Thailand's educational spending highest in the world

[terryp]

is anyone really shocked the entire country is rife with corruption and some people are saying this is the way forward ...IDIOTIC

[notmyself]

I have a teacher in my employ. OMG... dumb teaching dumber. Sorry but this as Scitt says.. The curriculum

It's the rote learning IMO. They know 2+2=4, they know 4+4=8, the know 8+8=16 but don't know what 16+16 equals because they have never been told the answer nor have they been told the method to solve it.

I know a lady with degree whose math is so bad that if she can't find a calculator I have to add up my own bill. Even with a pen and paper she doesn't know how to do it.

[phantomfiddler]

Someone needs a refund

Too late, once that 30% disappears it ain,t never coming back !

[rogerdee123]

This headline should read ... "Due to Corruption, Thailand's 'Education' Expenditures are the Highest in the World"

[janpharma]

Where does the money go?!...I saw several "head masters" asking me to come to teach in their school...They had 3 cars each ( the last one was a new Toyota fortuner)...but no budget to pay for the teacher.

I met Thai "English"- teachers who graduated as "English teacher" but couldn't talk any English...They bought their title...

As long as corruption rules...nothing will change...

[brubakertx]

How can this be?

They must be a lot of corruption!

I'm glad my school director, including many of directors from other school, got all expense paid trips to England, plus sending money.

[hansnl]

Personally I find anachronistic (and expensive!) the need of 3 different uniforms (gym, scout/army and normal day) with cleaned spare and the relative expensive and low quality shoes..

How a poor family can afford this expense?

And, IMHO, but just mine, uniforms at school are so much North Korea style...

I'm with you on the uniform. I have three sons and they can't

share gym or scout or school uniforms as they have their

names embroidered on the bloody things.

I dare to make a wager with you.

The cost of uniforms on one side of the table.

On the other side of the table the real cost of clothing more or less as ordained by the taste of the day

You still want to bet?

[Chicken George]

Roll on the Revolution! Totting Popular Front could do a better job.. Where has all that money gone?

[orpheus454]

Thailand has an extremely high number of private schools, so this is not just a reflection on the gov't, although the Ministry of Education needs to take a very serious look at it's curriculum and how it is implemented. Especially how it is implemented.

More of the same is not needed.

Scott, please give examples of what is wrong with the curriculum.

You may be referring to Matayom level (where I have never taught), but from my experience there's not a lot of difference at Pratom level to what I taught back "over there."

[RuskiCat]

"Study hours for Thai students are five times more than countries such as the US and Canada where students spend 600-700 hours in classes while Thai students 2,000-3,600 hours."

Lets look:

52 Weeks have a year.

12 weeks are vacation

40 weeks lectures * 5 days a week = 200 days

3600 / 200 = 18 hours per day spend in classes (from 8am morning to 2am after midnight)

2000 / 200 = 10 hours per day spend in classes (from 8am morning to 6pm)

average = 14 hours per day spend in classes (from 8am morning to 10pm)

average = 70 hours per week.

I do not know what they are doing in the classes, but I doubt the data base and the validity of data collection too.

In Ramkhamhaeng (the largest university in Bangkok) and generally in Bangkok,i see every day oodles of students on the streets,

- shopping, in cinemas, in restaurants and in the evening in discos and pubs.-

No way that they study day per day, spending 14 hours in classes.

20% of State Budget for education?

If this is true, than we have here maybe another rice school scam.

I taught a class at one of the "better" private schools in bkk... Believe me when I tell you this... They don't spend one hour out of the classroom studying. We were officially forbidden to give homework all the work was to be done in class. They had the nerve to try and do their other homework in my class, at that moment they were usually asked to leave the class and marked absent for the day.

[skorchio]

Isn't this really the vilest corruption? Not only is this in the present tense, but it means the school-leavers in 20 years time are entering the market with the same aptitude as 12 year olds from countries who DO get a bang for their buck in terms of education, for example close neighbours Singapore. And then we wonder why people with different coloured shirts are throwing <deleted> at each other in the streets, while the smart ones are amassing enough cash to lend to the World Bank. Gotta love it here though!!!

[Sydebolle]

speechless..

+1

[HerbalEd]

I seriously doubt this story is true. If indeed it is, then the money is being grossly wasted. I also doubt the stated number of hours spent studying.

[SOTIRIOS]

....pathetic....

...and the saddest part is that Thai teachers are getting half the salary that a disproportionate 'element' is receiving.....

....for only a nominal difference in English or academic proficiency...

...and genuine NES teachers are getting all the blame....

(.also, I wonder how much the 'tablet fiasco'....contributed to this...)

[Thai at Heart]

Aside from the money, the classroom hours in the article don't seem to add up. USA public school students attend class for 1080 hours per year. That is essentially 9 months of 5 days a week, 6 hours a day. My Thai wife thinks she attended school about 10 months, 5 days a week, maybe 7 hours a day, which would be just 1400 hours. So I'm not sure where they are getting the 700 - 800 for USA, or the 2000 - 3600 hours of class for Thai students. Does anyone understand these classroom hours?

Are you saying the teacher can't add up?

Careful, they will give you an F

[puipuitom]

What a nonsense...

According to OESO the average of their 29 members is 6,2% of Gross Domestic Product, so 1.5 x as high as Thailand.

The highest EU public spending on education relative to GDP was observed in Denmark (8.7 % of GDP), while Cyprus (8.0 %), Sweden (7.3 %), Finland (6.8 %), Belgium (6.6 %) and Ireland (6.5 %)

see http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Educational_expenditure_statistics

[Kwanting]

To keep the control over the people just keep them poor, ignorant and happy!

Poverty comes from ignorance and happiness from giving them crappy TV soaps day in and day out.

[lmaxv]

2000-3600 hours of classes...c'mon, do the math. That's completely erroneous as is it all...

[tragickingdom]

Mahidol shows us how academics lost the plot. The spending is actually closer to 1.5%. 10% of the population however spend 2.5% of the Gross National Product on tea money and even than they do not learn about democracy.

[Sam Gold]

Is it the 1st of April already?

[godden]

wouldnt be surprized if it is the truth but it just goes to show how much of it is going into peoples pockets/bank accounts as it is certainly not getting through to the schools. Like most financial deals in this country the people suffer as the top dogs get to pocket most of the money, another reason Thailand needs to have honest government and open financial policies so the people can see exactly where akll this money is going..

says it all, can't add anything, except pissing against the wind

[NCFC]

Sure, this is possibly correct. but how much is really going to the students education and how much is going to other projects like the tours that are organized by schools for the teachers recreational period, traveling on 5 star buses, staying in the best hotels, eating the most expensive meals, etc. etc. and what about the students outings that cost thousands, but are only worth about 30% of the value? and the loaded maintenance bills? sometimes loaded up to 200%, and the false cash-slips presented for refund from the teachers? Not to mention the directors cut for his overseas trips expensive entertainment and other pet projects. and the luxury cars and houses owned by school accountants, and other staff members that far suppress their income? one could go on and on, but nothing will happen because nobody really cares about educating the younger generation, Why? because it is easier to control uneducated masses then educated one's. its all a big farce.

My sister-in-law is an MOE administrator responsible for buildings upkeep. She takes on average four overseas trips per year to places like Switzerland, Japan, South Korea etc. in tours up to five days with around 10-20 colleagues per trip.

Each trip staying in a swanky hotel, each trip combined with a lunch/dinner reception at the Thai embassy of the country. Each trip with a couple of days sightseeing included.

She also lives in a government-paid for apartment off Silom road.

The schools and colleges she is responsible for have terrible facilities, crumbling buildings, huge class sizes. She then takes to the streets to protest against Thaksin's corruption. The irony could make you cry.

[Nalo56]

Something is very wrong with this article, I have no idea were this article came from and how true it is by stating that Thailand expends more money per student than USA, but according to CBS News, US Department of Education, here part of the Per student expenditures report:

The United States spent more than $11,000 per elementary student in 2010 and more than $12,000 per high school student. When researchers factored in the cost for programs after high school education such as college or vocational training, the United States spent $15,171 on each young person in the system — more than any other nation covered in the report.

That sum inched past some developed countries and far surpassed others. Switzerland's total spending per student was $14,922 while Mexico averaged $2,993 in 2010. The average OECD nation spent $9,313 per young person.

As a share of its economy, the United States spent more than the average country in the survey. In 2010, the United States spent 7.3 percent of its gross domestic product on education, compared with the 6.3 percent average of other OECD countries. Denmark topped the list on that measure with 8 percent of its gross domestic product going toward education.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[wilcopops]

Not a surprise really....

Firstly are they saying highest amount of money per student of percentage of GDP or something else - you can bet both the ministry and the press have got it wrong.

How does private education come into this equation?

However I guess the point is that Thailand spends a lot on education and doesn’t get a good return.

This must be down to a mix of the following

Administrative and policy-making incompetence, teaching incompetence and a vast lack of understanding of true educational methods and values. Parental ignorance and an industry obsessed with bits of paper rather than personel..........

Then add to this or even the cause of this - CORRUPTION - graft nepotism and some of the most corrupt practices I’ve ever had the displeasure to witness and secondary and tertiary levels, ........... what do they expect?

[planetoftheapes]

What a crock of brown stuff familiar to you all.

School=Biz

Product=Uniform Fancy School + Foreign Teachers

Cost= Loads a money Result some good photos and a head fulla nothing

Why?

SOCIAL PROMOTION

Kids all pass. No one fails and no one learns a high standard but on paper everone's Einstien's thanks parents fee time come back next year where we will lie to you again your kid did great little Jimmy good job

Brian washing 60%

Useless activities 39%

Actual learning 1%

Pass rate 110%

The land of smiles

[CIHUAHUA]

A Thai university has burned this CD. Low scores in math and science are a true indicator of the educational level. It does not matter how much time a student spends in school but how much they learn. The Thais can pat themselves on the back but that is not going to educate the children only justify the poor educational system that is present.

[sirchai]

What a farce to be honest. The money is certainly not filtering down to the grassroots level, as I am sure teachers who work in the government system will attest. I was speaking a couple of days ago with one of my staff, and they were saying that they were hoping that their son will pass the entrance exam for Mattayom at the local government school, otherwise they'll have to pay money for him to attend. They even said, that the money just goes directly into the pockets of the administration.

Truly unbelievable. Even "Anuban" schools usually take around 40 K baht per child for their "ordinary" program, more for the EP.

Not so "popular" schools in bigger cities at least 20 K. Majority goes to the director, of course some assistant directors, guys in the financial department etc...

Then there's always something else where the parents are invited to attend meetings. " We need a new meeting hall, but the government only gave us 400 K, but the building is around four million baht. Anuban's need swimming pools,even if nobody's using them.

All has to be bought. A friend of mine actually wanted to work in the city, where she's living. They wanted 400 K from her. She was so pissed that she'd decided to stay at her Moobahn school, as she's got only five more years to go.

Then "directors".The position of a school director of a bigger high school doesn't have to be educated at all.His/ her position is at least four million +.

The whole educational system is corrupt as we all know. Would you like to have a Dr.. before your name? Okay, 500 K and you'll be one. At least on paper, proofed and signed by all involved. ( This is from a good friend, who's a lawyer).

Once, when working at a high school, I bought the books for my "advanced" classes, got a good percentage at the book store and gave them the books for the prize I'd paid.

That on the other hand made a "book dealing" teacher so upset, that she'd forgotten all her Thai etiquette and freaked out. "Loss of face".Lol

Then the fantastic books that are being used here. Thai teachers always attend at "seminars", where the big book companies pay better money for their shitty books.

We're "using" four different English books at our school. None makes sense, as their interest in making money seems to be higher than the students' educational outcome..

Never even try to use common sense and tell them to use for example " Let's Go" for all levels. They'll eat you alive. Instead of doing such a "development", people are "teaching" whatever they've got in their books.

An "English book" for grade six started with a story about a pirate and his sword, very useful to know what a pirate is, to be able to use Pirate Bay.

They sell our kids/us expensive and stupid looking low quality sports dresses, shoes and other useless stuff, like the unbelievable good looking boy scout uniforms for a lot more what they'd paid for.The decoration on their uniforms is unbelievable and much more decorative than a five star general of the United States Army.

The only good lessons they teach are unfortunately the "special" ones from 4 to 5 PM. "Only" 100 baht per child, let's say 30 kids and they make 3 K in an hour, using facilities the tax payers have to come up for.

Those "special" lessons in one month can easily bring them 60 K, on top of their so low salary, with the right to fly high and hit kids with bamboo sticks.

Then their own banks for THAI teachers in all provinces. Please don't even try to open up a bank account there as a foreigner. You're not Thai, therefore not part of the "egalitarian society."

Why do they have so many candy and ice cream shops on a primary school campus, don't they know that 30 % of their kids are too fat? No, it's just to satisfy the kids aeeh, it's more for the wallets of the director and his servants.

Oh, and all the junk food selling freaks outside the door. I've never seen some healthy food, what I'm teaching my kids to eat. They also pay good money to...aeehh only Buddha only knows all these answers.

I need a beer now, too many numbers are making too many problems. And the tablet PC policy and the government that pays so much for their educational system. Gotta throw up, sorry...-

Edited January 9, 2014 by sirchai

[tetleythedog]

wouldnt be surprized if it is the truth but it just goes to show how much of it is going into peoples pockets/bank accounts as it is certainly not getting through to the schools. Like most financial deals in this country the people suffer as the top dogs get to pocket most of the money, another reason Thailand needs to have honest government and open financial policies so the people can see exactly where akll this money is going..

True, very true. I have been teaching here 9 years. The money "spent" is not the thing, it's the whole attitude towards education. Yes, they study more hours, because they pay more. No, they don't actually learn anything. Discipline in a classroom is frowned upon. The staff will say "you're not a good teacher, you are too serious" .............attendance is abysmal, as is lateness. Grades are 'adjusted', all tests are multi-choice, if they weren't probably 99% would fail if they actually had to think of the answer. Age discrimination, they don't want experienced teachers, they want young backpackers because they look nice in the school photos. And of course so the Thai teachers can fix them up with a friend, or a family member. Strange how the directors have to pay to get their position !!!

[MrMo]

Please note you sceptics, these are the findings of research carried out by Thailand's top university !

Additionally, please note, with all the perks, junkets and "seminars" those in the teaching profession benefit from, it could be true !

[Lupatria]

wouldnt be surprized if it is the truth but it just goes to show how much of it is going into peoples pockets/bank accounts as it is certainly not getting through to the schools. Like most financial deals in this country the people suffer as the top dogs get to pocket most of the money, another reason Thailand needs to have honest government and open financial policies so the people can see exactly where akll this money is going..

By now almost everyone of us knows the percentage of money getting lost due to corruption of every 100 baht the government spends. They are simply throwing money in a completely rotten system to fill their own pockets. Who will get education out of that? Maybe the sons and daughters of the MP’s studying overseas.