Studying In Thailand And Recognition Of Past Educational Qualifications

[t36ony]

So, i want to be a university student in Thailand. I have to go to the Ministry of Education to get 'Student status' by giving my school results. I gave them my CSE (Certificate of secondary education) results from 24 years ago. The lady said they are not GCSE (general certifcate of secondary education) or IGCSE (International GCSE). I told her i studied before it was changed and they are the same just the exams got revised and they added the word 'general'. This was not understood and basically i must have GCSE. So i sat there, my 10 or so years at school were not recognised as valid. I would have to produce 5 GCSE or IGCSE results which means 4500 baht a time (x 5) at the British Council. I am sure the lady at the counter never thought about this, my time and money. But what bother me more is that since school, i went to college and gained many certificates achieving my highest result of a Higher National Certificate (HNC) which is equivalent to 1st year of university and by far more than school GCSE. All these qualifications about 6 in all were never looked at. Having spent 1 hours trying to find a parking space in and around the Ministry of Education and spending the whole day getting there through traffic is was a bit annoying to be brushed off without someone understanding that i am a genuine person who wants to study and i have had an education. Shouldn't Thailand be encouraging students and realising that a diverse mixture of people may want to study here? Shouldn't they look at everything about a person's school and after school education then make a judgement (is he fit to learn)? If they want foriegn students shouldn't they understand them more? If anyone has any ideas in my case, it would be welcome to hear.

[PattayaParent]

I would try contacting the Ministry of Education in UK or the GCSE Board of Examiners and getting something from them that states that GSC was the former benchmark before the name was changed and is equivalent to the present GCSE (if not better due to the reported 'dumbing down' of present day exams.

[simon43]

Unfortunately, many Thais cannot think ;out of the box'. If the rules are 'GCSE', then that is what the lady needs to see. You are wasting your time trying to fight them on this.

However, I agree that your HNC is a higher level of qualification, and perhaps that is the qualification that you should ask them to accept, and then determine what additional paperwork will be needed for them to accept the HNC.

What are you wanting to study? Is it an international degree (taught in English)? Most Thai universities deal with admission criteria directly, and can make special allowance for mature students.

Simon

[t36ony]

Unfortunately, many Thais cannot think ;out of the box'. If the rules are 'GCSE', then that is what the lady needs to see. You are wasting your time trying to fight them on this.

However, I agree that your HNC is a higher level of qualification, and perhaps that is the qualification that you should ask them to accept, and then determine what additional paperwork will be needed for them to accept the HNC.

What are you wanting to study? Is it an international degree (taught in English)? Most Thai universities deal with admission criteria directly, and can make special allowance for mature students.

Simon

Yes, I want to study for a degree and it is taught in English. I guess i will have to try at the university.

[JimShortz]

Unfortunately your CSE exams were the lower level exams below "O" level standard. The newer GCSEs (in the UK only) and IGCSEs (available internationally) are considered direct (grade for grade) equivalents to "O" levels. A CSE grade 1 (the top CSE grade) was always regarded, in the UK, as being equivalent to a bottom grade "O" level pass (a C grade). If your CSEs are all grade 1 passes then you have a case, otherwise they are not equivalent - they didn't just add a "G".

Your HNC could be regarded as being equivalent to 5 "O" level, GCSE, or IGCSE passes, but only by people willing to recognise it as such. It is not a widely recognised qualification internationally I'm afraid...

Taking the IGCSEs at the British council is not quite such an easy option as you assert. Students work hard preparing for these examinations during a two year period and even a well educated adult would struggle to pass them without studying with a real focus on the course content (syllabus) for quite some time. To find out more about the course content, and download some past papers and mark schemes to have a go at, go to the Cambridge International Examinations website (www.cie.org.uk) and follow the IGCSE link. If you want more help and advice after that I will be happy to direct you to other resources to help you in your studies.

Good luck, and I hope you enjoy your studies - it does us all good to recognise that these days we all need to be "lifelong learners". I'm 40 and am soon to embark on my own new studies; tough but we can all do it!

[astral]

Are there any external degree courses from the UK that will accept you certificates?

[mca]

Maybe it's not what you're looking for at all OP and my apologies if so but I feel you'd be better off doing an Open University course

[Loz]

find the university you want to study at. tell them you want to study there. Let the dollar signs light up, then let THEM sort out the admin.

Simple.

When in Rome... :jap:

[F1fanatic]

find the university you want to study at. tell them you want to study there. Let the dollar signs light up, then let THEM sort out the admin.

Simple.

When in Rome... :jap:

Quite right. If you can afford it, you can get the qualification you want.....

CSE's are only recognised as a qualification that was offered to those that wouldn't pass the normal qualification.

If you have no money, you're stuffed as a CSE is worth nothing.

Sorry to be so blunt.

[JohnLeech]

Unfortunately your CSE exams were the lower level exams below "O" level standard. The newer GCSEs (in the UK only) and IGCSEs (available internationally) are considered direct (grade for grade) equivalents to "O" levels. A CSE grade 1 (the top CSE grade) was always regarded, in the UK, as being equivalent to a bottom grade "O" level pass (a C grade). If your CSEs are all grade 1 passes then you have a case, otherwise they are not equivalent - they didn't just add a "G".

GCEs were actually graded 1 to 9, with 1 to 6 being a pass; a CSE grade 1 was the official equivalent of a GCE 'O' level grade 6 (the lowest pass level) and way below any University entry standard. They are well below "high school graduation" level, which is A or AS level.

Although HNC now is a level 5 qualification, yours would probably be a level 4, awarded mainly for part-time vocational (technical) training. Very few universities will recognise it as equivalent to the first year of a Bacelor's degree.

If you just want to learn, then given your qualifications a Thai university seems a rather strange choice even if the course is in English.

If you just want a paper qualification, then try the University of Khao San road.

If you just want to go to a Thai university, or you need to go to qualify for a job in Thailand, then go direct to the university and flash the cash (as has been said).

Good luck.

[CWMcMurray]

I agree with some of the others who have advised to contact the University directly...

I studied at a Thai university and I never interacted with the Ministry of Education for anything....

I contacted the University and asked for an application. I then completed and submitted all requested documents as a transfer student. From your above post, you have advised that you have completed one yr of university already, so I presume that you should do the same.

Part of the requirements was a copy of my transcripts from my old University in the US along with course descriptions (so that the Thai University could determine if they would give credit for the courses taken at university in the USA).

All - in- all everything went relatively smoothly, although had to negotiate with one of the department heads on getting credit for some of the classes.

[simon43]

Agree with CWMcMurray. You should not need to liaise with the Ministry of Education at all. You should be speaking with the university.

Do you have a specific university and course in mind? Or is this still a general desire to study for a degree in Thailand? Do you want to study in order to obtain a qualification required for employment, or is this study for self-interest? (Note that if you want to attend a degree or post-grad degree purely for self-interest, and do not require the actual award of the degree after completing the course, then it is not usually necessary to provide any proof of existing qualifications. You just pay the course fees and attend the course.

Please do not take JohnLeach's advise to get a paper qualification from KSR. That would be a very serious error of judgement that could land you in jail!

Simon

[TerryLH]

"(Note that if you want to attend a degree or post-grad degree purely for self-interest, and do not require the actual award of the degree after completing the course, then it is not usually necessary to provide any proof of existing qualifications. You just pay the course fees and attend the course."

That's not how the good universities here work.

OP, take a look here

http://studyinthailand.org/

[t36ony]

Cheers everybody for your comments. Firstly, I will not go to Kao San Road. I am actually a little insulted to have that suggested to me. I certainly will check with the university again and if need be try and make a few waves by trying to speak to the director. At the end of the day It's all about understanding. By the way, i also have other qualifications (not all of them, below) which i checked with last night. A moments checking by someone else like i did last night will tell you how fit i am to study. And also i have already started the university course in Thailand and got mostly high grades for my courses so far. No bad for someone who the Ministry of Education did not listen to.

NVQ Level 2

(equivalent to 4 GCSEs at grade A-C)

GNVQ intermediate

(equivalent to 4 GCSEs: Grades A-C)

Higher National Certificate (HNC)

(equivalent to 1^st year at University)

[simon43]

That's not how the good universities here work.

Drat! So Chulalongkorn University must be a bad university then. When I studied for an MA in Thai Studies, I was offered the option of studying all the modules without providing proof of my previous qualifications at all, provided that I paid all the fees and did not want the paper qualification at the end....

I chose to provide proof of qualifications.

But in general terms, many universities across the world allow mature students to study courses, including degree and post-grad courses, without providing proof of existing qualifications. Some allow the student to study for self-interest and others allow formal graduation with award of the degree.

I think the OP can be classified as a mature student

T36only - what is the course that you are studying/wish to study?

Simon

Edited September 11, 2010 by simon43

[sparebox2]

I believe the Kao San Road thing mention above was a just a joke.

My child will be doing his IGCSE level this year. 5 passes is not difficult to get. To get Mor 6 equivalent cert, are there any compulsary subjects, or just any 5 subjects?

IGCSE examples are typically taken at 16. Does that mean one can go to Thai uni at 16?

Also IGCSE is way below uni requirement is all other countries (usually need a GCE 'A' level). Are we trying to say that Thai uni have an ultra low entry requirement?

Edited January 17, 2012 by sparebox2