Schooling in pattaya

[dalmatian]

I have a friend who would like to live in Pattaya, he has 2 children aged 7 and 3. He is over 50 and is wondering how much schooling costs are per year. Father is British and mother is Philippina. He has seen many adverts for English style schools but never a word on costs. Any ideas?

A second question is that if a child is born of non-Thai parents in Thailand would that give the child Thai citizenship aswell as their herditary citizenship. That one is for me as I am British, married to a Brit and approaching 50.

[lopburi3]

You might be able to find school information with a Google search.  Believe 100-300k per year would do it as a guess.  They are rather expensive and not all are equal.

If both parents are legal aliens and the marriage is registered the child is Thai.

[dalmatian]

Thanks Lopburi3 for update.

In reply to your 2nd answer if the parents are registered as married and the child is a Thai citizen then presumably the child could go to a Thai school. I suppose the question is what are Thai schools like and what is the level of education offered, does anybody have experience or know of a good source of info to follow up on

[lopburi3]

Not sure on how the education question would be handled but assume a Thai should be able to attend school under current policy.  But will leave that to someone who knows.  To do anything here you have to have your name on a home register and don't know how a child of aliens gets that.  The Thai education system is not highly regarded but attempts are currently being made to improve it.  I was taken to task recently for saying perhaps more people in Bangkok send their children to private schools than attend government run schools but have not seen any breakdown.  There are a lot of private schools under the education system here so many people do pay for education.  Although the price is usually low compared to International type schools.  But don't expect much for nothing.

[MaiChai]

The child can also been a Brit too. If the father is British and he was married to his wife when the child was born. Go to the British embassy and register the birth (expensive, but the child becomes a Brit). Then you can apply for a British passport. Thai's can't have dual nationality, so don't tell any Thai authorities that your child has a British passport. Can apply for a Thai passport too for the child (not as useful as the British one, I'm afraid). Done all this myself for my two children.

[lopburi3]

Thai's can't have dual nationality

Not true.  Thai can and many do have dual nationality and they are not going to lose it even if the government knows about it.

[TLok]

I too am interested in a private school in the pattaya area. I was wondering besides the big international schools are the course taught in english?  I know the thai school year has started all ready do they accept transfers mid term? My son is 11 and his mother is Thai and I am American.

[dalmatian]

Thanks

All the info is very interesting and gives me food for thought. If I find out any costs etc I will add to this subject at a later date.

[mrentoul]

I was taken to task recently for saying perhaps more people in Bangkok send their children to private schools than attend government run schools but have not seen any breakdown.  There are a lot of private schools under the education system here so many people do pay for education.

I don't think anyone took you to task, as you put it. In how many cities in the world do the number of children going to fee-paying private schools exceed the number going to free public schools? Not many, I would suggest, and it's even more unlikely in a relatively poor country like Thailand.

I have seen more up-to-date statistics floating around the office, but for the moment this will have to do. The 1999 pocketbook Thailand in Figures says the number of children in schools in 1981 was 9.37 million, of which 8.29 million were in state schools and 1.07 million in private schools. By 1996, the most recent year given in the book, the figures were 11.1 million in school, 9.69m of whom were in government schools and 1.47m in private schools.

The figures do not distinguish between international schools and the  ''cheaper'' private schools you talk about.

However, a recent article in the Nation on demand for English language tuition said the number of private schools and international schools had increased dramatically in the last few years, from no more than a ''handful'' a decade ago to about 100 now. That figure comprised 60 private schools offering English curriculum and 43 international schools.

Another article on the newspaper database here at work talks about social diferences between secondary students who go to ''better'' schools in the public sector and students who go to ''ordinary'' public schools.

Some students have to sit entrance exams to get into secondary public schools. Quotas are also set aside seats for neighbourhood children, bright children and so on.

In that respect public schools here seem little diferent from schools anywhere else. Parents are aware of differences between secondary schools, even those in the public sector, and jockey for places in schools they perceive as being better.

Public schools are still popular. The popularity of international schools may be growing, but there has been no wholesale takeover.

I write these things as a mere observer rather than an expert, but common sense should tell you more students are going to public schools than private ones.