Hey Folks,

I was recently told of some new rule from the MOE saying that teachers who are teaching in EP or bilingual programs must now possess either a Bachelor's in education or a Bachelor's in any subject plus 15 credits in the education field. Teachers at government schools with basic English conversation programs only need a Bachelor's in any subject.

Knowing how often the rules change and how communication isn't so great in many schools here, this may be just another rumor in the ESL industry. Has anybody else heard of this new rule?

This has been a rule and a rumor for more than a year now. The EP and bilingual programs are, of course, more demanding of teacher qualifications. A true authentic real actual international school would require those quals as a minimum. A mere EP or bilingual school can't afford to get teachers with those quals if they're paying less than 80,000 baht every month.

Nobody knows. Absolutely not one single person in Thailand seems to actually really know for sure. They cannot even show you an official law or regulation from the MoE. Even if they could (and it would be in Thai, or an unreliable translation), it cannot be enforced by mere EP or bilingual schools paying less than 80K.

Also, nobody seems to really know how you get those credits if you're seriously trying to earn them. Do you get an M.Ed. from a Thai university? Do you attend Dr. Somchat's evening and weekend school for two years and 200,000 baht? Nobody knows. Thailand has all kinds of unenforced laws on its books. This country simply doesn't pay high enough salaries in government schools to command those kinds of qualifications.

If you're applying at some school that requires this and you don't have it, and you can't convince them to hire you, go elsewhere. Once you've worked at a good school for more than a year and they want to keep you, they won't be SERIOUS enough about this requirement, to let you go, and they'll keep you.

"Rumours" - it was a good song by Fleetwood Mac, but it doesn't work well in real life.

Precisely what he said. It's been going around for years now!

Like most things here I'll believe it when I see it!

Try the search button at the bottom of the page type in "credits"

Thanks for the info guys...sounds like just another rumor in the ESL field. Although salaries have increased, they certainly are nowhere near the point where schools can really pick and choose. The conditions in many schools regarding hours/etc are not up to par with the salries they're offering. There is a major shortage of teachers in Thailand so schools are always looking. In the West it would be difficult to get a job without either a Bachelor's in education or at least a Bachelor's in the subject you want to teach plus some credits in education. When you think about it, how many foreign residents actually have those credentials? Most of us who have done any kind of TEFL or TESOL course (myself included) will admit that it provides only an overview of teaching English or whatever subject to non-native speakers and doesn't really prepare you to walk right into a classroom and deliver a decent lesson. These courses do help, but only some experience will enable you to teach effectively.

Despite the MOE getting tougher on rules regarding foreign teachers, it's still easy to get a job here...it's very often a matter of choosing which one is the best for you and any family you have. My mother always said, "beggars can't be choosers" and schools are begging these days. That gives us some power to bargain for better salaries/working condtions.

My school brought this up a few months ago and i posted on TV at that time. No-one knows anything about it.

My school tried to enforce it for awhile turning down quite alot of people for this term as they didn't have these qualifications. However, in the last week they've had to do a u-turn to fill a couple of places. Typical and exactly how everyone predicted !

As Peaceblondie says, bi-lingual schools and ELP's can't afford to pay the wages that people with these qualifications command.

Lawnmower...your school sounds like a typical school with an EP or bilingual program; they often aim high in terms of credentials but as the beginning of the academic year apporaches they find themselves struggling to fill positions. They often end up taking the same types of people they initially turned down. It's always a good laugh to read some of these ESL job ads that want you to work like a slave yet offer you a crap salary.