School resume Monday!

[canadianinbkk]

Dear ISAT Members,

Regarding the school opening, we have checked with the Permanent Secretary for Education, it is confirmed that all schools should open on Monday, 26 May. Should anything happen that would prevent this situation, ISAT will issue a further update to member schools but all reports we have had at this present time mean that all school in Thailand should be open on Monday.

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[sirchai]

Might be open,, but our Thai teachers will be in a meeting. Have to sign in only, prepare some stuff and go back home around noon.

Life could be worse.- .

[canadianinbkk]

Our school is open for both students and teachers.


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[scooterboy]

Our school is open today.....or maybe not open.......I won't know for sure until I arrive.

Still, nobody bothers to call to tell, do they...

[canadianinbkk]

don't feel so bad. My previous schools used to make me go in all the time only to find out my kids are away camping. Thankful for not having to work. But thanks for making me wake up early, get dressed, commute to work and go home for fun!

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[BruceMangosteen]

My school was open, normal attendance and no mention of the "coup" or anything else. I assume that means payroll will be met at the end of the month. The impact on Labor Departments, the TCT, and Immigration is the real concern as many teachers are still not fully legal combined with a lot of schools looking to fill slots. I don't think in all my years here (six) I've seen so many help wanted adverts on the various web sites. I suspect the coup did have an impact on "backpackers" and "agencies" who had made promises to various schools.

Edited May 26, 2014 by BruceMangosteen

[Scott]

Posts critical of grammar have been deleted. It's a very good way to get a warning and suspension.

[Scott]

My school was open, normal attendance and no mention of the "coup" or anything else. I assume that means payroll will be met at the end of the month. The impact on Labor Departments, the TCT, and Immigration is the real concern as many teachers are still not fully legal combined with a lot of schools looking to fill slots. I don't think in all my years here (six) I've seen so many help wanted adverts on the various web sites. I suspect the coup did have an impact on "backpackers" and "agencies" who had made promises to various schools.

This has been the worst year for recruiting that I have seen in the last 20 years. Last Friday I had 7 interviews scheduled and I had confirmed that I would be at school (no classes). On the day of the interviews, only two people showed up. I spoke with 3 farang teachers, all of whom indicated that they would leave Thailand. One said he could no longer deal with the visa/Teacher's License situation. The other two said they planned to leave Thailand because of the political problems.

The remainder were non-native speakers, of those one said he would leave Thailand because of the ongoing political situation. Interestingly, that person was returning to a rather unstable country! The others simply were looking for better opportunities.

I have managed to get all the classes covered, but the quality of teachers is less than desirable for a number of the subjects.

[sirchai]

My school was open, normal attendance and no mention of the "coup" or anything else. I assume that means payroll will be met at the end of the month. The impact on Labor Departments, the TCT, and Immigration is the real concern as many teachers are still not fully legal combined with a lot of schools looking to fill slots. I don't think in all my years here (six) I've seen so many help wanted adverts on the various web sites. I suspect the coup did have an impact on "backpackers" and "agencies" who had made promises to various schools.

This has been the worst year for recruiting that I have seen in the last 20 years. Last Friday I had 7 interviews scheduled and I had confirmed that I would be at school (no classes). On the day of the interviews, only two people showed up. I spoke with 3 farang teachers, all of whom indicated that they would leave Thailand. One said he could no longer deal with the visa/Teacher's License situation. The other two said they planned to leave Thailand because of the political problems.

The remainder were non-native speakers, of those one said he would leave Thailand because of the ongoing political situation. Interestingly, that person was returning to a rather unstable country! The others simply were looking for better opportunities.

I have managed to get all the classes covered, but the quality of teachers is less than desirable for a number of the subjects.

But Scott, it’s quite understandable that many people just don’t want to work for the same money people made 12 years ago, while all has become pretty much expensive.

I had and still receive so many phone calls, where school admins are begging to help them to find teachers with experience. The problem is that many of those qualified teachers are by law not allowed anymore to teach, because they don’t hold a BA in education.

Isn't that a sort of ironic, when guys who had worked 10 + years, teaching English and are all in a sudden not qualified anymore? That doesn't make much sense, or?

If the Khurusapha won’t change their rules, it will even get worse. I do not think that the political and unstable situation has very much to do with the teacher shortage.

I don’t blame the visa rule change for; it’s pretty much obvious that those with 10+ years of teaching experience will go to other countries, where they’re more welcome, instead of trying to do all to get a degree in education that might not be necessary in a year or two?

In Sisaket, but also in Ubon are schools that are “using” agencies, but even they don’t get enough people. And now I’m talking about a specific agency, where people don’t even have to have a degree to start to teach. They've got their own ways to sort that out.

And even in such hard times for schools to find qualified teachers, many are still offering a salary you couldn’t even feed a family with.

Best of luck finding the right ones for you!-

[BruceMangosteen]

If the Khurusapha won’t change their rules, it will even get worse. I do not think that the political and unstable situation has very much to do with the teacher shortage.

Any experience with school Directors some how bypassing the TCT and getting their teachers Work Permits and/or VISA's? (related to the topic I guess)

[Scott]

Where I work, the wages have not stayed the same for the past 12 years. There is also room for negotiations and in looking at other advertisements, they are certainly on par with most jobs.

I get a fair number of applicants who do not meet the TCT standard, but this year there were even a lot less of them. This is the first year that we will have teachers teaching English who are not native speakers or near-native speakers. And not one person turned the job down because of the salary.