International Schools - Fees

[think_too_mut]

I've been researching International school and while their charges are similar, some have fees that seem to be unrelated to anything other than being paid by companies.

One of more comprehensive sites that lists most of the schools and tries to extract facts about them in a standard form is:

http://www.isat.or.th/search.asp

For example, International Preparatory and Secondary School, Suk Soi 53, will charge me almost 400,000 baht for my 3 year old for the first year.

http://www.bkkprep.ac.th/02a/data/page/adm...l_Fees_2007.pdf

What is that "Registration Fee" of 90K? Is it so expensive to register a child into the school if there is a seat available?

Or is it something that companies just pay for their employees and no questions asked?

Or is it a fee that guarantees better retention rate - no school hopping if they all charge that money?

Whatever it is, I can't see what labor and expenses it has to cover.

[leisurely]

I think that there is a combination of reasons, obviously it is to stop people having a term here and a term there but also (certainly at my daughters) it is to pay for new buildings etc.

School fees are bloody expensive, but you can't put a price on either your childs happiness or future can you?

[think_too_mut]

School fees are bloody expensive, but you can't put a price on either your childs happiness or future can you?

They actually are not, when my wife told her friends, they all said "Eeeeeek!" and recommended some other school that is not even on the list.

She went there and saw great facilities, about 50/50 mix of foreign (Japanese, Korean, farang) and Thai children.

That school is about 80K (for the entire year, less that reg. fee at other places) and keeps kids until 8am - 3:30pm, have English program too.

Their web site is only in Thai and more like schoolboy's web page:

http://www.jindapong.ac.th

Still, I can't believe those high price chargers are that much better, other than their web sites.

Anyway, at 3yrs for a year, it won't ruin her for life even if she was sitting all day with her grandmother in Isaan.

When I understand better and see the value I would certainly not spare the money.

I'm just worried it is the same thing as in Tahiti where everything western is expensive out of proportion. The reason being, people who can afford it are French servants on perdiems and covered expenses and they don't question why the prices are so high - they don't pay themselves.

If they did, like me now, they would certainly ask why 1L of milk is 10 US$.

[PeaceBlondie]

I've been researching International school and while their charges are similar, some have fees that seem to be unrelated to anything other than being paid by companies.

One of more comprehensive sites that lists most of the schools and tries to extract facts about them in a standard form is:

http://www.isat.or.th/search.asp

For example, International Preparatory and Secondary School, Suk Soi 53, will charge me almost 400,000 baht for my 3 year old for the first year.

http://www.bkkprep.ac.th/02a/data/page/adm...l_Fees_2007.pdf

What is that "Registration Fee" of 90K? Is it so expensive to register a child into the school if there is a seat available?

Or is it something that companies just pay for their employees and no questions asked?

Or is it a fee that guarantees better retention rate - no school hopping if they all charge that money?

Whatever it is, I can't see what labor and expenses it has to cover.

Think too mutt, I've only ever compared prices of international schools for kids over 10 years of age, and never for preschoolers. Personally, I doubt whether a 3 year old needs an expensive program. Your daughter needs to be learning Thai and English (and any other language her parents speak a lot), but if she's already semi fluent in Thai and can keep learning English at home and around the moobahn, I would think a Thai nursery would be fine. Or, a Thai anubahn.

An American author made millions by writing a series of books based on, "Everything I ever needed to know, I learned in kindergarten." Even that's an exaggeration, and he was writing about 5 year olds. It's not as if 3 year olds learn nuclear science or math (counting to 20, perhaps).

[think_too_mut]

Personally, I doubt whether a 3 year old needs an expensive program. Your daughter needs to be learning Thai and English (and any other language her parents speak a lot), but if she's already semi fluent in Thai and can keep learning English at home and around the moobahn, I would think a Thai nursery would be fine. Or, a Thai anubahn.

That's where the problem emanates from: she is in a Thai nursery and only small kids have remained. All the kids of her age have been taken out and sent to schools - no peers to talk and play with.

Whatever the difference between the expensive and this school might be, I don't think it reflects too much, if at all , on a 3 yrs old.

They might be shocked she can already swim unsupported in deep water, jumps head first into the pool and rides a 2 wheel bike.

An American author made millions by writing a series of books based on, "Everything I ever needed to know, I learned in kindergarten." Even that's an exaggeration, and he was writing about 5 year olds. It's not as if 3 year olds learn nuclear science or math (counting to 20, perhaps).

I read, it is from 5-8 when most important lessons are learned. Myself, spent years 3-7 in kindergarten and remember only from year 6. Several of my life long friends that I am still in touch with remember nothing under age of 5.

[think_too_mut]

Ah, forgot to say....there are 185 teaching days at expensive schools...so, for 400,000B first year my daughter would be on 2,200 baht per day. Geez, in wife's village whole family is happy to have that money every 2 weeks.

Oh, and what a day it is? from 8:30 to 12:30 is not a day....only 4 out of 24 hours.

Edited July 8, 2007 by think_too_mut

[MrSquigle]

Thats ridiculous, my son 5yo...does 8.30 till 3pm and costs 36k by 3 terms and i consider that expensive.

[mrtoad]

If people spend the time looking around there are some very good schools which cater for younger kids, with good English programmes and at a fraction of the cost of some of the international schools here. In fact the fees, here are comparative to those in the west, and in some cases more expensive.

I have the same dilema next year when my daughter will be old enough to start Kindergarten, luckily I think that I have found a school which is nearby and has a good reputation with it's English programme, and the fees are more realistic.

[yom07]

Good business, isn't it ?

As long as expats' companies will continue to pay outrageous school allowance, i don't see any reason why somenone will not try to make money with it.

[pumpuiman]

It would be great if some of the posters would mention the names and locations of these affordable schools....I'm sure there will be a lot of interest.

Does anyone know of any reasonably priced schools in the Phimai area? I imagine Korat will be my best bet.

Edited July 8, 2007 by pumpuiman

[toasted]

You need to be very careful with schooling for children around this age. Personally I feel 3 is rather young, but not all children are the same. The best advice I've heard is to enrol your child when you feel they've outgrown the home. Some schools push the children too hard, often under pressure from parents keen for their kids to do well. At this age all they need to be learning is some constructive play and how to interact with other children of their age in a completely unthreatening environment. 400k Baht seems very steep for this.

[mrtoad]

You need to be very careful with schooling for children around this age. Personally I feel 3 is rather young, but not all children are the same. The best advice I've heard is to enrol your child when you feel they've outgrown the home. Some schools push the children too hard, often under pressure from parents keen for their kids to do well. At this age all they need to be learning is some constructive play and how to interact with other children of their age in a completely unthreatening environment. 400k Baht seems very steep for this.

I very much agree with this staement, my daughter is 2 at present, and I am happy for her to start school next year, but I want an environment where she is able to learn to interact with other children and enjoy being a child, whilst also learning a little bit.

My other two children stared going to Nursery at 6 months when I was living in England, which is quite normal, and thankfully we were very lucky to find good places, although it wasn't cheap - pretty much in the ball park of the 400k figure quoted earlier.

Pumpuiman, sorry can't really offer you any advice on schools in that area as I am based in Bangkok.

In my area, which is Phahonyothin, Attamit School offers a good English programme and is a nice sized school (not big) with a good environment, and reasonble prices. It is a Thai school, but there are a number of students there who are of mixed race. It also appears to do well in the league tables that are published in Bangkok, although I am not suggesting that these are infallable.

[samran]

trick is to marry an international school teacher. Your kids get educated free then

[think_too_mut]

trick is to marry an international school teacher. Your kids get educated free then

The trick could be - stay in your farangland and get that education for free.

Those expensive schools are not Eton college. Mostly, they are like an Intercontinental Hotel, glossy but with no soul.

Could any international school claim (or all of them piled up) a Nobel price winners they nurtured?

Some public schools in the West can boast that.

[Jai Dee]

Some off-topic baiting comments have been deleted from this thread.

[choppychugger]

Ah, forgot to say....there are 185 teaching days at expensive schools...so, for 400,000B first year my daughter would be on 2,200 baht per day. Geez, in wife's village whole family is happy to have that money every 2 weeks.

Oh, and what a day it is? from 8:30 to 12:30 is not a day....only 4 out of 24 hours.

geez, you could build a school a year with that....... interesting thread,,,

think bendix quoted you right on previous posts

trolls everywhere today

[Wolfie]

trolls everywhere today

Indeed

[t.s]

It would be great if some of the posters would mention the names and locations of these affordable schools....I'm sure there will be a lot of interest.

Does anyone know of any reasonably priced schools in the Phimai area? I imagine Korat will be my best bet.

hear hear, let us know some names.

also where is this jintapong school?

ts

[MrSquigle]

My kids school seems very good, very relaxed and he actually likes going to school every day....I hated it.

He started at 3, i did not want him to start that young, I started at 5 I think. I wanted him to be home with us more before committing him to a life of school for the next 12/15 years.

But it has done him wonders, now i am very glad we sent him, he has lots of frinds and plays a lot now with other kids. At home he does not get to play with other kids as the surrounding environment does not really have many kids and it is not like home where we played with every kid in the street. this is in Bkk, not upcountry where it would be different.

[think_too_mut]

It would be great if some of the posters would mention the names and locations of these affordable schools....I'm sure there will be a lot of interest.

Does anyone know of any reasonably priced schools in the Phimai area? I imagine Korat will be my best bet.

hear hear, let us know some names.

also where is this jintapong school?

ts

Nearest BTS is On Nut. From there, Sukhumvit Soi 77 and then inside...

Try if this link to the map is working:

http://www.jindapong.ac.th/corporate.php?im=51&ic=51

I'm not recommending it, I can't as I don't know....it's Thais recommended it to my wife, they send their kids there and are happy with the school.

Pretty much the way Thais would never recommend (may even try talk you away from) using Bumrungrad, Samitivej and other, as they say, money-printing establishments.

Edited July 12, 2007 by think_too_mut

[thaihome]

I don’t want to defend the fees at the major international schools, it does seem like a racket perpetuated all over the world, but it worth noting that people spoke of alternatives that had “good English programs”. The high fee international schools are in English and might have a “good Thai program”.

TH

[t.s]

I don’t want to defend the fees at the major international schools, it does seem like a racket perpetuated all over the world, but it worth noting that people spoke of alternatives that had “good English programs”. The high fee international schools are in English and might have a “good Thai program”.

TH

true, but my child is thai, and i want her basis in thai to be strong in the early years. She will be exposed to english constantly when she is not in school. i can give her a strong reading and writing background myself. Once she gets out of primary school then the formal english education can begin.

i have met too many luk kreungs who, while the speak thai fluently are at best semi literate.

Also, i have friends who are international school teachers as well as parents, and they are very concerned that their child will become like the majority of the kids they must deal with daily: elitist, spoiled, arrogant brats with no firm foothold in any culture. Given that he will get a free ride at the most expensive in Aisia, their fear says something.

Edited July 14, 2007 by t.s

[qualtrough]

Also, i have friends who are international school teachers as well as parents, and they are very concerned that their child will become like the majority of the kids they must deal with daily: elitist, spoiled, arrogant brats with no firm foothold in any culture. Given that he will get a free ride at the most expensive in Aisia, their fear says something.

While I wouldn't paint all Int's school students with the same brush, as someone who attended several international schools I can confirm that there is some truth to what your friends say. Many of the students at those schools are from families that move around the world every couple of years, father is busy with his high-pressure career, etc., factors that produce students with the traits listed above. Yes, you can find that in any school, but you don't need to pay USD 10,000+ a year for the privilege.

Edited July 14, 2007 by qualtrough

[alankatana]

Try Praht Thai School in Minburi -- new and very different...exciting too.

Very low fees for what you get.

www.prahtthai.com

[cnmltd]

Try Praht Thai School in Minburi -- new and very different...exciting too.

Very low fees for what you get.

In another thread you mentioned fees up to 170,000 Baht / year.

Certainly not "Very low fees ) for a Thai School

[thaigene2]

Yes the only trolling here is this guy and his Prat Thai school - in Min Buri for 170,000 yr. Why would anybody spend that? If I lived next door to you in Swamp Land I wouldn't spend that.

Come on people, let's see a list of EP schools in BKK - I shared some in the other thread - still too expensive for me with 100,000 B entry fees.

[thaigene2]

Also, i have friends who are international school teachers as well as parents, and they are very concerned that their child will become like the majority of the kids they must deal with daily: elitist, spoiled, arrogant brats with no firm foothold in any culture. Given that he will get a free ride at the most expensive in Aisia, their fear says something.

While I wouldn't paint all Int's school students with the same brush, as someone who attended several international schools I can confirm that there is some truth to what your friends say. Many of the students at those schools are from families that move around the world every couple of years, father is busy with his high-pressure career, etc., factors that produce students with the traits listed above. Yes, you can find that in any school, but you don't need to pay USD 10,000+ a year for the privilege.

I'd blame the parents for that.

Ironically, many of those parents also come from "elitist, spoiled, arrogant " backgrounds - that's why they are able to get the jobs they have at present - especially if they are from 'developing' countries - cause their daddies were General Whatsit who's sister-in-law and cousins seemed to get a lot of public-works contracts. You know Dr. this or Dr. that, but someone else wrote their thesis??

If you came from that kind of make-me-puke-up background what would you be like? (oops..sorry some of you ARE from that background..he, he).

[bow]

I pay about 70.000 for the first year in kindergarten for my 3 year-old daughter.

It is a private Thai school with many farang teachers.

My daughter loves it.

The school is good enough for a 3 year old.

[Blake7]

I heard Garden School near sathorn is good and cheap.

Hav eno direct experience myself though.

[esbobes]

Ah, forgot to say....there are 185 teaching days at expensive schools...so, for 400,000B first year my daughter would be on 2,200 baht per day. Geez, in wife's village whole family is happy to have that money every 2 weeks.

Oh, and what a day it is? from 8:30 to 12:30 is not a day....only 4 out of 24 hours.

Stop being a Cheap Caharlie

Education is important

You pay for what you get

Do you drink cheap homemade whisty?