Many parents report increased costs for children's education

[ExPratt]

What Riles me is the Money you pay and they are not at school for half of the time. The amount of holidays and days of is ridiculous

10 Weeks March to May

1 month October

1 week Christmas

A plethora of National Holidays

[Neeranam]

I fund out today that it is 60 baht per shirt in these parts to get a name stiched and they do it by computer!

[mikebell]

Do you know how many rich Farang parents pay bribe to get a job for their children?

No I don't. If you know please answer the following: - I would like to know: how much? How many parents pay? Who gets the money - the school or the Headteacher? Does the General know and approve? Where can I find teaching jobs for Thais listed?

[rubl]

I am responsible for the education of an 18 yo girl ready to attend college in Pattaya. The fee is 80 kb pa, ie 7 kb per month approximately. I could easily pay this from my pensions on a monthly basis. But since they want the whole annual fee in advance and no credit at all, the girl cannot go to college.

I've got all kinds of claims and properties in Germany, but ever since I'm in Thailand I'm a nobody for them. And everybody in Germany is afraid to be beaten up or killed by nobody

"And everybody in Germany is afraid to be beaten up or killed by nobody"

Nice movie though

[micmichd]

Yes, so nice to come back to a place where everybody knows you, rumours have it you're dead because you didn't show up for a while, and then watch them paranoid faces when you return like a zombie

[Godders]

maybe they should learn in school

the costs of a child

and maybe even more, how to prevent having children in the first place ...

Thailand has a birth rate of 1.6, the lowest in the region, similar to China with their long term 1 child policy.

The low birth rate is a major economical threat for Thailand as there won't be enough working people to support the older part of the population and there won't be enough labor to make the inustry competitive in the region.

Birth control is the wrong measure for Thailand!

There are two contrasting views on this. People like George Friedman believe that falling birth rates, a phenomenon evident across even the poorest parts of the world as living standards rise, are going to cause major labour shortages worldwide.

Others, like Robert Reich, argue that most of the jobs now done by humans will eventually be filled by robots or computers.

If either of these two eminent commentators is right, the implications are mind-blowing - not just in terms of the economic consequences but also when it comes to educating future generations for a world of work changed beyond belief.

While nobody can claim to know for what skills will be needed to survive and prosper in five or ten years, let alone twenty, one thing is certain: the current educational model devised to serve the needs of the Industrial Revolution - and little changed in essence for over a century - is well past its sell-by date.

As we move into the digital age at warp speed and education needs to be dragged, screaming, with us.

[micmichd]

Empirically both Friedman and Reich are right.

There's is a shortage in labour force in the low-paid personal services, Farangs love immigrants to do these jobs. In the segment with higher wages more and more jobs are done by robots and computers now.

The effect is a world wide division of labour between the South and the North, where workers from the South eventually turn out to be human beings with families and want their share.

Edited May 12, 2015 by micmichd

[micmichd]

The cynic in me says: The trend to use robots and computers might kidnap the reproduction - education system.

Computer Based Training.

Input: s. Charles Bukowski, Sex Machine.

Output: s. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World.

The romantic in me says: No, the human brain has 2 parts, and one part cannot be replaced by digital information without loss of information. Cannot

[mango66]

We are going through the hilarious circus called the 'Thai education system'. Tuition fees for our kids are alright but just a fraction of the real costs.

All the different uniforms, shoes, bags, books, mandatory English class, and extra curricular cash demands are raising it by another 200% at least.

We just paid 1,000 baht per child to get their names embroidered on the shirts. We can afford it, but I can imagine a lot of parents are struggling with this.

Why not just stamp with permanent ink?

they can't moke money out of a ink stamp !!

[mango66]

What Riles me is the Money you pay and they are not at school for half of the time. The amount of holidays and days of is ridiculous

10 Weeks March to May

1 month October

1 week Christmas

A plethora of National Holidays

you are right with this too long school holidays,

what teachers are doing in this time ??

and you pay horrible if its a private school,

like me, 2 kids, 3 times a 100.000,- just for kindergarden and grammer school;

[JAG]

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Can't believe the cost of education here.

My daughter started at the age of 2.5 years old going to a Private School.. she is now 4.5 and every year you have new uniforms which go up every year.. new bags. Not to mention the fees... which by the time she is 6.5 would be more then the total cost of my University Education. Something is wrong here big time.

I am lucky to have my work paying for it.. not sure how I could pay this if not. It would be much cheaper to have her go to a Private Boarding School in my home country, just a comparison.

Parents having to porn their belongings to send their kids to school... shameful. Now lets order that submarine.

If you choose to send your child to a private school, then you have to expect to pay fees, no? As for comparing costs with Private Boarding Schools in the west, there is no comparison. You won't get much change out of £15000 a year in the UK (and my information is out of date).

My daughter needs new uniforms every year too. Most children do. They grow out of them.

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

We are going through the hilarious circus called the 'Thai education system'. Tuition fees for our kids are alright but just a fraction of the real costs.
All the different uniforms, shoes, bags, books, mandatory English class, and extra curricular cash demands are raising it by another 200% at least.
We just paid 1,000 baht per child to get their names embroidered on the shirts. We can afford it, but I can imagine a lot of parents are struggling with this.[/

We live in Korat, and just paid 163 baht for all embroidery for a new school for a ten year old, her entire outfit brand new.
Where on earth do you live paying a 1000 baht per kid, ?

The embroidery shop had very big windows, so they could see him coming from a long way off!

I didn't have to pay anything to register my stepson for our local state school, or subsequently for vocational college. I didn't have to pay any annual fees for him, just the cost of his uniforms, which were cheap enough at the local Big C. He received a reasonable education, yes it could have been better but it compared well with what he would have received in most developing countries. He is literate and numerate, and has a skill which will make him quite employable when he completes his military service. I didn't have to pay anything to get my daughter into the school I wanted for her, other of course than the (reasonable) fees because I choose to send her to a private (convent) school. Uniforms again are fairly cheap.

I have applied for a considerable number of jobs as a teacher, I never once had it suggested that I should pay anything to get a job, in a state or private school, not even for the posts for which my applications were successful.

​I am either incredibly lucky, or some accounts are perhaps a bit exaggerated?

Edited May 12, 2015 by JAG

[micmichd]

Afaik, primary and secondary education in Thai public schools is rather cheap, private schools and university / colleges are rather expensive.

Edited May 12, 2015 by micmichd

[mikebell]

Jag - '​I am either incredibly lucky, or some accounts are perhaps a bit exaggerated?' You are incredibly white which makes you a desirable commodity if you are a native English speaker. . I am talking about my Thai step-daughter and to secure her a job in a state school requires payment of a bribe. As yet I've not got a specific figure though an acquaintance has quoted a hearsay story of 300,000 for a teaching post; 100,000 for a junior job at Pattaya Immigration.

[The Deerhunter]

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And wasn't it just 2 weeks ago that there was a thread in here about the Ministry going out to make sure the costs of school supplies were reasonable? I guess that never panned out.

As well there was a story about how the state-run pawn shops were directed to keep the interest rates down so parents could afford to pawn their possessions to pay for their kids' education.

What I find most despicable about this is that Thailand is reported to spend more than most countries on education yet the money never seems to find its way to where it needs to go. Where the hell is it? THAT'S the kind of reform this "fresh" government should be pursuing!

Big money spent on big purchases to get big kickbacks. What big purchases were made in the past few years?

That memorable and uncomfortable sounding statistic about Thailand's education per capita spend surfaced about a year or so ago. Um, let's see now. What could have so inflated the ed-spend figures? Oh yes, overpriced but nasty unreliable tablets from the legacy of Yingluck's administration. Bribes for votes & backhanders for those in the driving seat. A pretty much "everybody wins" deal, except of course, for the teachers, students & taxpayers.

Edited May 12, 2015 by The Deerhunter

[Mister Fixit]

Most cost would be on uniforms and shoes. Every kid grows bigger after a year.

And then they seem to change the color or design for no reason except to make parents buy another set?

Yeah, a bit like football clubs ...

[MESmith]

Most cost would be on uniforms and shoes. Every kid grows bigger after a year.

And then they seem to change the color or design for no reason except to make parents buy another set?

Yeah, a bit like football clubs ...

Replica football shirts are not compulsory. Fake ones are cheaper

[Sawan Chan 7]

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And wasn't it just 2 weeks ago that there was a thread in here about the Ministry going out to make sure the costs of school supplies were reasonable? I guess that never panned out.

As well there was a story about how the state-run pawn shops were directed to keep the interest rates down so parents could afford to pawn their possessions to pay for their kids' education.

What I find most despicable about this is that Thailand is reported to spend more than most countries on education yet the money never seems to find its way to where it needs to go. Where the hell is it? THAT'S the kind of reform this "fresh" government should be pursuing!

Big money spent on big purchases to get big kickbacks. What big purchases were made in the past few years?

That memorable and uncomfortable sounding statistic about Thailand's education per capita spend surfaced about a year or so ago. Um, let's see now. What could have so inflated the ed-spend figures? Oh yes, overpriced but nasty unreliable tablets from the legacy of Yingluck's administration. Bribes for votes & backhanders for those in the driving seat. A pretty much "everybody wins" deal, except of course, for the teachers, students & taxpayers.

quite.thank God the Shins have gone for good. A military regime is a small price to pay fir freedom from these thieves.

[Jimjim1968]

How the Hell is the director supposed to afford the new car?

[wow64]

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Can't believe the cost of education here.

My daughter started at the age of 2.5 years old going to a Private School.. she is now 4.5 and every year you have new uniforms which go up every year.. new bags. Not to mention the fees... which by the time she is 6.5 would be more then the total cost of my University Education. Something is wrong here big time.

I am lucky to have my work paying for it.. not sure how I could pay this if not. It would be much cheaper to have her go to a Private Boarding School in my home country, just a comparison.

Parents having to porn their belongings to send their kids to school... shameful. Now lets order that submarine.

If you choose to send your child to a private school, then you have to expect to pay fees, no? As for comparing costs with Private Boarding Schools in the west, there is no comparison. You won't get much change out of £15000 a year in the UK (and my information is out of date).

My daughters fees are more than 15000 pound a year so comparing to the west as you say... There is a very real comparison.

Obviously I know you have to pay for private school..but we are not really comparing apples with apples are we.

Sent from my c64

Edited May 13, 2015 by wow64

[SoilSpoil]

True, my kids's kindergarten (not even high end) fees were more than the cost I had when I did both a Bsc and master in Europe. Something's out of whack indeed. And the sad thing is that parents are lining up, some of them eyeball deep in debt, to feed this corrupt monster.

[micmichd]

Guess we're talking about different things:

Public school, private school, college / university, and school uniforms.

Can the posters please make it a bit clearer what they refer to?

My problem is the annual fee for college / university in Pattaya.

Before anyone comes up with silly comments now:

Yes, my gf (the mother of the daughter in question) was a bar girl in Pattaya. She got out of the scene, different job, different lifestyle. So what? She has always been a good mother, otherwise her daughter wouldn't be able to go to university now.

Edited May 13, 2015 by micmichd

[billd766]

And let's not forget the quality of education. The recent global report had Thailand behind Cambodia and Myanmar. Were I a parent with kids in Thai school, this would be at the top of my rage list.

A BBC news report this morning.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32608772

Thailand is rated at 47

Countries ranked on maths and science 1. Singapore 2. Hong Kong 3. South Korea 4. Japan (joint) 4. Taiwan (joint) 6. Finland 7. Estonia 8. Switzerland 9. Netherlands 10. Canada 11. Poland 12. Vietnam 13. Germany 14. Australia 15. Ireland 16. Belgium 17. New Zealand 18. Slovenia 19. Austria 20. United Kingdom 21. Czech Republic 22. Denmark 23. France 24. Latvia 25. Norway 26. Luxembourg 27. Spain 28. Italy (joint) 28. United States (joint) 30. Portugal 31. Lithuania 32. Hungary 33. Iceland 34. Russia 35. Sweden 36. Croatia 37. Slovak Republic 38. Ukraine 39. Israel 40. Greece 41. Turkey 42. Serbia 43. Bulgaria 44. Romania 45. UAE 46. Cyprus 47. Thailand 48. Chile 49. Kazakhstan 50. Armenia 51. Iran 52. Malaysia 53. Costa Rica 54. Mexico 55. Uruguay 56. Montenegro 57. Bahrain 58. Lebanon 59. Georgia 60. Brazil 61. Jordan 62. Argentina 63. Albania 64. Tunisia 65. Macedonia 66. Saudi Arabia 67. Colombia 68. Qatar 69. Indonesia 70. Botswana 71. Peru 72. Oman 73. Morocco 74. Honduras 75. South Africa 76. Ghana

[micmichd]

So, Thailand needs teachers in maths and sciences, too ?