Can Foreign Student Learn In Thai Government School?

[looma]

I need to know if my daughter who is French , live in Thailand since 12 years and study in Thai private school since kindergarten,can learn in Thai Government school.She will be in Matayom 4 next term.She wants to learn languages and there is no Private School who has this option in Trang,where we live,just a Thai Government school has this option.She has a non-Immigrant B visa trough me as she's not 18 years old.Can anyone help me to find an answer....Thanks for reading me.

[Scott]

Hopefully some of our posters who have experience with Gov't schools will be along and give you an answer.

[DragonQuest]

yes she can

[looma]

yes she can

In any?is it recognize??

[BlackArtemis]

I worked at a Gov't school and we had a few foreign students.

On that note, If I had kids would do everything in my power to ensure they never went to one.

Get a tutor or send her to a language school instead.

Edited March 10, 2010 by BlackArtemis

[onnut]

That is just not responsible parenting to send your child to a Thai Government School. Most of my staff come from these schools, jeez! The crap I put up with

Don't do it. There must be another option?

[Scott]

I was under the impression that many of the gov't schools were pretty good when you hit the upper mathyom level.

I admit this is an impression only. Perhaps some of you can clarify conditions at gov't schools for the OP.

[aras]

yess indeed i am curious too, why are they so bad according to you guys?

are the teachers illiterate lol

are the teachers touchy touchy like the priests/imams in religious schools in europe/us and the in middle east

airco is not strong enough or god forbids no airco att all?

Anyway seriously i really wonder, I have no kids but even if i had i wouldn't/couldn't pay 600 000 a year for elementary or lower secondary school fees ( i heard that's what they cost ,the international schools) bugger off i'll dam_n it home school them if necesary lol

[BlackArtemis]

Well my experience working in a well known government school (k-6) involved the following:

Students were beat/hit on a regular basis.

Teachers refused to accept corrections from students, sometimes resulting in a hitting.

I knew of one teacher who set up a lounge chair in her classroom and slept while kids did whatever they wanted.

If you did not pay for extra class after school or on Saturday with the homeroom teacher, your child's grades began to slip, they quickly rose when they began the tutoring, despite what their real abilities were.

Favoritism was rampant, if a child was labeled bad or dumb, he was labeled for good and was graded differently than a "good" student.

Now we bring in the idea of languages, if you expect a Thai government teacher to teach your child a language other than Thai, go read some of the horror stories about Thai English teachers, just substitute whatever language you want.

These examples are not true for all Government teachers, but true for enough that I would stay away.

Aras: There are plenty of international schools that are under 100K for k-6. I know of one school that costs about $100,000 for K-12 but there is also one that costs $40,000 in the same town. Both are fantastic schools.

Further more if you expect to have children go to some of the Thai private schools (which some are good, but no substitute for an international school) or one of the few high up Thai government schools, be ready to bribe your kid's way in, at a cost of 300-500k Baht in case they don't make the scores/lottery.

As for Homeschooling, this is not a problem for non-Thais. However if they are Thai (or half) it is much harder, there are only a handful of homeschooled children in the Kingdom, it is very new and you must teach to the MoE standars and syllabus, which you purchase from them. I also believe they have to take all the same standardized tests as regular students.

I may sound like an asshol_e saying this, but here goes. If you can not afford to send your child to an international school, do not expect them to perform on the same level as students from your own country, nor have doors open for them as if they had a western education. If you are OK with the idea of you child graduating from a Thai school and going to a Thai University, then it's OK.

I am also not stating that a Child will not succeed unless they go to a Thai School, I know many Thais who graduated from schools and then went on for their BA or MS in the US, my own Wife went to a private school did her BA at CMU and is now getting ready to do her MS here in the states.

Also not all Thai Universities are Bad, Chula, Mahidol, and Tammasat are decently ranked. I have even been considering a MS in Industrial Ecology at Mahidol when I return.

But the fact still remains that life will be easier and they will have more opportunities if they study at an international school.

Cliffnotes:

Many Thai Teachers are underqualified, burn out, and hit students

Tutoring is a better way to go

International Schooling is the best way to go, do what ever you can to afford it

If you can't that doesn't mean your child will not succeed in life.

I talk too much.

[bow]

They are not all very bad, but you need to check out the school very carefully. Be prepared to pay "tea money", but remember that that must be done via a Thai person. You can't go round handing out bank notes yourself.

If your child is going to study at a Thai university in Thailand, she must go to a school where the main language of instruction is Thai. If you send her to a French or English school in Bangkok she wouldn't have a clue what to do at the Thai university entrance tests.

[looma]

I worked at a Gov't school and we had a few foreign students.

On that note, If I had kids would do everything in my power to ensure they never went to one.

Get a tutor or send her to a language school instead.

Depends in which school...they're not all the same!!!I did work in different schools in Thailand,and they 're all different!!

[looma]

That is just not responsible parenting to send your child to a Thai Government School. Most of my staff come from these schools, jeez! The crap I put up with

Don't do it. There must be another option?

Sorry,but this wasn't the question!!!

[TerryLH]

"If your child is going to study at a Thai university in Thailand, she must go to a school where the main language of instruction is Thai. If you send her to a French or English school in Bangkok she wouldn't have a clue what to do at the Thai university entrance tests."

Most of the better universities here have international programs that teach in English.

They recruit students that do not speak, read or write Thai, so their entry exams are in English.

Those programs cost more, but not that much more. Very reasonable in most cases.

http://studyinthailand.org/international_e...ersity_program/

This doesn't address the OP's question, but might be useful to him in the future.

[BlackArtemis]

I worked at a Gov't school and we had a few foreign students.

On that note, If I had kids would do everything in my power to ensure they never went to one.

Get a tutor or send her to a language school instead.

Depends in which school...they're not all the same!!!I did work in different schools in Thailand,and they 're all different!!

If you worked at some, then you should have known the answer to your own question.

Furthermore, despite the fact that there may be a few good Gov't schools out there, there is a reason why so many try to get their kids out of them, because on a whole they are worse off.

Is she currently studying in English, French, or Thai? If she is studying in English or Fench, why switch her over to a Thai curriculum so she can study a second language.

There are plenty of private tutoring centers teaching Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, and German.

[marty147]

I know some good Thai teachers at my (Government) school but the majority are only in the profession for the pension benefits and access to easy credit. They go to class late and leave early. They play videos in class so the students can 'learn English'! I proof read their examinations and highlight the grammar mistakes but they don't get corrected. I could go on and on.

Most of my classes are 45-50 students but a few are 'only' 30

I love teaching but the crappy attitude of 'some' teachers can become frustrating.

If I had children, I would do everything in my power to keep them out of the government academic system, even if it meant tutoring them at home. However, if you have found a good program in a good school then you are very fortunate but I doubt that it will be as good as it seems on the surface.

[looma]

I worked at a Gov't school and we had a few foreign students.

On that note, If I had kids would do everything in my power to ensure they never went to one.

Get a tutor or send her to a language school instead.

Depends in which school...they're not all the same!!!I did work in different schools in Thailand,and they 're all different!!

If you worked at some, then you should have known the answer to your own question.

Furthermore, despite the fact that there may be a few good Gov't schools out there, there is a reason why so many try to get their kids out of them, because on a whole they are worse off.

Is she currently studying in English, French, or Thai? If she is studying in English or Fench, why switch her over to a Thai curriculum so she can study a second language.

There are plenty of private tutoring centers teaching Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, and German.

My daughter was learning In Thai Private school .She'is TOTALLY fluent in Thai as she did start Kindergarten in Thailand.And I can tell you that she's a good std,and a very good child,with lots of good manners.She 's never been beaten by her teacher,and SHE wants to learn in Thai school...

Now the problem is that the only college in my town who has Languages option,it's a good college,well known here but a gouvernmental one!!all the others have only Math or science (in matayom 4,stds have to choose an option).So is why ,I was wondering if it was possible 4 foreigners to learn in a Thai government school,and if it will be recognize when she will go to University because as U know,foreigners don't have house registration(tabian bahn).

Thanks 4 ur time and advices!!!

[BlackArtemis]

Oh, I have no input about your daughter, if you say she is a good student I have no reason to not believe you.

Since she is fluent in Thai, she will have no trouble passing the entrance exams. If everyone is happy, do it. But if she starts to say how easy the classes are, and there seems to be less of a push, I would worry.

The only problem I can foresee is that if she wants to enter a Thai University in the Thai programs, on paper a change from a private school to a Government school may raise a few eyebrows.

However this wouldn't matter if she plans on studying abroad or in the English programs at a Thai university.

Furthermore I have a question, which stems from our differing vocabularies.

For me, being American, a college means a 4 year school that offers undergraduate degrees and usually very few to no. (Universities offer undergraduate & graduate)

Are you referring to a matayom, a vocational school, or something else entirely?

I hope you and your daughter all the luck. I am sure she will do fine no matter what she chooses.

[otherstuff1957]

While there are many horror stories about Thai government schools, it must be remembered that there is a wide variation in quality between different schools. Also, many schools have EP or Gifted programs where the students will have smaller classes and (hopefully) a better quality of education than the students in the regular program.

The sad truth about the government schools is that most of them simply don't have the resources (teachers and room) to have class sizes smaller than 50 students. It takes an exceptional student to learn under circumstances like that. Having said that, I've known a few exceptional students who DID get better than average educations at gov. schools. However, they were motivated students who did a lot of learning on their own and had a lot of parental support.

[looma]

I must thank you all for ur support,advices,and ideas.My daughter have been finally accepted to pass the exam entrance.So if she passes that one,she will be in Matayom 4 in a government school,in the "languages section",that mean that of course her study will be in Thai,but will be learning French,English and chinese (with native speakers),in the class they have 35 stds,but only 20 in their french & chinese classes.

She's very happy,as it's what's she wants to.

Thanks again and wish all the best to all of you.

Looma

[TerryLH]

"The only problem I can foresee is that if she wants to enter a Thai University in the Thai programs, on paper a change from a private school to a Government school may raise a few eyebrows."

I don't understand that. Do you foresee a problem, or just the raised eyebrows.

Here in Isaan a quick raising of the eyebrows often denotes approval.

The word 'college' is used in Thailand differently than most of us use it. They use it to refer to high schools. It took me a bit to get my head around that one.

[BlackArtemis]

"The only problem I can foresee is that if she wants to enter a Thai University in the Thai programs, on paper a change from a private school to a Government school may raise a few eyebrows."

I don't understand that. Do you foresee a problem, or just the raised eyebrows.

Here in Isaan a quick raising of the eyebrows often denotes approval.

The word 'college' is used in Thailand differently than most of us use it. They use it to refer to high schools. It took me a bit to get my head around that one.

In Thailand it would be viewed as a "you couldn't hack it at the better school and dropped down, so what makes you believe you can handle our university" But as I said, it might only raise eyebrows and not concern.

[Sisaketmike]

Well my experience working in a well known government school (k-6) involved the following:

Students were beat/hit on a regular basis.

Teachers refused to accept corrections from students, sometimes resulting in a hitting.

I knew of one teacher who set up a lounge chair in her classroom and slept while kids did whatever they wanted.

If you did not pay for extra class after school or on Saturday with the homeroom teacher, your child's grades began to slip, they quickly rose when they began the tutoring, despite what their real abilities were.

Favoritism was rampant, if a child was labeled bad or dumb, he was labeled for good and was graded differently than a "good" student.

Now we bring in the idea of languages, if you expect a Thai government teacher to teach your child a language other than Thai, go read some of the horror stories about Thai English teachers, just substitute whatever language you want.

These examples are not true for all Government teachers, but true for enough that I would stay away.

Aras: There are plenty of international schools that are under 100K for k-6. I know of one school that costs about $100,000 for K-12 but there is also one that costs $40,000 in the same town. Both are fantastic schools.

Further more if you expect to have children go to some of the Thai private schools (which some are good, but no substitute for an international school) or one of the few high up Thai government schools, be ready to bribe your kid's way in, at a cost of 300-500k Baht in case they don't make the scores/lottery.

As for Homeschooling, this is not a problem for non-Thais. However if they are Thai (or half) it is much harder, there are only a handful of homeschooled children in the Kingdom, it is very new and you must teach to the MoE standars and syllabus, which you purchase from them. I also believe they have to take all the same standardized tests as regular students.

I may sound like an asshol_e saying this, but here goes. If you can not afford to send your child to an international school, do not expect them to perform on the same level as students from your own country, nor have doors open for them as if they had a western education. If you are OK with the idea of you child graduating from a Thai school and going to a Thai University, then it's OK.

I am also not stating that a Child will not succeed unless they go to a Thai School, I know many Thais who graduated from schools and then went on for their BA or MS in the US, my own Wife went to a private school did her BA at CMU and is now getting ready to do her MS here in the states.

Also not all Thai Universities are Bad, Chula, Mahidol, and Tammasat are decently ranked. I have even been considering a MS in Industrial Ecology at Mahidol when I return.

But the fact still remains that life will be easier and they will have more opportunities if they study at an international school.

Cliffnotes:

Many Thai Teachers are underqualified, burn out, and hit students

Tutoring is a better way to go

International Schooling is the best way to go, do what ever you can to afford it

If you can't that doesn't mean your child will not succeed in life.

I talk too much.

You can't say that all Thai English teachers are not qualified enough to do a good job. I used to work at a primary school for three years and it's true that they hit the kids sometimes pretty bad, like animals……..

Being at a high school for two years now made me understand that there's no more physical violence. Good schools are hiring young energetic teachers who mostlty are doing a very good job in all subjects.

There's a university in Ubon Ratchatani with a very good reputation, a research was showing that this particular university had topped places like Chula and other well-known, but very expensive institutions.

We've got exchange students from all over the world at our school and I'm pretty sure you'll find a good high school for your daughter soon. As a matter of fact, there will be many changes, more languages will be taught in the near future. Good Luck!

Edited April 6, 2010 by Sisaketmike

[TerryLH]

"...you couldn't hack it at the better school and dropped down"

In many cases it's an unwarranted assumption by the public that a private school is better than a government school.

The same assumptions are also often made when comparing private and government hospitals.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. You have to look at each situation.

The people involved in admissions at the universities usually understand what's going on with the high schools. That's one of the reasons that admission policies/procedures have changed over the last couple of years.

[BlackArtemis]

Hmmm, I made a reply after Sisakt..

Anyways, I didn't say all Thai English teachers were bad, i said many.

There are diamonds in the rough in Thailand when looking for public schools.

And I would also say that just because the King and Queen level classes put out good students, this does not reflect the entire school. Many Thai schools tract their students. The quality of teaching greatly differs between classes and the kids learn right away who are the dumb ones and who are the smart ones and if it is worth it to try. Any school system that has this at the core is not a good school despite where ever their top few classes go off to.