Agencies Consider Embezzlement Allegations Against St Gabriel's Foundation: Bangkok

[chooka]

Send the Cat-lickers home, this is Buddha land, go away ye holier then thou asswipes!!!!!

Send them home to where? They are Thai born and raised Catholics.

[Thai at Heart]

The pure and simple fact is that these places should not be profit making.

Account for the money and then disperse it to a compulsory level for investment. They should only be allowed to retain a certain part of revenue every year for future investment. They should also compulsarily have to give scholarships to a certain percent.

If not PAY company tax.

[backtonormal]

Religion, money, corruption, ethics, inaction, morals, hypocrisy.

Could this story go any deeper into the shateen?

A microcosm of yuk....

Ergo...no more needs to be said on the matter. Except, some follow up, conclusive reporting from the Nation.

Reading the stories it's reasonable to assume the director isn't Thai. If they wanted, they could basically investigate any fee paying school in the country and find the same rubbish.

''Tea money is apparently involved - but no one has really investigated it," he complained.

The subject of tea money is paramount here. All schools 'of note' demand - and I mean demand - tea money if you want your child to attend. It's clearly stated on all admission papers, under fees as a requirement - not a donation, which technically would be voluntary - for the school development fund. Some schools do not ask for a development payment, but demand a sizeable non-refundable admission registration fee instead.

Either way, every year, that amounts to a fair sized chunk of disposable and unaccountable cash in hand for the people who run these schools.

On any schools site, I have never scene any detailed public accounts on how much money is accumulated in this way, or on how the money is actually used.

In the interests of fairness and transparency, if anyone reading this has any information to the contrary, please would you post on here.

It's time this practice stopped. I mean honestly, what are the profit margins from term/ year fees, and how much does it really cost to register a child at these schools?

I have heard of 350,000 baht as a 'door opening' contribution on many occasions. Times 200 new students per year...wheres my calculator

[JAG]

Send the Cat-lickers home, this is Buddha land, go away ye holier then thou asswipes!!!!!

And how are things down The Shankhill then Brian?

[Lucie]

I see no teachers commenting here. The ones actually getting the crumbs leftover from whatever is left of these said funds.

I am a teacher at a school run by this foundation, and I can assure you that most of us (ie the ones doing the work) are getting nothing from this 'tea money'. I don't know exactly who gets what, but the lowly teachers get none of it. They even get paid less than their government school counterparts: by this I mean the Thai teachers. Is it any wonder that most of them spend only a few years at the school and leave as soon as they can pass the government school teacher's exam? It's a lot easier to work in a government school, where, as you get older, your workload decreases, your power to ignore your workload increases, while your wages soar! Private school teachers' wages inch up barely inkeeping with inflation, and they still have the same workload and status when they're nearing retirement as when they first started...

[birdy1985]

It's not a political issue between PT and the Democrats. This has been going on in the post titled for close or moret than 20 years. It's an historical feat of mammoth proportions that in the ends needs to be taken care of! It would be mega brownie points for PT or the legislature...who are completely unbiased :-D

[birdy1985]

I see no teachers commenting here. The ones actually getting the crumbs leftover from whatever is left of these said funds.

I am a teacher at a school run by this foundation, and I can assure you that most of us (ie the ones doing the work) are getting nothing from this 'tea money'. I don't know exactly who gets what, but the lowly teachers get none of it. They even get paid less than their government school counterparts: by this I mean the Thai teachers. Is it any wonder that most of them spend only a few years at the school and leave as soon as they can pass the government school teacher's exam? It's a lot easier to work in a government school, where, as you get older, your workload decreases, your power to ignore your workload increases, while your wages soar! Private school teachers' wages inch up barely inkeeping with inflation, and they still have the same workload and status when they're nearing retirement as when they first started...

Very well said that man!

[robblok]

The pure and simple fact is that these places should not be profit making.

Account for the money and then disperse it to a compulsory level for investment. They should only be allowed to retain a certain part of revenue every year for future investment. They should also compulsarily have to give scholarships to a certain percent.

If not PAY company tax.

That will work.. then one forms a company that invoices the school and then the school has no profit but its leached out with padded invoices. There is always a way and its real hard to check.. especially here.

[Thai at Heart]

The pure and simple fact is that these places should not be profit making.

Account for the money and then disperse it to a compulsory level for investment. They should only be allowed to retain a certain part of revenue every year for future investment. They should also compulsarily have to give scholarships to a certain percent.

If not PAY company tax.

That will work.. then one forms a company that invoices the school and then the school has no profit but its leached out with padded invoices. There is always a way and its real hard to check.. especially here.

Well at the end of it all, i don't think the parents mind if the school gym costs 100mn or 120mn, as long as something gets built. The issue is millions go in with nothing coming back but metcrdes and underpaid teachers.

[robblok]

The pure and simple fact is that these places should not be profit making.

Account for the money and then disperse it to a compulsory level for investment. They should only be allowed to retain a certain part of revenue every year for future investment. They should also compulsarily have to give scholarships to a certain percent.

If not PAY company tax.

That will work.. then one forms a company that invoices the school and then the school has no profit but its leached out with padded invoices. There is always a way and its real hard to check.. especially here.

Well at the end of it all, i don't think the parents mind if the school gym costs 100mn or 120mn, as long as something gets built. The issue is millions go in with nothing coming back but metcrdes and underpaid teachers.

I agree with you but as an accountant i just know how easy it is (unless real extreme) to make money in a non profit organisation and then leach it away by having companies setup that advice or do other things (that are hard to check) for the non profit organisation. So then the non profit organisation makes no profit on paper but for real it does and still end up in the pockets of others. In a country like Thailand its even harder to check. Anyway i do agree something has to be done but its not that easy. It can be done of course at high expenses and if honest people check real diligent and have people in the inside helping them.