Graft widespread among educational staff: Thailand

[dundee48]

Perhaps they are just following the examples set by our esteemed leaders.

and 294 participants? Give me a break. Is that 0.01% of the total teaching population? It's hardly a representative sample.

"The most common form of wrongful practice is teachers or school administrators spending their work hours on something else, according to the survey"

Does that include spending a bit of our spare time on facebook or other websites of interest? I think most teachers don't spend every minute they are at school on school work.

The education sector has a lot more to worry about, in terms of the quality of teaching, resources, curriculum, and assessment. One only has to look at the enormous sprouting up of tutorial schools to see there is a major problem in the education sector here. No one wants to address the main issues.

Wow,are you saying there are almost 3,000,000 teachers in Thailand?

[rayongchelsea]

I like the phrase "lack of ethical leaders." How can you have ethical leaders in a country where the concepts of ethics, morals and principles are unknown? The only concepts people understand here are money and power.

Give us a break Tom. Get out of those Sukhumvit bars and restaurants occassionally and see for yourself. There are plenty of people with morals, ethics and principles - you just don't see them because the limelight is being hogged by the greedy.

However, you do win first prize for the best racial stereotype of the year. Congratulations.

That is true but they are defeated by those with power..who tend to be corrupt..and thus the majority will view power and corruption as 2 key concepts even though many may not agree with them.

Tom shouldn't have used the word unknown..but there is a strong element of truth in his statement of how Thai society functions even for those with high principals.

It's a case of everyone does it!!

[Emdog]

Graft widespread among (name profession or ministry of your choice) staff

[lostmebike]

I like the phrase "lack of ethical leaders." How can you have ethical leaders in a country where the concepts of ethics, morals and principles are unknown? The only concepts people understand here are money and power.

Give us a break Tom. Get out of those Sukhumvit bars and restaurants occassionally and see for yourself. There are plenty of people with morals, ethics and principles - you just don't see them because the limelight is being hogged by the greedy.

However, you do win first prize for the best racial stereotype of the year. Congratulations.

'There are plenty of people with morals'

Sure there are but as he said;

lack of ethical leaders

After having worked and continuing to work with the 'poo yais' (seniors) at town halls, amphurs and in educational administrations, I would have to agree with Tom's point.

'Ethical' leaders are few and far between here. I'm not just talking about in the big cities, I'm talking about all levels, from the city administrations right down to the sub districts. They all have their hands in the pies! It's almost considered their right to skim from the trough. I have witnessed it and continue to witness to this very day.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

This Thai study doesn't show receiving payoffs for grades? They mention incidental reasons but deny the true essence of the root of corruption in education in Thailand. Buying seats, grades, and teaching positions.

Perhaps the respondents don't perceive those rampant practices - buying grades, seats and teaching positions/locations -- as "corruption."

By the way, don't forget to add education administrators taking kickbacks/cuts on the procurement of school supplies/books/equipment purchased at their schools.

But rather, those things are regarded as the normal and accepted way of doing business in the government education sector here.

Pretty sad when the Education Ministry ranks second behind the Interior Ministry in volume of government corruption complaints to the NACC.

[paulmw]

This Thai study doesn't show receiving payoffs for grades? They mention incidental reasons but deny the true essence of the root of corruption in education in Thailand. Buying seats, grades, and teaching positions.

You are correct. However, one fundamental cause of corruption in the system is that those working in education do not get a decent, living wage and are forced to find additional sources of income. In higher education, that usually takes the form of second or third jobs ( but also some corrupt practices). It goes without saying, it's the same problem for the police and some other public servants

Thai teachers aren’t well paid pull the other one, was married to one once look in the school car park.

[JRSoul]

Having been asked for a bribe from a Thai catholic nun (B15,000 "admission fee") I find the OP quite credible.

BTW no, it wasn't a misunderstanding. We spoke to parents whose children attended the school, all had paid before admission.

[SOTIRIOS]

...that's why things never get better, obviously....

...from a Director asking for 150,000 to enrol one's child...(aside from tuition)....

...to corrupt skanks that will ruin your career if you don't do their bidding...

...their position becomes a business...the objective being filling their pockets....never doing a good job with the students' education and well-being in mind..

...which reminds me...what happened to the famous 'tablets'...which studies have shown are detrimental to the development of young primary students'...

...and how much did they cost....

[amykat]

I like the phrase "lack of ethical leaders." How can you have ethical leaders in a country where the concepts of ethics, morals and principles are unknown? The only concepts people understand here are money and power.

Give us a break Tom. Get out of those Sukhumvit bars and restaurants occassionally and see for yourself. There are plenty of people with morals, ethics and principles - you just don't see them because the limelight is being hogged by the greedy.

However, you do win first prize for the best racial stereotype of the year. Congratulations.

Oh Mr Johnson ... I agree there are people with morals and principles in Thaialnd, but those principles aren't the same as Western people's ideas about the same issues. The priority here IS on money and power, and the way Thais use power, is usually much different and I would say usually in a very bad way, than Western people would use it

Best racist comment of the year??? Race didn't come into Tom Aikins post, but culture did. I give you several "thumbs down" for your comments Mr. Johnson, but thanks for trying.

When the whole culture is corrupt, and peer pressure is to be corrupt, and institutions are corrupt, forcing people to participate in it ...like for schools, what will I do if someday my kids's school asks for money, or offers some corrupt situation in order for her to succeed? I mean, even in the case where she would be successful anyway ...if parents are paying for kids who are subpar, and then putting my child lower than she would normally be, due to merit, what can one do? I guess I will pay if this happens.

Maybe the only difference will be that I will teach my child that this is wrong, that I really don't want to do this ...I am trying to imagine, a world where I THINK that having more money means that you really DO deserve XY and Z ...because you have money ...sort of like some Christian sects who believe in pre-destination for example. It is a bit of circular reasoning, if I have money, it is because I deserve money, because I did the right things in order to get money, and that money buys me this and that, which I deserve because I have the money to buy it ...and on and on.