Foreign Teachers Flocking To Thailand

[george]

Foreign teachers flocking to Thailand

With boom in international schools driven by growing local demand, teachers from the West are commanding large salaries

BANGKOK - Thailand has emerged as the country with the highest number of international schools in the region and a preferred destination for teachers.

Foreigners who work as teachers here say they enjoy a quality of life that is superior to that in the United States.

Driving the boom are two government decisions taken after the 1997 to 1998 financial crisis - to let locals send their children to international schools and to issue more licences for such schools.

Ms Sudha Augustine, the principal of Ruam Rudee International middle school, will travel to England and the US this month to recruit more of them.

She told The Straits Times that the queue of teachers looking for jobs in Thailand was now one of the longest, comparable to the numbers looking for positions in Latin America - traditionally a popular choice in the US because it is closer to home.

'There is a distinct shift to Thailand. It is seen as a safe and peaceful place, and it has built a good brand image through successful tourism promotion,' she said.

For teachers, jobs are almost there for the taking, and the lure is powerful.

Explained Mr Daniel McKee, 40, a teacher from New York who has been working for 1 1/2 years at a top international school in Bangkok: 'When you are a teacher back home, you are poor, not even middle class. Here, you may make less money, but the cost of living is far lower.'

Said Mr Ron Fast, 35, a counsellor at Ruam Rudee who has also been in Thailand for 1 1/2 years: 'The best salaries are in Asia. China is also growing. It has 10 times the number of international schools than it had just a few years ago.'

New York native Julia Sommer, 31, a social studies teacher at the same school, arrived last August.

She told The Straits Times: 'I wanted to be in a place where teaching is respected. My partner is a high school teacher here now. We were not looking only at Thailand, but it turned out to be the best option. We felt we could live here and still save money.'

There are more than 100 international schools in Thailand, but only a dozen are well known.

The average annual tuition fee at a top international school can exceed 300,000 baht (S$13,300) - which is many times more than what the best Thai schools charge.

A teacher can get a handsome package of at least 80,000 baht a month plus benefits such as rental allowance, funds for training and an annual passage home.

For top teachers at top schools, salaries can go up to 150,000 baht a month.

The schools are proving popular with the well-off because they offer a multicultural environment and English teaching standards superior to those in Thai schools.

'If an English teacher is from the West, parents would choose him over an Asian English teacher even if the Asian has a PhD,' one teacher told The Straits Times.

'Thai parents are also particular about accents, but it is also very important that the teacher looks Western.'

Noted Ms Augustine, who has researched the issue: 'I found international schools meant Western education to Thai parents. Around 60 per cent said they chose them because of the use of English.'

But quality control is a problem, and it is not all smooth sailing for foreign teachers who do not get into a top school. One English teacher here told The Straits Times she made only about 14,000 baht a month.

The international school business has also grown on the back of a perceived gap in facilities in Thailand.

The education reform process, designed to revamp the system to make it more dynamic, competitive, holistic and creative, has been slow.

'Reform may change Thai schools, but there is a long way to go,' a teacher said.

'The expansion in international schools has been dramatic because it is good business, that is the bottom line.'

--Straits Times 2004-01-24

[leonah]

Anyone looking for an English teacher in Chiang Mai? I'm currently teaching in South Korea for a Private Language Collage teaching Grades from Kindy (7 year old) to Elementry (16 year old). Am also teaching intense English Language Conversation Courses to Government Officials at the Korean Governments Language Institute. Will be finished both contracts in July. Any serious interested bodies can contact me via email.

[mrentoul]

Leonah...you might have to fix your English spelling first.

A teacher can get a handsome package of at least 80,000 baht a month plus benefits such as rental allowance, funds for training and an annual passage home.

Few teachers would get this kind of money, surely - even at international schools. They would have to be in charge of something, I imagine.

[Sunbelt Asia]

I was just at a International School on Thursday who is looking to expand their campus. Their minimum salaries are 100,000 Baht per month for the teachers. All teachers were British.

I know another International School the salary for the teachers is a minimum pay out of 80,000 Baht per month.

[terdsak_12]

I know a British couple working at an international school whose housing allowance is 80,000 Baht a month, there's definately money to be made if you've got the right paperwork.

[leonah]

Thanks for the information. Nice to know there is real money around, for teachers, in Thailand.

[BobAnderson]

The article can be misleading. Thailand has many "international schools" that are not really international schools - they just put international in their name. They still pay their teachers poorly and pretty much hire any warm body that walks in. B30-35k would be the norm.

There are a few "international schools" that are in the margins between the pretend ones and the real ones that pay in the B45-60k range and require some

applicable education.

There are several well know, truly international schools in and around Bangkok - and only a few others farther afield. These truly international schools will require - at a MINIMUM - two years experience teaching in your home country's schools as a CERTIFIED teacher there. They typically prefer much more experience and are often looking for teaching couples - where both meet the high quality standards - this saves them housing expenses and creates more stability. The minimum standard usually only applies to certified teachers of math and science - who are in short supply.

Yes, they pay well, relatively speaking. Typically, you would earn less than you would at home, but get free housing. These jobs are almost always recruited from overseas - almost never locally. If you get hired with a "local hire" contract you could expect: no housing, no plane ticket and significantly lower wages.

What I have written above is generally true for international schools throughout the world - not unique to Thailand. To get hired you will need to be a certified and experienced teacher in your home country. Backpackers need not apply.

[leonah]

Thanks Bob,

That's the reality I expected to hear, and the way things work here, in Korea and also in Japan, though I hadn't heard of agencies for Thailand going through Australia yet.

Will keep my eyes open.

Thanks again.

[samran]

remember though, if you apply in Thailand to many of these big name schools, they will provide you with only an local package circa 60-90K per month.

If you apply at the various job fairs held outside of Thailand for the same job, you will get the expat package with accomadation, 100K plus per month, return flights, health insurance and perhaps some sort of allowances for the kiddies.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

remember though, if you apply in Thailand to many of these big name schools, they will provide you with only an local package circa 60-90K per month.

If you apply at the various job fairs held outside of Thailand for the same job, you will get the expat package with accomadation, 100K plus per month, return flights, health insurance and perhaps some sort of allowances for the kiddies.

In any area expats employed locally get the rough end of the pineapple.

[samran]

In any area expats employed locally get the rough end of the pineapple.

so true... though I have never fully understood the concept of insisting to pay someone more or less for a job, depending on where they applied. If I could find a quality teacher here in Thailand I'd be happy to pay them more than the going expat rate, just from the savings gained from overseas recruitment.

BTW: I have always wondered...is there such a thing as the soft end of the pineapple? heheh