As school closures stretch on in Pattaya due to Covid-19, some parents begin to complain about tuition fees not being waived or discounted

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By Goong Nang(GN)

 

Pattaya, Chonburi – At least one school deputy director in Pattaya said they will officially discuss the decreasing of school tuition fees if the closure of schools in the province of Chonburi continues to be extended with no end in sight due to concerns of Covid-19. This follows reports of increasing parental complaints, including to The Pattaya News, about schools not budging on reducing tuition fees or giving discounts despite schools not being in session in person.

 

Meanwhile, parents of students from the Sawang Boriboon Wittaya School in Pattaya have also been complaining online about tuition fees. Sawang Boriboon Wittaya School, however, did previously decrease their fees to 1,500 baht for normal classes and to 3,000 baht for International program classes according to school staff.

 

Parents, however, are still not happy and think the school needs to decrease more as their children are still learning online from home. Additionally, some parents claim that online learning is not as effective, many students do not have the right equipment, and many Pattaya parents are struggling to make an income with so many businesses legally ordered closed, such as the entertainment sector and tourism industry.

 

Full story: https://thepattayanews.com/2021/07/04/as-school-closures-stretch-on-in-pattaya-due-to-covid-19-some-parents-begin-to-complain-about-tuition-fees-not-being-waived-or-discounted/

 

-- © Copyright The Pattaya News 2021-07-05

[nightfox]

The schools reduced the fees to 1,500, what do these parents want free schooling.

[Sydebolle]

In all fairness, the only expenses saved by the school are utilities .....

[thailand49]

My granddaughter 3 enrolled in pre-school that was supposed to start May 22nd, paid 16,000 plus no discount yet and of course what kind of online class are you going to get for a 3 year old.

[edwinchester]

4 minutes ago, thailand49 said:

My granddaughter 3 enrolled in pre-school that was supposed to start May 22nd, paid 16,000 plus no discount yet and of course what kind of online class are you going to get for a 3 year old.

Same here. Our daughter is nearly 4, paid since beginning of May and has had one 30 minute online session.

[hotchilli]

20 minutes ago, thailand49 said:

My granddaughter 3 enrolled in pre-school that was supposed to start May 22nd, paid 16,000 plus no discount yet and of course what kind of online class are you going to get for a 3 year old.

Agreed the level of online teaching is going to be different for every age and province... plus the students ability to have classes from home.

The school maintains that teachers salaries have to be paid.. depends what side of the fence you are as to what you think is fair.

[guzzi850m2]

My son goes to Phoenix, 11 years old, on-line schooling every weekday.

 

He is sitting in the living room on his own PC and I can hear what's going on and I get the feeling that the teachers try their best motivation the children.

 

The teachers still need their salaries, only thing that saves money when doing on-line teaching is on the food for the kids, and I recall we already got a bit money back earlier this year. I don't know what happens to the sports teachers, I hope they are getting paid as well?

 

It's not good for the kids, they are isolated.

 

The Thai teachers are getting vaccinated but haven't heard about the expat teachers getting vaccinated yet? This is not acceptable, my son attends the international program so the head teacher in the class is a native English speaker and a Thai is the assistant teacher so all teachers no matter nationality should have equal priority to vaccines.    

 

All in all a <deleted>ty situation for everybody involved.

[Jumbo1968]

When we were stuck in England for over a year our son attended a school there, he was 5 years old. When the schools reopened they created a bubble system, the school was a reasonable new one so wasn’t difficult to segregate the kids. If one pupil or one of the family tested positive the bubble shut down for 10 days not the whole school. 
Here in Pattaya I am sure it could be implemented in his school for the younger kids as all the classrooms are separate and I believe have their own toilets.

[mrbojangles]

My daughter (12 in year 7) is in an International school. Should have finished for the 6/7 week break last week but due to the closing of schools the head decided to delay opening and delay carrying on with on line learning. This stretched out for 5 weeks and so the school has resumed on-line classes and extended the school year by 5 weeks. This means my daughter will only have 2 weeks summer holiday and then start the new year 8 .

 

I'm all for patience and understanding but this is causing chaos with kids lives. I'm not bothered about refunds, teachers need paying and the overheads are still there, albeit reduced, I'm bothered about the kids getting educated. We are lucky that my daughter has her own good internet and her own laptop, printer etc but what about the poor kids who don't have that? How can they learn? They don't get 2 chances at education. They grow up and by the end of school age they take exams. Those results stay with them. The kids need to be back in school, not online, now, IMO of course

[PETERTHEEATER]

5 hours ago, thailand49 said:

My granddaughter 3 enrolled in pre-school that was supposed to start May 22nd, paid 16,000 plus no discount yet and of course what kind of online class are you going to get for a 3 year old.

The government's favorite, 'Loony Tunes'

[amdy2206]

So they should. Minimal teaching, parents doing the work and schools still taking maximum profits. Schools are not concerned about parents situations and how covid affects their businesses or work. VERY GREEDY. My school, IN LAOS, last year 50% reduction, this coming year - also 50%. In Laos, we respect our familys and try to help, in Thailand get whatever you can. PROFIT, NOT CARE.

[thailand49]

10 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Agreed the level of online teaching is going to be different for every age and province... plus the students ability to have classes from home.

The school maintains that teachers salaries have to be paid.. depends what side of the fence you are as to what you think is fair.

In my granddaughter situation she is 3, online teaching isn't going to happen at that age whatever teacher for this level I seriously doubt they are being retained for what?  so a reduce rate or adjustment is certainly warranted.

 

This particular school is being subsidized by the Chinese Government one only has to look at the building and improvements being made inside particularly the Chinese Temple$$$$$ reason parents are asking for an adjustment. They have the money to lose!

Edited July 5, 2021 by thailand49

[Stargeezr]

I do not get parents who send their children under 5 years old to any school?  If they send them to a day care

to have them baby sat until they are 5 years old, or maybe just to learn the Thai language, okay.  

  Children under 5 years old, can learn lots of things, but it would seem to me that some parents, just

use these pre schools for a glorified baby sitting service.  My opinion.

  Geezer

[mrbojangles]

4 hours ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

I do not get parents who send their children under 5 years old to any school?  If they send them to a day care

to have them baby sat until they are 5 years old, or maybe just to learn the Thai language, okay.  

  Children under 5 years old, can learn lots of things, but it would seem to me that some parents, just

use these pre schools for a glorified baby sitting service.  My opinion.

  Geezer

 

Got to disagree with that overall generalization.  The social and educational skills my daughter learned at nursery stood her in good stead when she started at school proper. Teachers at primary can instantly tell which kids went to nursery and which didn't. In the unlikely event that a parent spent as much time with their kids teaching as a nursery teacher would, the social skills aren't as good. Guarantee all the kids who are screaming for mummy and don't want to go through the gates at school on their first day are the one's that didn't attend nursery. But each to their own