percentage are those who produce offspring but cannot afford to give them a proper education and many will be destined to a life of relative poverty once the western guy and his pension expires.

[tweedledee2]

4 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

I think the $ sign was a typo since he put baht behind the 3,500 number.

 

 

 

It may have been a currency mistake, but not a typo per se.  If he did not intend to include the "$", he would not have used the "shift" key to type it

 

[thailand49]

On 1/18/2018 at 2:06 AM, tweedledee2 said:

We have 2 daughters attending government school 10 km NE of Surin and it is free. We have already registered the oldest daughter who will be starting high school in Surin next year. The cost including uniforms, books, meals and English class with a fee for native English speaking teacher totaled 5050 baht.

That doesn't sound free to me?  Sure it is all relative but even at 5050 for a pure Thai government school I know many can't even pay that while the government official are getting rich in Bangkok.

[BEVUP]

22 hours ago, SGD said:

Thai school or international school. A world of difference.

 

I guess it depends on whether you want them to be a better educated Somchai or to have a (slim) fighting chance of being educated in a world class sense and able to go to a foreign university etc.

 

Most folk seem to go with the former for inherited kids with their Thai partner and those that can afford it choose the latter for their generic offspring.

 

Worryingly, the largest percentage are those who produce offspring but cannot afford to give them a proper education and many will be destined to a life of relative poverty once the western guy and his pension expires.

Quite a correct post, if halve of the Falang last that long

Well OP hasn't got back

I think if the OP is worried about 3500 a mth he should take steps to maybe school in homeland where it may be free or home schooling (this might be better )

The fees seem to go up in levels pending what you are after

So lets say in groups

 

1 - Up to 10,000 = Gov + with extras 

 

2      "       20,000 = Any beginner private school/not including english program (up to 45 per room )

 

3      "       30,000 = Private with less kids per class & english program 

 

4      "       50,000 = Small private school with max 25 p/r & all included + english program & some other minor costs

 

                                                               The Above Are Per Term 

 

5     ''     110,000  = International Programs in 3 & 4 - But are using STEM Learning which restricts the kids to (Science /Technology/English & Maths ) - A concept developed to the world shortage of Scientific/Engineering trades

 

6     "     170,000  = International school EG: Wesley / Seven day adventist

 

       The above per year & does not include first yr start up fees which could be 100,000 with most of that non refundable

 

 

*** This is based in Korat from my own experience & it would be classed as cheap & maybe not as good as other schools elsewhere

[tweedledee2]

On 1/19/2018 at 4:22 AM, thailand49 said:

That doesn't sound free to me?  Sure it is all relative but even at 5050 for a pure Thai government school I know many can't even pay that while the government official are getting rich in Bangkok.

What does free sound like to you?  Our daughters are now 15 and 8 and both have attended Ban Sano School since the youngest started Kindergarten.  Prior to that, the oldest attended another school near our former home.  Our only expenses have been what we spend on the clothes they wear to school and their daily lunch, nothing more.  We have paid no money to either of the schools for them to attend. The 5050 baht (less than $170) pays for 1 year of high school.  If you subtract the cost of uniforms, meals and the English teachers fee, there isn't anything left for anyone to get rich.

[thailand49]

1 hour ago, tweedledee2 said:

What does free sound like to you?  Our daughters are now 15 and 8 and both have attended Ban Sano School since the youngest started Kindergarten.  Prior to that, the oldest attended another school near our former home.  Our only expenses have been what we spend on the clothes they wear to school and their daily lunch, nothing more.  We have paid no money to either of the schools for them to attend. The 5050 baht (less than $170) pays for 1 year of high school.  If you subtract the cost of uniforms, meals and the English teachers fee, there isn't anything left for anyone to get rich.

Sorry you seem to miss something " books "  " uniforms " and the English teacher fee "  which shouldn't even be charged since the government has stated many times to the Asean community that we will do better to meet standard. 

Look up the word free.

This government and it has been stated by their own Thai critics that they need to change the standard of education, along with that is how they this government funds the country. As it was explain to me by a vice mayor of a major City in Thailand. How much a province gets is based on Household in the province so do the numbers the small the province the less money thus the criticism by Thai scholars they need to fund schools in your area just like they do in Bangkok. It isn't rocket science what their own people are asking for that the big City gets.

Free, is a free English to meet their goal Asean, Free uniforms since they required them, Free books, were your's free the country you came from?  Teacher should get a decent salary so they wouldn't have to supplement their income with tutoring their own students, they shouldn't charge extra to tutor kids to prepare them for O-net.

Get you head out of the sand before it is too late.

[farmerjo]

If your children have to travel to school each day the bus fares can be the most expensive part.

[BEVUP]

19 minutes ago, farmerjo said:

If your children have to travel to school each day the bus fares can be the most expensive part.

It certainly puts a dint into the budget

I pay 30,000 a Term (English program ) & 36,000 on the bus per / yr so that's 48,000 p/term ( your held to ransom having to do the 1 hr after school since wife is stuck having to use bus )

I have just moved my son to a smaller private school 1.5 km away which will cost 47,000 p/t 

Do the sums

[ubonjoe]

58 minutes ago, farmerjo said:

If your children have to travel to school each day the bus fares can be the most expensive part.

Perhaps if the school was free. Here it is only 14 baht a day for a Songthaew. Figuring 20 days a month for 10 months it is only 2800 baht a year is not much.

[EVENKEEL]

I pay around 47,000bht/term for English Program K-3, P-1 will be closer to 50,000bht/term. The school is in Rayong area.

Then you have uniforms and everything else they nickel and dime you on.

[SantiSuk]

They pack 'em in private sector minvans here in southern Sisaket. 500 baht a month for 20km each way seems like a good deal to me. Must say that I've met the minivan crews outside the school many times - lots of them are husband and wife teams per van - not every day but regularly (maybe the schools here do set a standard) - and I also see them driving around town and out on the highways. Uncharacteristically (cf the long distance wallahs) they seem to be remarkably sane. If I had any doubts about driving or sexual madness I'd be doing it myself for daughter and a few/family friends.

 

UK mums & dads would be appalled at the thought of their kids leaving home every morning at 6:50 and getting back at 17:15. Long day, particularly for the very young kindergarten ones!