Pay Rise For Private School Teachers: Thailand

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Pay rise for private school teachers

Supinda Na Mahachai

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Cabinet yesterday agreed in principle to increase the monthly incomes of teachers at private schools to Bt15,000.

Also, the Cabinet gave a green light to the resumption of the Income Contingent Loan (ICL) programme and agreed with the Education Ministry's proposal to change the name of the New-Breed Teacher project, Education Minister Suchart Tadathamrongvej said yesterday.

He said teachers at private schools who hold bachelor's degrees would receive Bt15,000 monthly income.

This measure would be effective from last January. To raise the incomes of 87,680 eligible teachers with an average salary of Bt10,428-Bt13,535, the ministry would increase payment of their living expenses so their monthly income would reach Bt15,000. This measure would require a Bt2.4-billion budget, but the Cabinet approved Bt1.2 billion to pay for the project. The private schools themselves would have to provide the remaining Bt1.2 billion.

The ministry also proposed increasing the salaries of newly recruited teachers at private schools to Bt11,680, which would require a budget of Bt695 million from January to September.

Suchart said the ICL programme would be implemented in educational programmes that face a shortage of students.

He added that he planned to replace the Student Loan Fund programme with the ICL programme.

According to Suchart, the New-Breed Teacher scheme would be renamed the Professional Teacher scheme.

-- The Nation 2012-05-02

[marquess]

It would be nice if salaries for teachers were raised across the board, salaries seem to have remained static for too long, I still see jobs being advertised at 30-35k the same as they were 12 years ago, but sadly the cost of living is not what it was 12 years ago. I know certain language institutions that have not raised their salaries for 7 years.

[culicine]

This will be interesting. Wonder if foreign teacher salaries will decrease to help pay for increases in Thai teacher salaries? The money has to come from somewhere...

[culicine]

*Deleted quote edited out*

What I am saying is that salary rise won't completely come from the government, and some will need to be funded by the schools themselves. And some foreigners, such as Filipino teachers, do earn less than 15K but that's beside the point.

from the article: "The private schools themselves would have to provide the remaining Bt1.2 billion" What I'm suggesting is that schools might cap, reduce, or cease to employ foreign teachers to pay for the increase in Thai teachers salaries.

Edited May 2, 2012 by Scott
Deleted quote edited out

[Scott]

Culicine, you raise and interesting point and that is, to some extent, exactly what is happening at some schools. The salaries for new teachers are being much more closely monitored and in some cases, lowered. Benefits are also being cut. I believe on one of the threads a while ago, teachers at one school were having their housing benefits cut.

I 'heard', and it is only a rumor, but from a rather reliable support, there was a day of industrial action by Foreign teachers at one school.

Don't get me started on the quality of the free food at one school I know.

[Fatherfluffybottom]

You bring yourself through university to get a salary of 15000 a month.....Ouch.

[RichardSlack]

15K does sound a bit harsh when some schools are paying foreign teachers 10 x that. In a couple of schools more.

[saroq]

15K does sound a bit harsh when some schools are paying foreign teachers 10 x that. In a couple of schools more.

What's harsh about it is the pitiful salary they pay local teachers and in fact the pitiful salary that they pay for almost any local occupation. But try to get a real teacher, not a 12 week TOFEL graduate, to work for 15K a month. If you want foreign expertise then you have to pay them a salary that makes it worth their while. If you just want someone in a language class then get a TOFEL graduate but if you want a teacher in an internationally accredited school it'll cost you a salary that makes it attractive enough for that teacher to work there. I don't see what's harsh about that. Do you think the foreign experts who built the infrastructure of Bangkok worked for local salaries? In fact a monthly salary of THB220,000 is only just keeping pace with a teacher's home salary, not the US obviously, but in other countries that value education. So a salary of THB150,000 a month is a bargain for the school in Thailand.

Edited May 2, 2012 by saroq

[saroq]

Culicine, you raise and interesting point and that is, to some extent, exactly what is happening at some schools. The salaries for new teachers are being much more closely monitored and in some cases, lowered. Benefits are also being cut. I believe on one of the threads a while ago, teachers at one school were having their housing benefits cut.

I 'heard', and it is only a rumor, but from a rather reliable support, there was a day of industrial action by Foreign teachers at one school.

Don't get me started on the quality of the free food at one school I know.

I wish you had got started. I don't understand what you mean by the underlined comment. Are you saying that teachers should be happy to work for low wages because they get free food?

[BigSkip]

Well to put out FIRST HAND info, my Lady teaches at a private school and gets paid a Grand Sum of 9,600b per month. (that’s after a 600b per month raise after the first year) She has a 4 year bachelor's degree & teaches English & IT. She is required to pay for all her Uniforms at 1000b each. Without a second income (mine), She would be living at poverty level! Who would really in their right mind, want to teach, put up with all the b.s. from the kids, work all the overtime grading papers and writing curriculums. I could go on and on, I think its a crime not to increase their pay..........

[belg]

so really, the quality of the teachers will also increase now they got paid more? i guess as much as all those 300 b labour people who suddenly excel in their work after years of doing a bad job, miracle thailand it is

[Scott]

My comment about the food had to do with the quality of the food, which at one school I know is not very good. It was sarcastic.

At some schools, there are cuts that are affecting the foreign teachers. The money to pay the Thai Teachers has to come from somewhere. Schools are labor intensive. If you raise the salaries, then the costs goes up significantly. The options are limited to increasing the tuition costs, increasing the class size.

Some schools I know have a fair amount of 'nonsense' positions. Too many kitchen staff, too many people employed to keep the place beautiful etc. These positions are lot cheaper, but with the recent increase to 300 baht, I am sure some places are feeling the pinch there as well.

[culicine]

so really, the quality of the teachers will also increase now they got paid more? i guess as much as all those 300 b labour people who suddenly excel in their work after years of doing a bad job, miracle thailand it is

The quality won't improve but I bet you the Thai teachers will be asked to do more! More hours, more gate duty, etc, especially if it their school that will be funding this increase.

[thaiedward]

Well to put out FIRST HAND info, my Lady teaches at a private school and gets paid a Grand Sum of 9,600b per month. (that’s after a 600b per month raise after the first year) She has a 4 year bachelor's degree & teaches English & IT. She is required to pay for all her Uniforms at 1000b each. Without a second income (mine), She would be living at poverty level! Who would really in their right mind, want to teach, put up with all the b.s. from the kids, work all the overtime grading papers and writing curriculums. I could go on and on, I think its a crime not to increase their pay..........

The handful of dust which remains indicates that a complacent workforce is preferable to an educated population which asks too many questions.

[Scott]

A post with a comment inside the quote has been deleted. This is not permitted. Please put your remarks outside the quote.

[Elfin]

I worked at a language mill in 2008, and went back this year only to find that the salaries had not only stayed the same for some, but had gone down for others. Full time foreign teachers were getiing less than 25k p/m for up to 38 HOURS Per Week FACE to FACE teaching, and only public holidays for annual leave!

Of course inflation keeps increasing every year too, but not foreign teachers pay and conditions.

Edited May 2, 2012 by Elfin

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Supply and demand folks.

As long as

- the Thai baht remains strong

- farang guys are willing to work for peanuts in order to stay for the sake of the girls

- the Thai market doesn't care about (or know how to assess) quality of instruction

the employers won't care about quality of teachers and the market rates won't need to rise.

[joorakee]

- farang guys are willing to work for peanuts in order to stay for the sake of the girls

I don't think that all those MP fans and Nana-addicts would be willing to settle down in the LOS on a permanent basis and work for salaries of 20-25k baht per month (they would be broke in 2 weeks if not sooner). They will visit the country on a more or less regular basis, but won't stay and work for peanuts.

IMO if a farang works in Thailand for relatively little money, he will do it for the sake of the warm climate, easy-going lifestyle etc., but not because of the girls (especially those from the bar scene).

[virtualtraveller]

This doesn't make sense, private schools are outside of the domain of the MoE so what business does the government have setting salaries, I'm guessing this breed of new private schools pay their teachers quite a bit more to get the best of a bad crop of teachers, and the govt has no say over what they pay, it's market related and doesn't come from the education budget.

[DonHo]

This doesn't make sense, private schools are outside of the domain of the MoE so what business does the government have setting salaries, I'm guessing this breed of new private schools pay their teachers quite a bit more to get the best of a bad crop of teachers, and the govt has no say over what they pay, it's market related and doesn't come from the education budget.

Our British friends consider government schools "private". Maybe one of them will explain that logic to us.

[culicine]

This doesn't make sense, private schools are outside of the domain of the MoE so what business does the government have setting salaries, I'm guessing this breed of new private schools pay their teachers quite a bit more to get the best of a bad crop of teachers, and the govt has no say over what they pay, it's market related and doesn't come from the education budget.

Unfortunately, private schools fall directly under the MoE and have to follow their rules and curriculum. Despite this, the government gives little in the way of financial support for private schools. I've found that private school (foreign) teacher get a generally higher salary than those of public (government) schools ("public" in the UK, is a private school here). However, the Thai teachers salaries are lower and they seem to me more open to abuse by their management, and generally get less benefits than those of government school teachers (pension upon retirement, etc).

[culicine]

- farang guys are willing to work for peanuts in order to stay for the sake of the girls

I don't think that all those MP fans and Nana-addicts would be willing to settle down in the LOS on a permanent basis and work for salaries of 20-25k baht per month (they would be broke in 2 weeks if not sooner). They will visit the country on a more or less regular basis, but won't stay and work for peanuts.

IMO if a farang works in Thailand for relatively little money, he will do it for the sake of the warm climate, easy-going lifestyle etc., but not because of the girls (especially those from the bar scene).

And 25K is far from sufficient for a Thai wife who wants to be supported in the lifestyle that she wants to become accustomed to

Previously, we had a teacher on 45K who could blow all of that in Pattaya in 2-3 weeks and be looking for handouts by the 4th week from colleagues.

No, your average school teacher won't be seen every week in bars.

[richard10365]

Can someone provide the link to this story from the Nation. I can't seem to find it.

[TerryLH]

"I'm guessing this breed of new private schools pay their teachers quite a bit more to get the best of a bad crop of teachers, and the govt has no say over what they pay, it's market related and doesn't come from the education budget."

Actually, the MOE does provide some support for private schools.

I think it's based on enrollment/attendance. There is probably some other criteria as well.

Many of the smaller private schools pay a little more to their Thai teachers a bit more just to be able to recruit them. Many Thai teachers working at private schools are just there until they can get into a government school and score more benefits.

Maybe some schools are starting to pay less now because they've realized that the quality of the work they've been getting is low, not what they expected for their money.