Education In Thailand

[abbeyman]

Hello Forum friends

Sorry if this topic has been discussed before but I've not been a forum member long.

Hopefully within a month, myself, my Thai wife & 2 young kids will be moving to Thailand from England, possibly looking to live in Korat, maybe in the Wang Nam Khieo area. Although my kids( aged 10 & 8) understand some Thai, as my wife speaks to them in the language, their spoken Thai is minimal ( still more than mine though). Obviously, we will be looking to put them in a school at some point. Unfortunately, an International school seems to be out of our budget, assuming there are any in that area. I'm sure we're not the first people to uproot kids to Thailand who have limited speaking ability in that language. Can anybody who may have been in the same position please give me some advice, as this is my biggest worry about moving there.

I know all parents want to give their kids the best possible start in life, (education wise), and they're both doing really well in school here in England. I'm not too sure about the standard of schooling in Thailand and I know many people around the world send their kids to England to be educated. My worry is will their level of knowledge be as high in 5 years time as it might have been in England. My question is, am I being selfish in not thinking about their future. Any advice would be very much appreciated.

[JurgenG]

The area you want to move to is very nice but is an intellectual desert.

Your kids will have to go to school to Bangkok or you need to consider home schooling.

What are you going to do there ?

[abbeyman]

Hi Jurgen

I have taken early retirement from work and England is just too expensive to live in now so I'm planning to retire in Thailand.

[Loz]

oxymoronic title! nice start. pluk panya is in korat and should be top of your list to check. english programs will take them too. cheaper.

[Thongkorn]

Hi Jurgen

I have taken early retirement from work and England is just too expensive to live in now so I'm planning to retire in Thailand.

i think that when you change your money from £ to bart its not that cheaper.

[roamer]

"I know all parents want to give their kids the best possible start in life, (education wise), and they're both doing really well in school here in England."

If that is the case then stay in the UK. The changes the kids will encounter in such a move are tremendous. Even if they were fluent in written & spoken Thai the difference in the education systems is immense, without that fluency moving to Khorat is a massive leap into the unknown for them.

I think also you should look again at your reasons, if as you say your finding it hard to live in the UK then moving to a country that has no welfare system is not likely to make it any better, your doing so at a time when many expats are thinking of moving back to the UK because they find LOS less and less unaffordable.

Bottom line ? The Thai educational system is pretty near the bottom in SE Asia in many aspects, light years away from what they are receiving at present. If your set on moving then you will do so but I really think you might be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.

[Ijustwannateach]

The better Thai public schools that I know of are practically all in Bangkok. That's not to say it is impossible to succeed at public schools outside Bangkok, but I think it reduces your odds. It's not impossible that there are some good private schools out in Korat, but still you won't be getting the best that Thailand has to offer, and even if you did that would probably be touch-and-go compared to a good UK education. On the other hand, it would be valuable social contact for your kids in Thailand.

[JurgenG]

oxymoronic title! nice start. pluk panya is in korat and should be top of your list to check. english programs will take them too. cheaper.

Korat is 80 km from WNK. do you really want to drive 160 km a day just to take your kids to school ?

WNk is a very nice place but very isolated. Furthermore the noise pollution from all the cheap resorts that have appeared recently is ruining the whole experience. The land is also nowadays way too expensive, from 30K per rai 10 years ago, it's now 400K for a cassava field in the middle of nowhere to 1 million for a good spot on the main road. And most of the lands have no paper !

Along the road leading to Khao Yai, there are nice developments, but we are talking long term investments, not cheap retirement.

Sorry too be so negative, but I don't think WNK is the right place to raise young children. For a week end house, there are definitively nice spots but they are not cheap anymore, but to live full time I would chose a place closer to a big town

[stickman]

Unless you spend big money on one of the better international schools in Bangkok, the quality of education your kids will get in Thailand simply won't compare to what they would get in England. Frankly, the quality of education in Thailand is poor and you may well be doing your kids a massive disservice by uprooting them from the UK to Thailand.

A good number of people I know have moved from Thailand to the West because they knew the education their kids would get in their homeland would allow the kids to have the best chance at a great future. I hear of few people going the other way - and those that do put their kids into an international school.

I hate to say it, but for the sake of your kids (and the fact that you said that an international school education is out of your budget) I would suggest you rethink things. Moving to Thailand won't do anything for your kids' futures...

[Kilgore Trout]

Getting a good internet connection and home schooling is probably your best option

[roamer]

Getting a good internet connection and home schooling is probably your best option

Your for real right ? Assuming we get past the "good internet connection" , which many in LOS beg for, who is going to do the home schooling?

And in what language ? Total rubbish.

[Kilgore Trout]

Getting a good internet connection and home schooling is probably your best option

Your for real right ? Assuming we get past the "good internet connection" , which many in LOS beg for, who is going to do the home schooling?

And in what language ? Total rubbish.

You are clearly out of touch with reality and have no clue about education. Take it from a certified western elementary teacher with a masters degree who has lived here for 10 years.

BTW, the parents do the home schooling smart guy. Read this article link

I encourage you to disagree with me if you have a good point but your post just makes you sound like an idiot.

[rotary]

Getting a good internet connection and home schooling is probably your best option

Your for real right ? Assuming we get past the "good internet connection" , which many in LOS beg for, who is going to do the home schooling?

And in what language ? Total rubbish.

You are clearly out of touch with reality and have no clue about education. Take it from a certified western elementary teacher with a masters degree who has lived here for 10 years.

BTW, the parents do the home schooling smart guy. Read this article link

I encourage you to disagree with me if you have a good point but your post just makes you sound like an idiot.

I guess it depends on ones definition of a good education.......It seems possible from my experience in Thailand to get a good education with the Thai school and some home education combined.

[MikeyIdea]

The area you want to move to is very nice but is an intellectual desert.

Your kids will have to go to school to Bangkok or you need to consider home schooling.

What are you going to do there ?

I consider this totally wrong, there are several private schools in Korat that are OK

[MikeyIdea]

"I know all parents want to give their kids the best possible start in life, (education wise), and they're both doing really well in school here in England."

If that is the case then stay in the UK. The changes the kids will encounter in such a move are tremendous. Even if they were fluent in written & spoken Thai the difference in the education systems is immense, without that fluency moving to Khorat is a massive leap into the unknown for them.

I think also you should look again at your reasons, if as you say your finding it hard to live in the UK then moving to a country that has no welfare system is not likely to make it any better, your doing so at a time when many expats are thinking of moving back to the UK because they find LOS less and less unaffordable.

Bottom line ? The Thai educational system is pretty near the bottom in SE Asia in many aspects, light years away from what they are receiving at present. If your set on moving then you will do so but I really think you might be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.

Sorry but the above is another post that I also don't agree with.

I know all parents want to give their kids the best possible start in life, (education wise), and they're both doing really well in school here in England.

Good, then you should really consider some Asian education as many more opportunities are going to be in Asia than in Europe when they have finished school.

Consider this

A toddler today will finish university in 20 years time, she will then work for 40 years after that. Half way down this toddlers working life, that's 40 (forty) years from now by the way, China will be the world leader economically, India will be second and America and the EU will have struggled to stand still economically for the last 20 years. The Asian economies on overdrive driven by several billion diligent people who are pushed forward not only by the positive feeling of living in a country where things gets better every year, but also by an improved educational system will have taken over the world economy. America and the EU will still be powerful of course but it is going to be at the level of struggling to stand still.

Part of the education in a good bilingual school will make a small difference academically and will give the kids the advantage of having one western foot and one eastern foot and the ability to feel at home in both societies, not only be able to bridge the cultural differences between east and west but also naturally understand them. I see education in a bilingual school as an opportunity for my daughter

Good Luck

PS

I recommend reading this thread, quite a few goods things to consider http://www.thaivisa....-and-tradition/

Good Luck Daddy

DS

Edited November 18, 2010 by MikeyIdea

[SantiSuk]

Good reposte, MikeyIdea - maybe a little optimistic, but more balanced than the 'Thailand is fcuked' brigade.

[fletchsmile]

There's always a lot to consider in this, and I think if we're honest no one place, school or system is better for everything than anywhere else. They all have prons and cons, with some having more pros/cons than others. Parents quite naturally do try and justify their own choices.

My views:

There are a hel_l of a lot of factors to weigh up. If simplifying, and just in terms doors that will be opened and opportunities or choices they will give kids for the future:

In Thailand, international schools will generally lead to more opportunities in future life than bi-lingual which will open more opportunities than Thai state schools.

A free education in UK will generally open more doors than a free education at a Thai state school. The quality and standards are generally higher in UK.

A Bangkok based education in Thailand will generally lead to more choices than an up country education in Thailand. Unfortunately Thai society is far from equal. If you're measuring life in terms of careers and education grades Bangkok people have much more chances than up country, and certain ethnic minorities do better than others.

Mikey raised a valid point on the shifting of world power to the East from the West. There is some merit in that. However, bear in mind the inequality in Thai society, and many Thais of this generation, and the next will probably not see substantial benefits from it. Power, wealth, money, highest profile careers will remain in the hands of the minority in Thailand.

It's sad to say, but in summary the career opportunities in Thailand for most kids educated at Thai schools in Isaan, are very limited.

I know many people from say UK state schools outside the capital that have achieved high levels of career success throughout Asia and indeed globally. I don't know many Thai kids from Isaan that have risen thru the state system to similar heights. Both countries have populations of around 60 mio. I wish it weren't that way, but that's been my experience for a decade or so. The positive thought to leave you with though, is it can be done and I have seen successes even if not as easy as coming from the NE in UK, compared to NE in Thailand

Edited November 18, 2010 by fletchsmile

[MikeyIdea]

There's always a lot to consider in this, and I think if we're honest no one place, school or system is better for everything than anywhere else. They all have prons and cons, with some having more pros/cons than others. Parents quite naturally do try and justify their own choices.

My views:

There are a hel_l of a lot of factors to weigh up. If simplifying, and just in terms doors that will be opened and opportunities or choices they will give kids for the future:

In Thailand, international schools will generally lead to more opportunities in future life than bi-lingual which will open more opportunities than Thai state schools.

A free education in UK will generally open more doors than a free education at a Thai state school. The quality and standards are generally higher in UK.

A Bangkok based education in Thailand will generally lead to more choices than an up country education in Thailand. Unfortunately Thai society is far from equal. If you're measuring life in terms of careers and education grades Bangkok people have much more chances than up country, and certain ethnic minorities do better than others.

Mikey raised a valid point on the shifting of world power to the East from the West. There is some merit in that. However, bear in mind the inequality in Thai society, and many Thais of this generation, and the next will probably not see substantial benefits from it. Power, wealth, money, highest profile careers will remain in the hands of the minority in Thailand.

It's sad to say, but in summary the career opportunities in Thailand for most kids educated at Thai schools in Isaan, are very limited.

I know many people from say UK state schools outside the capital that have achieved high levels of career success throughout Asia and indeed globally. I don't know many Thai kids from Isaan that have risen thru the state system to similar heights. Both countries have populations of around 60 mio. I wish it weren't that way, but that's been my experience for a decade or so. The positive thought to leave you with though, is it can be done and I have seen successes even if not as easy as coming from the NE in UK, compared to NE in Thailand

Good post, agree

2 clarifications, I wasn't looking at only Thailand when I wrote my post and my experience is also that e.g. international school etc is favoured but only for the second employer or so. I work for a big multinational in Bangkok and we do certainly not select based on school, it's merits other than school name. Thai companies would be different for sure and good name / international school matters much more

I think the importance of Asian background will only get bigger, it is very possible to get good positions coming from only western background today but I ask myself why it should be equally possible in 25 years time. Asian education will get much better in that time

?

Edited November 18, 2010 by MikeyIdea