More private schools in Thailand to close due to pandemic related cashflow problems

[BobinBKK]

As they say "knowledge is power" and power is something that the government doesn't want the people to have.

[dutchweller]

16 hours ago, Hamus Yaigh said:

Many kids in our area of Bangkok went to a private English language school nearby with foreign teachers. The school would not reduce fees at all and have changed to home schooling since start of year. Many parents have now withdrawn their kids for other cheaper online alternatives going forward next term.

I pulled my son from his school when they decided they were going online zoom classes every 2nd day for 1 -2 hours and provided "education packs" that parents were expected to teach kids with 3 hours a day..

But still charged full term fees..

 

[RafPinto]

3 hours ago, arick said:

I am tutoring a girl Phyics IGCSE she had no clue of even what  exam board she was taking at her school! This school is charging 900,000 a year  tuition. 

Must be one of the American International schools.

900 k is heavy but I pay over 700k too.

[RafPinto]

1 hour ago, Spock said:

You are probably at Bangkok Patana or somewhere similar which would have had an online program for all and collected fees throughout. No way such a school would fold.

Best school in the country.

[RafPinto]

47 minutes ago, CosmicSurfer said:

"Private" and "International" schools are 2 completely different Systems... "Private" is usually 100% Thai..  Middle Class and Upper Middle Class... "International" are where expense account Expats send their kids, and is much more expensive than the Private Schools!! 

Hi-So Thai kids go to school abroad!! 

CS

 

Wrong.

At my daughter's school, there are plenty of Hi-So Thai children who stay until finishing their IGCSE or IB before going abroad to study.

[Hamus Yaigh]

8 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

People will never pay for something they are not getting. It was always going to happen, I've been predicting this for months. I do not think this is monetary loss causing this, but refusal to pay for something their kids are not getting.

Agreed. In our area the regular school fees of 53,000THB per term were not dropped for the entire period of home schooling. Parents were expected to pay this to secure exam results and passes through next term. They did so and then promptly removed their kids from the school. Sad. Big school and lots of interaction of kids. Now it's home schooling at a quarter the fees or less with another provider.

Edited October 23, 2021 by Hamus Yaigh

[JGV]

All the while the government prioritises the defence budget as No 1 education will always suffer - losing some private schools will just affect the rich Thais and so they must take a long look at themselves and what system they want running this country - an elitest system for the few or a comprehensive public education system that trains teacher to teach and supplies education to all

[MarcelV]

1 hour ago, RafPinto said:

Best school in the country.

Exactly. School fees are very high and experienced and qualified teachers make 250k+ a month, but we are worth it and money is accounted for. Furthermore, as a teacher I can send my kids here for FREE.

[khunPer]

From the article...

Quote

Although private schools have eased the financial burden on thestate, estimated at about six billion baht annually, he complained that many people have a misconception about private schools, accusing them of being business-orientated and focussed solely on making profits.

Private schools are business, and therefore the goal is to make money.

 

A real problem might well be online tuition. which for several reasons is not worth the school fees; some private schools are relative expensive. I fully understand parents that saves their money until normal conditions re-appear.

[billd766]

19 hours ago, shady86 said:

I guess its better to close down with the profits earned so far instead bleeding cash.

But only if you are a shareholder or owner of the school.

 

Welcome to the reality and hard facts of the commercial world and the problems that the millions of unemployed people face in Thailand on a daily basis.

 

If you had returned some of the money to the government in the good years, should you even think of asking for some government/taxpayers money.

[billd766]

15 hours ago, MarcelV said:

I teach at a very prestigious private school and we have been having online classes since May. I'm not worried about the school closing down for good. The school has been in business too long to forfeit. The fallout would be unthinkable.

You should be worried. There are very few businesses that are too big to fail.

[billd766]

3 hours ago, andygrr said:

I hope you teach Physics better than you spell it or is Phyics a new subject.

Sigh. Another grammar nasty with nothing better to do. 

 

Have YOU never made any typo errors?

 

It is a simple typo and nothing to get your panties in a bunch over.

Edited October 23, 2021 by billd766
Added extra text

[khunPer]

2 hours ago, CosmicSurfer said:

"Private" and "International" schools are 2 completely different Systems... "Private" is usually 100% Thai..  Middle Class and Upper Middle Class... "International" are where expense account Expats send their kids, and is much more expensive than the Private Schools!! 

Hi-So Thai kids go to school abroad!! 

CS

It might be depending on where you live in the nation.

 

Where I live the hi-so thais - and there are relative many of them - sends their children to a local private school with English program for the primary years, i.e. kindergarten to P6, and then to a selected "right" private schools in mainly the Bangkok area; some boys would be send to a military school for potential career options.

 

The better, and also more expensive, private Thai school with bi-lingual program - the school has English language and other subjects on Cambridge level with native English speaking teachers, and furthermore tuition in Chinese language - has about half fully Thai children, and the other half is children from mixed marriage plus a few with foreign parents. Most of the children from the mixed or foreign parents continue in international schools after P6, either domestic or abroad, while most Thai children are send to boarding schools in mainly Bangkok area.

 

In the later few years a number of better off Thais began to send their children to the international schools for better later education options, which might include finishing Cambridge A-level or IB in a boarding high school abroad. or some of the excellent, but also quite expensive, international schools in Bangkok. However the majority in the international schools in my area are children from mixed marriage or foreign parents.

[DrPhibes]

5 hours ago, ArchieB said:

My friend has a PHD in Chemical engineering and did all elem, ms, and hs in the Thai public system. I doubt the moron kids at my international school could pull that off

There are just some kids that will succeed no matter what obstacles are placed in their way.  I came from poor white trash.   Have degrees in Chemistry, Medical technology, and Chemical Engr (latter degree from UC Santa Barbara).  Put myself through college twice with minimal loans and only a few minimal scholarships.  Constantly working while in school (no spring breaks in Fort Lauderdale), every summer was standing in front of a plastic injection molder 12hrs graveyard (7 to 7), 7 days on, 2 days off, 7 days on 2 days off, 7 days on, 3 days off.  Only one in related families to ever go to college, majority are blue collar substance abuse burnouts.  If you want it bad enough, there's a way.

[khunyod]

20 hours ago, fangless said:

It goes without saying that the biggest losers will be the kids themselves, not the fat cats "running" the schools!

No, not really. It depends on the family. My children are doing great, but my wife and I have a huge burden on our time now. Sure, some parents are not involved and the children are largely neglected. Remember also that schools are not just school owners, but teachers, staff... 

[mikosan]

20 hours ago, sherwood said:

By the look of things my daughter is learning all she needs to know about living in Thailand under this sham of an administration.

I am in the exact same situation.  My wife and step daughter have gone back to the village.  Better off there than here in town, with no school to go to.

[mikosan]

17 hours ago, MarcelV said:

I teach at a very prestigious private school and we have been having online classes since May. I'm not worried about the school closing down for good. The school has been in business too long to forfeit. The fallout would be unthinkable.

I imagine that regardless of the provision of online lessons, the fees have not been reduced?  I'd be withdrawing my kids as well.  You can't tell me that there is the same value for money in online lessons as there is with classroom lessons.  I don't suppose any school is safe from closure, even your 'prestigious' school.  It's existence it at the whim of the parents who pay the fees and if they decide they are not getting value for money, which online lessons are not, your school goes down the pan as well.  As for the fallout being unthinkable, just have a look around you, the unthinkable fallout is happening all over Thailand, in all areas of life.  With any luck it will hopefully include this useless, corrupt and puritanical government soon.  Good luck.  

Edited October 23, 2021 by mikosan

[mikosan]

2 hours ago, MarcelV said:

Exactly. School fees are very high and experienced and qualified teachers make 250k+ a month, but we are worth it and money is accounted for. Furthermore, as a teacher I can send my kids here for FREE.

You have a high opinion of yourself and your fellow teachers at this 'prestigious' school, I hope you are worth it.  By the way, you mean your kids can now be taught online for free?  Don't you agree that interaction between children at school is a very important part of education?  The children are not getting that, so why are the fees not being reduced in many of these schools?

Edited October 23, 2021 by mikosan

[MarcelV]

46 minutes ago, mikosan said:

You have a high opinion of yourself and your fellow teachers at this 'prestigious' school, I hope you are worth it.  By the way, you mean your kids can now be taught online for free?  Don't you agree that interaction between children at school is a very important part of education?  The children are not getting that, so why are the fees not being reduced in many of these schools?

Yes, I do agree that there's nothing better than face-to-face contact between teachers and students. Perhaps student fees should be reduced somewhat.

[Rimmer]

A sarcastic flame has been removed

 

Also a misleading troll post and reply

[cape]

23 hours ago, fangless said:

It goes without saying that the biggest losers will be the kids themselves, not the fat cats "running" the schools!

And yet, a bit more understanding would show that there are few "fat cats" in education and schools. Mainly, it's people who have a love of teaching and knowledge.

[fangless]

1 minute ago, cape said:

And yet, a bit more understanding would show that there are few "fat cats" in education and schools. Mainly, it's people who have a love of teaching and knowledge.

A lot of the Teachers Yes. a Lot of the Bosses no!

[John Drake]

1 hour ago, mikosan said:

I don't suppose any school is safe from closure, even your 'prestigious' school.  It's existence it at the whim of the parents who pay the fees and if they decide they are not getting value for money, which online lessons are not, your school goes down the pan as well. 

A very large part of the marketing of "prestige" schools, here, is that should you enroll your child with them, then he or she will meet and be among people from other hi-so families. It's also a key part of the marketing for up and coming "new wealth." What they're selling are connections. It's very blatant, openly advertised in their brochures, often before academic offerings. Over the years at Mahidol, I was part of the committee that interviewed students applying for a place at MUIC. I had students from all these schools sit in front of me and answer questions. There was rarely any strong separation among the students from one school or another. The pecking order didn't matter much. Usually, they were prepared, had passable English oral and written language skills, and lagged in the areas of science and mathematics. Most wanted to go into the business program. But nearly all of them carried a sense of entitlement I found astonishing. I think these "prestige" primary and secondary schools in Thailand perpetuate many of the social and academic problems, here. I think we have seen that sense of entitlement and false superiority even in some of the posts from people on this forum. These students come out of "elite" schools and are solid, albeit not spectacular. That is as a group. Of course, individual talents do shine. But they would do so even in the worst circumstances. Intelligence, as with truth, usually will out.

[fangless]

4 hours ago, khunyod said:

My children are doing great, but my wife and I have a huge burden on our time now.

So are you saying that you consider teaching your children to be a burden to you and your wife?

[brewsterbudgen]

29 minutes ago, fangless said:

So are you saying that you consider teaching your children to be a burden to you and your wife?

It's certainly a burden if you've paid high fees for professional teachers to do this, and you and your wife have full-time jobs!

[DavisH]

10 hours ago, Mike KIWI said:

My daughter is at a private school in Nang Rong. They did not refund the fees i had paid when they closed due to the deadly pandemic.  I complained about not getting my money back but in retrospect they can keep the money as long as they open back up next month. I cant imagine having to send her to a govt school.

Has she been learning online with the school since it closed? It so, that is the normal operation of schools during the pandemic. The refunds at my school have been minimal - they kids are mainly missing out on activities and formal assessment as they cannot attend school.  

[DavisH]

6 hours ago, DrPhibes said:

There are just some kids that will succeed no matter what obstacles are placed in their way.  I came from poor white trash.   Have degrees in Chemistry, Medical technology, and Chemical Engr (latter degree from UC Santa Barbara).  Put myself through college twice with minimal loans and only a few minimal scholarships.  Constantly working while in school (no spring breaks in Fort Lauderdale), every summer was standing in front of a plastic injection molder 12hrs graveyard (7 to 7), 7 days on, 2 days off, 7 days on 2 days off, 7 days on, 3 days off.  Only one in related families to ever go to college, majority are blue collar substance abuse burnouts.  If you want it bad enough, there's a way.

My wife went to a temple school in Ratchaburi. Later a local high school. She has to travel to Bangkok every weekend to learn englsh froma  foreign teacher, as there were none locally at that time. She got a degree, then masters, then went to Australia to do a PhD. She saw how hard her father worked as a farmer and didn't want to follow that path. Now she is a C9 government officer. Where there is a will there is a way. 

[DavisH]

9 hours ago, dutchweller said:

I pulled my son from his school when they decided they were going online zoom classes every 2nd day for 1 -2 hours and provided "education packs" that parents were expected to teach kids with 3 hours a day..

But still charged full term fees..

 

That's a bit rough. We are giving 5-6 periods online each day, which is hard on parents with young kids. Some schools are doign a full 8 period schedule online each day. How much of music or PE you can do online escapes me lol. 

[Scott]

The schools that I am associated with have had some financial problems.  At one point, the salary of teachers was reduced.  The agreement was that once the school was in better shape, it would be paid. 

 

There are fewer parents willing to pay for either no class or online classes.  Some parents have withdrawn their children and some have demanded (and gotten) fees lowered.  

 

Another factor to consider is that a fair amount of money is made on the sale of food/drink, books, uniforms, bus services and a host of other services.  A lot of schools have after-school tutorials in which the teacher and school get a portion of the special tuition.  

 

[bangon04]

15 hours ago, arick said:

The UK must be very unfair then 

No argument there.......  By the way the current King of Thailand was at a boarding school in England, and he is doing quite well in life......