Thai Immigration Cracks Down On Foreign Teachers

[beano2274]

Another question to the forum.

What degrees should we have as teachers?

I have seen people with degrees in engineering teaching English, if the Thais want to crackdown on the bad teachers then tell the schools they can only employ teachers who have a degree in English.

Don't you have to be BA in English to teach english language? That engineering guy should teach engineering subjects.

Am afraid to say that at the time a degree was a degree in the eyes of the Law, and therefore with his degree he could teach English

[Momo8]

A piece of paper also does not necessarily make one a great teacher but it does make life easier!A degree,a love of what you are doing,a commitment to your students and experience in your profession is the right formula.And your attitude of course.

[Pakboong]

This is just another excuse for kicking out as many foreigners as possible, with the old story of wanting "Quality farangs".

Quality Tourists are measured by the amount of money they spend per day (ignoring the fact that backbackers and travellers stay for much longer periods, and end up spend just as much).

Quality Investors - those who invest millions of dollars in advance (making life very hard for the small investors, that still bring in a significant amount of capital and do create many jobs).

Now Quality Teachers, well, they don't have a good way to really measure that quality, so they bring up the degrees requirement, as irrelevant as it may be. Then, mentioning pedophiles to create negative emotions, hatred towards foreigners, that's just typical demagogic manipulation. Just like that article in BKK Post that compared foreign investors who are not interested to invest by the new rules, to a tourist that refuses to take off his shoes in the Emerald Buddha Temple. Trying to play on cultural and religious sensitivities to justify the stupid rules.

The message is clear: Foreigners Out!

(and for anyone who wonders - no, I am not a native English speaker, and no, I am not a teaching anyone English. My Thai girlfriend studies English in a Thai School, from Thai teachers, and very often I find redicilous mistakes in the books she is given).

IMHO it is much more about getting those Issan farm girls back to the farms more than getting the foreigners out. A very complex matter that has very little to do with learning English.

[thai_narak]

having a degree does not mean you can teach.

without a degree one should not teach at all...

I am a qualified nurse and none of my tutors had degrees, are you trying to say that I am less qualified than my niece who had a degreed tutor?

My son in law is a master baker taught by someone with a HND, does this make him a poor baker?

I thought we were talking about the noble profession of teaching? I can also do farming without a degree in agriculture... OK, I'm joking...

[Bruce1]

A DELTA is the same credibility as a CELTA, except a lot harder to get. You need a DELTA to teach CELTA. Both from Cambridge, but can be done at accredited places. I know someone who did her DELTA in Barcelona and said it was the most difficult thing she had ever done - only half the class passed.

Obviously pedophiles should be weeded out and kicked out - I doubt if anyone would object to that. Thai kids should be protected from those people. However, many pedophiles also have degrees, and farang pedophiles are only a tiny percentage of total pedophiles I would think, so the pedophile issue is really a separate issue to the question of whether teachers should have degrees.

Also obviously, having a degree does not gaurantee you can teach, but it does indicate you can probably study and have a reasonable level of nous and can string the language together.

For specific teaching requirements, a TEFL is better than nothing, and a CELTA is probably even better. It should make it more likely you actually can teach. Thailand already has too many so-called English teachers who can lecture, but can't actually teach.

Teachers in general are underpaid in Thailand, considering their qualifications, and Thai teachers are particularly poorly paid, which is one reason why so many are in debt (and jealous of farangs being paid more). It would be a good thing for Thailand to raise the standards required for all teaching, but they'll have to also raise the pay for those who do have the required qualifications, or they'll simply remain behind the eight ball internationally.

Many of my uni students say they would like to become English teachers, but they can make more money as lawyers, accountants or in business, so why would they choose teaching?

[bodhran]

Good and bad.

Good that they actually do background checks on people. Unqualified teachers makes EACH AND EVERY farang in Thailand look bad, be they tourist or teacher, qualified or not.

Of course, Thailand will find itself short of teachers if it actually does enforce this requirement. This will lead to either relaxing of standards (but hopefully looking to make sure they aren't pedophiles or otherwise undesirables) or raising pay. Both of these raise the general quality level and benefit farangdom generally through Thailand.

If the former, (the most probable, IMHO) than unqualified teachers will benefit because they will now no longer be unqualified to teach @ the jobs they are already.

Drummer - What makes a qualified teacher Did your mother have a university degree to teach you how to tie your shoelaces. Or your father a uni degree to teach you how to fish? I know so called "qualified" teachers that would and could not handle the teaching situation here in Thailand. If you look BAD I certainly don't.

[Momo8]

Isn't that something to do with the class system in Thailand? First the King,then the Buddhist monks,then the teachers?It is a noble profession.(or was anyway before the image was tarnished)

Edited January 31, 2007 by Momo8

[mr_hippo]

having a degree does not mean you can teach.

without a degree one should not teach at all...

I am a qualified nurse and none of my tutors had degrees, are you trying to say that I am less qualified than my niece who had a degreed tutor?

My son in law is a master baker taught by someone with a HND, does this make him a poor baker?

I thought we were talking about the noble profession of teaching? I can also do farming without a degree in agriculture... OK, I'm joking...

We are, I was taught nursing and my son in law was taught baking by undegreed teachers who, in your opinion, should not be teaching.

[thai_narak]

having a degree does not mean you can teach.

without a degree one should not teach at all...

I am a qualified nurse and none of my tutors had degrees, are you trying to say that I am less qualified than my niece who had a degreed tutor?

My son in law is a master baker taught by someone with a HND, does this make him a poor baker?

I thought we were talking about the noble profession of teaching? I can also do farming without a degree in agriculture... OK, I'm joking...

We are, I was taught nursing and my son in law was taught baking by undegreed teachers who, in your opinion, should not be teaching.

My mother taught me how to play the guitar although she doesn't have a degree in music and I'm very good at it. You know, we learn some things in life and we become good at it but sometimes it is also important that we learn things from qualified professionals to become one. Otherwise, nobody here in this word will care to study to have a degree if following your logic. This is not about you and your son in law by the way...

[Momo8]

This thread should be renamed "What are the benefits of a degree?" "What makes a good teacher"."Am I just a product of my environment and is Thailand really crazy?"I thought the initial posts were about needing a degree for visas/work permits and the Thai government cracking down on the frauds and the fakes.NOT any of the above.

[mr_hippo]

I think I have got what you are saying - only people who have a degree in English should teach English. So anyone who has a degree in their chosen field plus a high qualification in English, e.g. A level English (UK) but not a degree should not be allowed to teach English? That is poppycock.

Now let's get the topic back on track!

Edited January 31, 2007 by mr_hippo

[joker]

SO ANOTHER 'CRACKDOWN' FROM THE POWERS THAT BE. TYPICAL THAI RE-ACTION TO SEVERAL RECENT

'INCIDENTS'. YES, INCIDENTS BECAUSE THINK ABOUT IT, HOW MANY FOREIGN TEACHERS ARE THERE HERE?

BETTER BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR SURE BUT LET'S GET REAL ON THIS WHOLE DEBACLE.

FIRSTLY, A DEGREE DOES NOT REALLY SAY ANYTHING ABOUT A PERSON AT ALL.

IF YOU CAN'T TEACH A CLASS, YOU CAN HAVE ALL THE DIPLOMAS IN THE WORLD AND IT WILL NOT HELP!

SECONDLY, THEY ASK FOR A DEGREE - ANY DEGREE AND DO NOT SPECIFY SOMETHING LIKE IN ENGLISH

LANGUAGE/LITERATURE ETC. SO IN THEORY, YOU COULD HAVE A DEGREE IN DOG-GROOMING AND THAT IS

OK, PROVIDING YOU HAVE THE RIGHT LETTERHEAD!! IT'S JUST ANOTHER BLOCK SET UP FOR FOREIGNERS.

I TAKE EXCEPTION TO SOME COMMENTS POSTED HERE THAT GIVE THE IMPRESSION THAT YOUR AVERAGE

FOREIGN TEACHER HERE, IS A DRUNK/BARGIRL MOLESTING PEDO WITH NO DESIRE TO TEACH AT ALL.

WHILE THERE ARE SURELY SEVERAL OF THEM HERE, IT IS AN INSULT TO ALL THE GOOD TEACHERS(Qualified

or not) WORKING HERE, WHO ARE TRYING TO HELP THAI KIDS WITH THEIR FUTURES.

TRUTH IS THAT KIDS IN LAOS AND CAMBODIA SPEAK BETTER ENGLISH THAN THAI KIDS - REALLY AND

THAT FOR TWO COUNTRIES THAT WERE COLONIZED BY THE FRENCH!

THE PROBLEM IS THAT THAI KIDS ARE NOT PROPERLY STIMULATED(IN OR OUT OF SCHOOL) TO LEARN ENGLISH

MOST REALLY DON'T WANT TOO, AS LONG AS THEY CAN SAY THE BASIC 'HELLO' LINES, USE SOME INTERNET.

I SAY TO THE AUTHORITIES......... BY ALL MEANS CHECK A PERSON'S BACKGROUND, DO A TEACHING LESSON

TEST AND IF A SCHOOL REALLY WANTS SAID PERSON BUT THAT PERSON DOES NOT HAVE A DEGREE, THEN

THE SCHOOL SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY WE WANT HIM/HER AND NOT BE DICTATED BY A DEGREE PAPER.

[thai_narak]

caps is deafening to the eyes...

[beano2274]

SO ANOTHER 'CRACKDOWN' FROM THE POWERS THAT BE. TYPICAL THAI RE-ACTION TO SEVERAL RECENT

'INCIDENTS'. YES, INCIDENTS BECAUSE THINK ABOUT IT, HOW MANY FOREIGN TEACHERS ARE THERE HERE?

BETTER BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR SURE BUT LET'S GET REAL ON THIS WHOLE DEBACLE.

FIRSTLY, A DEGREE DOES NOT REALLY SAY ANYTHING ABOUT A PERSON AT ALL.

IF YOU CAN'T TEACH A CLASS, YOU CAN HAVE ALL THE DIPLOMAS IN THE WORLD AND IT WILL NOT HELP!

SECONDLY, THEY ASK FOR A DEGREE - ANY DEGREE AND DO NOT SPECIFY SOMETHING LIKE IN ENGLISH

LANGUAGE/LITERATURE ETC. SO IN THEORY, YOU COULD HAVE A DEGREE IN DOG-GROOMING AND THAT IS

OK, PROVIDING YOU HAVE THE RIGHT LETTERHEAD!! IT'S JUST ANOTHER BLOCK SET UP FOR FOREIGNERS.

I TAKE EXCEPTION TO SOME COMMENTS POSTED HERE THAT GIVE THE IMPRESSION THAT YOUR AVERAGE

FOREIGN TEACHER HERE, IS A DRUNK/BARGIRL MOLESTING PEDO WITH NO DESIRE TO TEACH AT ALL.

WHILE THERE ARE SURELY SEVERAL OF THEM HERE, IT IS AN INSULT TO ALL THE GOOD TEACHERS(Qualified

or not) WORKING HERE, WHO ARE TRYING TO HELP THAI KIDS WITH THEIR FUTURES.

TRUTH IS THAT KIDS IN LAOS AND CAMBODIA SPEAK BETTER ENGLISH THAN THAI KIDS - REALLY AND

THAT FOR TWO COUNTRIES THAT WERE COLONIZED BY THE FRENCH!

THE PROBLEM IS THAT THAI KIDS ARE NOT PROPERLY STIMULATED(IN OR OUT OF SCHOOL) TO LEARN ENGLISH

MOST REALLY DON'T WANT TOO, AS LONG AS THEY CAN SAY THE BASIC 'HELLO' LINES, USE SOME INTERNET.

I SAY TO THE AUTHORITIES......... BY ALL MEANS CHECK A PERSON'S BACKGROUND, DO A TEACHING LESSON

TEST AND IF A SCHOOL REALLY WANTS SAID PERSON BUT THAT PERSON DOES NOT HAVE A DEGREE, THEN

THE SCHOOL SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY WE WANT HIM/HER AND NOT BE DICTATED BY A DEGREE PAPER.

Good post.

It should be, at the end of the day, the schools decision who they employ as they pay for the teacher and not the Immigration office.

[El Taco Loco]

Arai wa?

Geting rid off teachrs is tipical, first expatts now us teeachrs we does a good job for this contry, who can tell them how to speech properly now, its bad enohugh gettin a order right in K.fC as it is, up to them, you can get digrees on the internet now anyway,so thay can't check evryone,can thay?

[wilko]

Hey Thaigoon

Perhaps enforcing this regulation will at least ensure that Thailand won't have brits who say, "you was, we was" teaching their proper English to Thai kids.

Well remember we can say

"If I was" and "If I were"

Also for information we can use "I be" "you be" he/she/it be, they be, this is English

something that maybe some of those good degree teachers do not teach, but it is

common

Yeah, you could say "I were" in an If clause (either type II or III, I don't remember), but you don't say "you was, we was" for something that happened in the past....which was what I meant.

By the way, if I have to guess, English is not your first language?

Actually I am from Somerset, and yes that is in England and I am a YOKEL

There are no rules in English, only conventions, and anyone with the slightest interest in EL will be able to tell you of vast swathes of Britain where the verb "to be" is not declined and "was" is the only past form

[rexall]

There is a "terminology gap" here. In the U.S., a "diploma" only ever applies to your garden variety high school diploma. . On the other hand, in the UK, it can refer to a rather high certification, although not necessarily. For example the DELTA (Diploma in Engarishe Language Teaching(?) from Cambridge is a post-graduate qualification somewhere between a bachelors and a masters. Roughly 50% of a masters, I think. It's a good system.

Aloha,

Rex

Beg to differ with you, Rexall. Things in the USA are never referred to as 'only ever' . A diploma has always meant either the paper for graduating from high school, or from university as well, or even from a cake decorating school (which my daughter once earned). Americans still refer to universities as colleges, and some tertiary schools who grant BA and BS still call themselves college.

Also, is the DELTA from "cambridge" if earned in Thailand? Did you mean the far more rigorous DELTA, or the one-month CELTA course?

Alert! Excessive semi-colon usage alert! ;;;;;;

Agreed, some cake decorating schools and such award "diplomas." I didn't think that minor exception was important or relevant to the discussion. However, seriously, I have never heard anyone refer to a an associate or bachelors degree as a "diploma."

Agreed, "college" and "university" are often synonymous in the U.S. I recall several instances of schools changing their name from Blabla College to Blabla University because "University" sounds more prestigious, particularly to anyone from anyone outside of the U.S. Outside of the U.S. "college" often means something like high school or slightly beyond, technical college or trade school. Traditionally in the U.S. usage, "college" was a smaller institution (e.g., College of Medicine) that is part of a larger University or University system.

CELTA and DELTA are awarded by Cambridge regardless of where they are taken. Cambridge certifies and monitors centers world-wide which are authorized to provide the CELTA and DELTA programs. But the cert and dip themselves are awarded by the UCLES, University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate. Correct, DELTA is MUCH more rigorous, comprehensive and intense in just about every respect than CELTA.

Aloha,

Rex

[BlackArtemis]

I am really happy to see this. I meet so many people here under fake degrees and many admitt it to me like it is some kind of joke. Get those people out of here.

But maybe if they are a good teacher without a degree (there are some) Maybe the system can work out that they keep said job while attending at a local uni here that offers English classes.

For me I have a degree in Family and Marriage consoling. With only a BA I can't do crap with it back in the US. I can do lots of low level paperwork jobs for child services etc or work phones some place. While I could obtain a Dr. in my field and with 10 years of experience have the potential to make 100k a year I don't wish to persue this line of work. SO I can get an MS in my field 3 years of experience and get 30k a year. Or get some entry level job at get 20-25k a year. I said I would rather try teaching before I commit to studying more or begin my climb of the ladder. So making 25k a month before tutoring etc is great, I found out I love it and I plan to get my TEFL. After living here for a few years I will return home with my soon to be wife (She has a BA in English and a Inter. TEFL MS degree and is bilingual) will return home and I will get a job at a university and brush up on my spanish. Then get a teaching cert if I want to do teaching in a non university setting. After the kids grow up I can return with a Masters and years of experience and get a comfy job at an international school.

[krystian]

How come the Min. of Education doesn't start checking on Filipinos?

As the only committee member for the Min. of Ed in my province, i have learned that the Education Council's recent check-up on 1,000 foreign teachers did not include Filipinos.

I have had to recruit a lot of teachers in my time and of course i've seen a lotta dodgy certification. I can tell you one thing and that is - a lot of the Filipinos are just as phony as Caucasians.

The fake Filipinos i've known are even worse than the phony Farangs, in that they usually claim to have a degree in education!

How about a crackdown on the unqualified Filipinos?

Let me guess,,, maybe because there where no pedophile filipinos caught yet....

[Tolley]

All English teachers should have the required qualifications. ie degree plus tesl cert or something similar.

This is a minimum starting point. Sure it doesn't mean that you will be a good teacher but it does set a minimum standard. As with doctors lawyers etc having the qualifications doesn't make you good at your job but it does set a minimum standard and does weed out some of the real riff raff that give the job a bad name.

You may be able to do many jobs without the qualifications but most jobs set minimum standards that need to met before you can do a job. Why should teaching be any different?

The issue of fair recompense is another question.

Thailand pays its teachers miserably in most cases so they probably deserve to get what they pay for.

Lift the standards lift the pay and reap the benefits. Probably wont happen in Thailand in my lifetime.

[wintermute]

The issue of fair recompense is another question.

Thailand pays its teachers miserably in most cases so they probably deserve to get what they pay for.

Lift the standards lift the pay and reap the benefits. Probably wont happen in Thailand in my lifetime.

You get what you pay for. All the real teachers with real qualifications go to other countries who pay western salaries for english teaching. In Thailand they try to get YOU to pay to teach here because it's Thailand and that's the way they do things. It's a situation that Thailand will not be able to fix because they can't pay enough to recruit good teachers from abroad and the fact that this country is a magnet for kiddy fiddles, alcoholics, whoremongers, and weirdos means "undesirables" will do what they have to in order to stay.

[rogerinthai]

The important thing is that they are at least taking steps to *try* to screen out the non-qualified.

Better screen out the incompetent rather than the non-qualified. And how to do that? Fire 90% of the Thai English teachers. Or at least let them complete a basic English test...

I think a happier medium can be found if folks are less emotional about it all.

Right - bend over, pack your bags and leave, and do it with a big smile

But again, back to the point - if English teachers would be judged by their knowledge of English or by what kind of progress their students are making, I have no doubt that almost any foreign teacher - with degree or without one, qualified or not, native English speaker or not - would score much better then most of the Thai teachers. Visit India, Sri Lanka, Phililipines, and other countries in the region - all will have better English, and none try to push out those who assist the locals to learn English in the way it is done here.

No wonder that English schools in Thailand have different pricing for lessons taught by Thai teachers and for lessons taught by foreign teachers. The students are cleary aware of the difference in quality and are willing to pay more.

All this has nothing to do with wanting to get better qualified teachers. It has everything to do with finding more and more reasons to kick out foreigners who are paying only small amounts of taxes to the government. Just one item in the overall policy.

Edited January 31, 2007 by rogerinthai

[paulmw]

Going back to the Degree thing, I have actually taught for the Ministry of Labour, at one of their customers sites, and was never asked for a degree or anything by them, so it seems to me that government offices do not really care as long as they are getting money.

I do believe that all teachers should be checked for criminal records and maybe we should do a test from the Ministry of Education, but to have a degree is a load of rubbish. Thailand seems to want a degree for everything, if Thais go abroad they do not need a degree to work, most of them I know work in Asda or Tescos, but we do not ask them for a Degree, do we? So stop the rubbish about degrees and get the MoE to test the teachers.

At language centres teachers are not checked, this is where the money is, the families do not care about degrees, all they do is look at the colour of the teachers skin.

I think most of the posts are missing the point its not MoE that are pushing this.

It's Immigration doing the pushing the same as back to back visas etc.

As the good police man Pattaya said, they are now going to rewrite the rules again so look out for more laws & rules comming down from above in the near future.

[harmonist]

I do not understand why Thailand requires a college degree of native language English teachers who are working in non-elite schools and earning 20K baht a month, or whatever the current average lousy pay rate is for that job. How can Thailand expect to attract native language English teachers WITH degrees for that low pay? The answer seems to me to be to raise the pay (bloody unlikely) or drop the degree requirement. There are lots of people that can be competent English teachers without a degree and there are those with degrees that are not competent. I could see beefing up the TEFL requirements so that the courses actually screen people out who can't teach.

Sawasdee khrub,

This comment of yours shows you don't have any clue about the conditions in Thailand. Firstly really qualified teachers are payed way more than (more than two or three times as much) you stated and second, those TEFL courses offered in Thailand do not screen any people out.

In addition how can you expect the parents of students to trust in a "teacher" who hasn't studied at all. The requirement to become a teacher in Thailand isn't necessarily an educational degree ... it's "any tertiary degree". Fact is, most of the farangs in Thailand are no more than the waste of their own society they come from. If you are a teacher who is working for as little as you say, then I presume, you aren't qualified at all. Otehrwise you would have found a much better paid employment. Furthermore by the knowledge you display through your comment it is very much likely you belong to those who should not teach after all.

Besides, if you don't like the conditions in Thailand, why don't you leave?

Harmon

[paulmw]

I do not understand why Thailand requires a college degree of native language English teachers who are working in non-elite schools and earning 20K baht a month, or whatever the current average lousy pay rate is for that job. How can Thailand expect to attract native language English teachers WITH degrees for that low pay? The answer seems to me to be to raise the pay (bloody unlikely) or drop the degree requirement. There are lots of people that can be competent English teachers without a degree and there are those with degrees that are not competent. I could see beefing up the TEFL requirements so that the courses actually screen people out who can't teach.

Sawasdee khrub,

This comment of yours shows you don't have any clue about the conditions in Thailand. Firstly really qualified teachers are payed way more than (more than two or three times as much) you stated and second, those TEFL courses offered in Thailand do not screen any people out.

In addition how can you expect the parents of students to trust in a "teacher" who hasn't studied at all. The requirement to become a teacher in Thailand isn't necessarily an educational degree ... it's "any tertiary degree". Fact is, most of the farangs in Thailand are no more than the waste of their own society they come from. If you are a teacher who is working for as little as you say, then I presume, you aren't qualified at all. Otehrwise you would have found a much better paid employment. Furthermore by the knowledge you display through your comment it is very much likely you belong to those who should not teach after all.

Besides, if you don't like the conditions in Thailand, why don't you leave?

Harmon

It looks like you don't work in a Thai gov't school either saying we get 2 to 3 times more than 20K.

And yes after nearly 9 yrs here I'm thinking of leaving also yes fully qualified .

Like many friends who have been coming here for years, they have noticed the change of attitude in the Thai's over the past 2 yrs here, and now backing away from living here.

Thailand is on a loser the way they are thinking, on many of their new ideas.

Paul

[opalhort]

Why doesn't the Thai government set up a testing (not training!) 'place' for anybody (foreigner) who applies for a teaching license in Thailand?

This 'place' should be staffed by top class foreign English language experts and pedagogues.

Every applicant, regardless of educational background, has to pass this test, which shouldn't take more than a month or two, in order to obtain a teaching license, WP, visa etc..

Some grading could be included for English language/subject/assistant teacher etc.

Of course the applicant should be made to pay for the tests to cover the expenses of running the 'place' so that the government does not have to subsidize it.

opalhort

[nikster]

Good and bad.

Good that they actually do background checks on people. Unqualified teachers makes EACH AND EVERY farang in Thailand look bad, be they tourist or teacher, qualified or not.

Of course, Thailand will find itself short of teachers if it actually does enforce this requirement. This will lead to either relaxing of standards (but hopefully looking to make sure they aren't pedophiles or otherwise undesirables) or raising pay. Both of these raise the general quality level and benefit farangdom generally through Thailand.

If the former, (the most probable, IMHO) than unqualified teachers will benefit because they will now no longer be unqualified to teach @ the jobs they are already.

Most likely option is that everyone will suddenly forget about this whole thing.

If they did go through with it, it's likely that pay is raised and requirements dropped, however, not immediately. First, requirements would be enforced. Then, no english teachers (even less than now). Then, pay raised. Still no english teachers. Then, requirements dropped => Same as before but in a legal framework which would be good for everyone.

I just read in the Economist an analysis on Asia's development. Everything is going swimmingly except for one thing: The establishment of the rule of law. That's the missing link to enter first world status. It includes everything from accountability, to legislative/executive separation, to corruption and enforcement. Asia is not there yet and Thailand is a prime example. Worse, no movement in the right direction is visible in most Asian countries. There are a few exceptions of course, and, unsurprisingly, they are the rich countries of Asia - S'pore, Japan.

Sorry got a bit OT here, but I just can't help but notice the bigger picture the teacher thing is just a reflection of the general state of the nation. Laws exist, but are not enforced, no one cares about them. I can drive by police without helmet on a thousand times, they smile at me, except when they are out to make money, then they suddenly enforce helmet laws and charge 200 Baht. All part of the same underlying problem.

[Momo8]

How would you enforce this Opalhort? Think how many people would try to cheat and beat the 'system'.Actually the schools organize all the necessary papers/visas for teachers mine did anyway and they paid for them too.

[Darkling]

Geting rid off teachrs is tipical, first expatts now us teeachrs we does a good job for this contry, who can tell them how to speech properly now, its bad enohugh gettin a order right in K.fC as it is, up to them, you can get digrees on the internet now anyway,so thay can't check evryone,can thay?

[grazer]

John Mark Karr (the guy who 'confessed' to the JonBenet Ramsay murder) was arrested in Bangkok and was working as a teacher. I think you'll find this is the reason for the crackdown. It's also the probable reason for the 90 limit on visa on arrival renewals.