Thai School Principal Unveils Salary Details, Sparks Massive Public Interest

[ericthai]

9 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

Pretty good, on top of the amount of downtime/paid holiday teachers get, the regular incremental pay rises, medical coverage, financial benefits, and the pension they get at a fairly young age.

Don't forget the "extra's" they get from parents!

[kingstonkid]

10 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

Pretty good, on top of the amount of downtime/paid holiday teachers get, the regular incremental pay rises, medical coverage, financial benefits, and the pension they get at a fairly young age.

Principals get very little of the downtime that teachers get.  Most schools are still open and they are responsibe for hiring new staff and arranging for students. 

 

For that part of the country i would say that is a high wage and probably is a means to getting her to go there.  She seems young for the position but then again I am sure they do not have a lot of people banging the doors to teach there.

[asf6]

17 minutes ago, kingstonkid said:

For that part of the country i would say that is a high wage and probably is a means to getting her to go there. She seems young for the position but then again I am sure they do not have a lot of people banging the doors to teach there.

She will have started her job at the same salary as she had before getting the job. Her salary is not really related to being a director (there is no 'Director's Salary' as such) but her working in the government educational system (teachers and educational personnel). She will not have been offered a higher salary to tempt her to take the job. Also, the school is located in NakonSawan 'city', the main town in the province, and it has a population of about 82,000. I'm sure there were plenty of candidates for the position. 

 

 

.

Edited May 13, 2023 by asf6

[JeffersLos]

10 hours ago, BusyB said:

Because it's huge in comparison to national averages.

That a university educated professional in their 30's has a base of 30k and up to 40k+ after addons???

 

Wow. What level of Thai did you marry into? ????????????

[asf6]

1 hour ago, asf6 said:

She will have started her job at the same salary as she had before getting the job. Her salary is not really related to being a director (there is no 'Director's Salary' as such) but her working in the government educational system (teachers and educational personnel). She will not have been offered a higher salary to tempt her to take the job. Also, the school is located in NakonSawan 'city', the main town in the province, and it has a population of about 82,000. I'm sure there were plenty of candidates for the position. 

 

I take back some of that post.

I was wrong about the location. The school is a small rural school about 36 km north-east of Nakhonsawan city. 

โรงเรียนวัดท่าแรต

[Bepah umayun]

Such a Pretty...

[Bepah umayun]

I know it's off topic, ???? sorry 

[soalbundy]

14 hours ago, rbkk said:

Experience. I worked for 15+ yrs in 3 different schools and all the director's (5) I personally knew were corrupt. It's sadly par for the course here. if your saying she is not corrupt now it is only a matter of time. The odd's of getting a job as a director of a school, at a young age, without a payment and before older more experienced candidates is extremely small. The Ministry of Education are the root cause.

And so the band wagon rolls on and yet there are still people who think a change of government will make a difference, it won't because nobody cares about corruption.

 

The moving hand doth write and having writ moves on

nor all your piety or wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line

nor all your tears wash out one word of it.

 

 

[spidermike007]

Teachers should be paid more, and anyone with the responsibility of a principal should be paid well. 

 

If only they would reform the system, so the future of the nation gets a better education. One has to assume the lack of reform is intentional. 

[arick]

Senior teachers with masters make well over 50k

[Lacessit]

It's a bit less than the Australian age pension, which I guess shows how education is really valued in Thailand.

[jwl53]

44k year it don't sound a lot for a principle, someone compared her to a dancing girl and her income what the poster didn't mention is the principle retires at 55 on a full pension, the dancing girl has got to.finish 30-35 because she is to old with out a pension or income 

[Pink Mist]

Posts moving off topic and trolling other posters have been removed.

[ozfarang]

18 hours ago, hotchilli said:

For the top position in a school I'd say that's a reasonable sum of money.

I'm sure in the private sector a similar position would command the same or more.

Yeah, a lot more.

 

I know a principal at a private school who is paid ฿150,000 per month plus rent ฿15,000 per month and health insurance

Edited May 14, 2023 by ozfarang

[KhaoYai]

18 hours ago, fittobethaied said:

If she speaks out, she will lose her job. There's no such thing as an anonymous "whistleblower" here. If they file a complaint, it's widely apparent who is making the claim, so whistleblowing is non-existent. 

Surely there must be a way?  I'd collect all the evidence then tell the thieving bitch she either stops it or a report is going in - and the same happens if anyone loses their job.

 

Obviously I'm not being serious - I'm not Thai bashing, I'm just being honest and reporting what I hear - just about all the Thai's I've spoken to about corruption all say how disgusting it is. However, I'm pretty sure that some of them are taking part in it because some of them work for public bodies.  The things you report would be fairly easy to prove through an audit.  However, it would probably be equally as easy to pay off the auditors.

 

The one thing I've learned about Thai's are that they are not very good at lying or covering their tracks.  One probable reason for that is that nobody tries too hard to investigate those lies and cover ups.  For example, a certain Deputy Prime Minister claiming he borrowed 25 very expensive watches - obvioulsy he needed to know the time in 25 countries and didn't want to trust a Timex.

 

In the case of your step daughter's school - concealing where 200,000 of lunch fund money went would be pretty difficult to do and I doubt the school will have any real invoices for the minibuses hired for school trips. I don't think an honest auditor would take very long to nail the director but as its Thailand, the reality is that the auditors would probably notify the school they were coming a month beforehand. Obviously by the time the audit took place - the books will balance and the auditors will be a little richer.

 

In my book, corruption is far worse than stealing - it stifles the growth of a country and makes social mobility very difficult.  But it is, as your wife says - endemic in Thailand. I've heard that even some policemen pay to get a job where the position has lucrative 'side earnings'.

 

When I say Thai's are taking part in corruption, that includes being on the take themselves or by paying 'tea money'.  I've been in a car with a Thai when we were stopped at a police checkpoint and money has changed hands even though we'd done nothing wrong - when asked, many just pay!

 

Corruption takes place everywhere, even here in the UK but I simply cannot imagine a UK police officer stopping me and claiming I'd been speeding without any evidence whatsoever.  They seem to have stopped the 'police checks' just North of Korat on Highway 2 these days but I've been pulled in twice there before and presented with a photo of my car.  A photo with nothing on it, no speed, no reference number, nothing, is just that, a photo.  On both occasions I've simply told the nice officer that his photo proves nothing and after a little arguing, been waved on.  I'm pretty sure my Thai friends would have paid up.

 

Its a difficult one and I don't claim to have the answer to it but Thai's could make a start by refusing to take part in corruption.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 14, 2023 by KhaoYai

[wealthychef]

13 hours ago, scorecard said:

"

'Negotiation' of salaries is very likely not in the picture.

They are gov't employees and like most/all governments there's a published salary scale per level etc., not negotiable. 

Good point, but I say in response you have to start somewhere.  Awareness is the first step.  If the workers, having been informed, are unhappy with their situation, they can choose to agitate within whatever societal constraints they have to deal with.  Labor is always told "sorry, you can't do that" and constantly has to take to the streets to get their rights back. 

[wealthychef]

17 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

I simply cannot imagine a UK police officer stopping me and claiming I'd been speeding without any evidence whatsoever.

The corruption in the West seems to me of a different sort.  It's more fascistic, corporate and militarized than here, where it seems more organic and mafia-like.  

 

18 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Thai's could make a start by refusing to take part in corruption.

I think they need to start by publicly calling it out loudly, but there are laws against that right?  

[Andre0720]

18 hours ago, fittobethaied said:

This gal's salary is only a fraction of what they are able to rake in by way of corruption. My stepdaughter is a government teacher who manages the accounting for her school, and she tells me horror stories of how much money the director steals from the coffers. Krung Thai Bank gives them over 400,000 Baht per year for the children's lunch fund, and the director steals half of it. She works the teachers to death having them do tasks which are her responsibility while she steps out for "important meetings" that are NOT taking place. When the children go on school trips, the teachers have to pay for the vans out of their own pocket while the director pockets the money dedicated for the trip, and the list goes on and on. These people are nothing but thieves and thugs and deserve to be in prison for the atrocities committed against the teachers and students. My wife is also a former teacher, and she confirms that this type of behavior by school directors is endemic in the society and not just a one-off. I can't tell you the number of times I have seen my stepdaughter come home crying, and there's not a thing she can do about it. If she speaks out, she will lose her job. There's no such thing as an anonymous "whistleblower" here. If they file a complaint, it's widely apparent who is making the claim, so whistleblowing is non-existent. 

Oh well, corruption here is a way of life.

Seems like anyone who gets in a position to benefit from corruption or theft and fraud, will do it.

Also seems like the culture here is devoid of checks and balances, that would quickly flag situations where much money is not accounted for...

In a land where so many Mercedes Benz and BMW roam the streets. Where does all this money come from. Unpaid taxes. Of course, many Thais made lots of money from the increased land prices over the years. Should be taxed more.

And in a land where all I hear are words suggesting politeness, hehe. 'Na khap', 'Na Kha'', after every few words. I got allergic to this useless words tagged to any speech.

How about less fake politeness, and more protection of the people, protecting the money that is meant for education, and mostly, protecting people on the streets, providing 'safety', taking actions that would increase safety, not silly actions that are meant to extort money from the people, while doing nothing for the safety.

When tourists are stopped and made to pay a fine for not wearing a helmet, I always think, 'how in this world is that supposed to make me feel safe from the maniac driving on these streets.'.

LOS, land of selfishness....

[BangkokReady]

45 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

The one thing I've learned about Thai's are that they are not very good at lying or covering their tracks.  One probable reason for that is that nobody tries too hard to investigate those lies and cover ups.

Yes, the way "face-saving" culture works, Thais generally don't ask questions in the first place, then once they realise someone is making an excuse or was embarrassed by the subject, they immediately drop the subject, making some of of excuse like it was a misunderstanding or they were only joking.  (You can actually sometimes experience this in real time when you're talking with a Thai and they realise that a question has made you feel awkward.)

 

I think as well as not causing someone else to lose face, there's a kind of self-preservation thing where they don't want to make someone mad as there might be consequences.  And, of course, they would hope that they would be afforded the same level of face-saving should they be the focus of the conversation.

 

You can't really blame them for it, it's the culture they were raised in.

 

45 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

In the case of your step daughter's school - concealing where 200,000 of lunch fund money went would be pretty difficult to do and I doubt the school will have any real invoices for the minibuses hired for school trips. I don't think an honest auditor would take very long to nail the director but as its Thailand, the reality is that the auditors would probably notify the school they were coming a month beforehand. Obviously by the time the audit took place - the books will balance and the auditors will be a little richer.

Yes, I think everyone knows about it.  It's similar to the face-saving thing.  Everyone just knows to not mention it.  They're senior staff, and the junior staff are probably doing corrupt things of their own also.  It's the kind of thing where no one is going to complain as they might hope to end up in that position in the future.

 

They're both deeply ingrained cultural behaviours and there's clearly a reciprocal self-interest element.

[BangkokReady]

28 minutes ago, Andre0720 said:

Oh well, corruption here is a way of life.

Seems like anyone who gets in a position to benefit from corruption or theft and fraud, will do it.

Also seems like the culture here is devoid of checks and balances, that would quickly flag situations where much money is not accounted for...

In a land where so many Mercedes Benz and BMW roam the streets. Where does all this money come from. Unpaid taxes. Of course, many Thais made lots of money from the increased land prices over the years. Should be taxed more.

And in a land where all I hear are words suggesting politeness, hehe. 'Na khap', 'Na Kha'', after every few words. I got allergic to this useless words tagged to any speech.

How about less fake politeness, and more protection of the people, protecting the money that is meant for education, and mostly, protecting people on the streets, providing 'safety', taking actions that would increase safety, not silly actions that are meant to extort money from the people, while doing nothing for the safety.

When tourists are stopped and made to pay a fine for not wearing a helmet, I always think, 'how in this world is that supposed to make me feel safe from the maniac driving on these streets.'.

LOS, land of selfishness....

Who wants to be the first person to not benefit, only claim base salary, have to pay full price, pay full tax, follow the procedure fully, wait the normal wait time, etc.?

Edited May 14, 2023 by BangkokReady

[Dan O]

17 hours ago, rbkk said:

Experience. I worked for 15+ yrs in 3 different schools and all the director's (5) I personally knew were corrupt. It's sadly par for the course here. if your saying she is not corrupt now it is only a matter of time. The odd's of getting a job as a director of a school, at a young age, without a payment and before older more experienced candidates is extremely small. The Ministry of Education are the root cause.

Sadly its the same in almost all industries. I know people in most of the major industries and various departments in the G and they all have the same issue. Want a better job, want a promotion, want a better location you pay someone. You oversee projects and have to verify completion status, you sign the verification and payment voucher and someone gets their tea money from it. You oversee a project budget, 10 to 15% is built in for tea. Until more people stand up to speak to this corruption and expose it nothing will change because that's how their system economy is set up. The rural average person doesn't get any of this "economy" as its used up before it trickles down to their level as normal wages

[newnative]

Salary should be performance-based.  Although, if it was they would all be starving to death.

[joecoolfrog]

19 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Just part of the culture they are so proud of. It would be hard to find a culture as morally bankrupt as the Thais. It doesn't get lower that stealing off kids,

 

What does your stepdaughter who knows everything that goes do about it? Nothing I'd guess, which is indicative of why the situation has existed for decades and will exist to decades to come. Like so many things in Thailand, no-one actually cares enough to do anything. I'm not pointing the finger at your stepdaughter in particular but at everyone who just turns a blind eye to the scum running the schools.

To be fair to the stepdaughter , and indeed Thais in general , it's not easy to change the status quo when it is protected by guns and tanks.

[Bangkok Barry]

48 minutes ago, joecoolfrog said:

To be fair to the stepdaughter , and indeed Thais in general , it's not easy to change the status quo when it is protected by guns and tanks.

I don't think tanks and guns control how schools are run by corrupt directors.

[scorecard]

4 hours ago, Andre0720 said:

Oh well, corruption here is a way of life.

Seems like anyone who gets in a position to benefit from corruption or theft and fraud, will do it.

Also seems like the culture here is devoid of checks and balances, that would quickly flag situations where much money is not accounted for...

In a land where so many Mercedes Benz and BMW roam the streets. Where does all this money come from. Unpaid taxes. Of course, many Thais made lots of money from the increased land prices over the years. Should be taxed more.

And in a land where all I hear are words suggesting politeness, hehe. 'Na khap', 'Na Kha'', after every few words. I got allergic to this useless words tagged to any speech.

How about less fake politeness, and more protection of the people, protecting the money that is meant for education, and mostly, protecting people on the streets, providing 'safety', taking actions that would increase safety, not silly actions that are meant to extort money from the people, while doing nothing for the safety.

When tourists are stopped and made to pay a fine for not wearing a helmet, I always think, 'how in this world is that supposed to make me feel safe from the maniac driving on these streets.'.

LOS, land of selfishness....

Yes, quite common to take opportunities for corruption. Keep in mind that there's many situation where 'outsiders' have no chance at legitimately attaining a good position without a 'contribution' to the boss. In some gov't offices are staff all related to the boss. Meaning that 90+% of the staff are unqualifies for the job.

 

A twist, I worked for many years at a very large oil & gas facility on the easternseaboard. Large impressive opening ceremony attented by the province governor (and others).

 

After the ceremony the governor (spoke good English) appraoched the foreigner CEO and said 'I want senior positions created for all my young adult children (3 or 4), salary at least 100,000Baht a month and car and driver, start wihin 2 weeks'.

 

Foreign CEO froze, didn't know what to say, so he quickly introduced the most snr Thai manager from the joint venture Thai comapy (Thai 51% shareolder).

 

Thai snr was brave enough to push the request aside.

 

Governer very unhappy and from that day very serious lack of cooperation /serious delays in approvals etc., from the governor/governors office and all Thai gov't offices in the province.

 

Also one of the giant insurance companies who had written very large insurances on many aspects of the operation, suddenly the poicies all cancelled with no warning.  

 

Other locally based insurances companies refused to discuss. Eventually an offshore insurance giant agreed to write/start the same policies. 

Edited May 14, 2023 by scorecard

[Pink Mist]

A troll post baiting another member has been removed.

[KhaoYai]

6 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

Who wants to be the first person to not benefit, only claim base salary, have to pay full price, pay full tax, follow the procedure fully, wait the normal wait time, etc.?

Honest people, believe it or not.

[KhaoYai]

7 hours ago, wealthychef said:

I think they need to start by publicly calling it out loudly, but there are laws against that right?  

Oh, the crazy defamation law where the truth is no defence? Well yes but you would have to actually name someone or make it unmistakably clear who you were talking about.

[BangkokReady]

6 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Honest people, believe it or not.

Sure, but there aren't enough of them.

[BangkokReady]

3 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

4 hours ago, joecoolfrog said:

To be fair to the stepdaughter , and indeed Thais in general , it's not easy to change the status quo when it is protected by guns and tanks.

I don't think tanks and guns control how schools are run by corrupt directors.

I think Mr Coolfrog is perhaps suggesting that the system of corruption that permeates all levels of Thai society is prevented from changing by the military government.  I disagree.