Disappearing Farang Teachers in Isaan?

[pianoman]

Just my own observations, but here in the Kalasin area it seems that the schools are replacing Farang teachers with teachers (?) from Africa ... There are at least 4 whom I have been on a speaking basis with over the past few years who seem to have disappeared the over the last couple of months...

Have others noticed this happening in other areas???

Pianoman

[nev]

They will work for less or maybe the teachers before were under paid, only down side they are not native English speakers and maybe their skin color, all I can say is good luck to the new teachers, I have a African guy teaching near me and he is a lovely lad and always smiling and up for a chat.

[casualbiker]

The African teachers have access to some of the best forgeries in the world! Not all but certainly some have dodgy degrees etc.

[lostinisaan]

Yep, seems to happen all over the country. But: the schools in the town where I'm working have something in common.

No more African teachers.One of them graduated in the year 1924 at the university of Buea/Cameroon.

Here's a good example: His age: 26- 30, must be a very flexible teechaa

Edited by SlyAnimal: Removed URL

[bamukloy]

I visited upcountry lately. gf and I called in to local school to pick up niece. A Thai teacher comes over and is saying how they needed a teacher and I should go see the director. In his office a few days later and he is BSing about the small budget and poor students ect.

The pay: 12k per month, 4 hours x 4 days a week.

I gave him my best attempt at a thai smile..

After years of exlploitation of hard labour in my own greedy country for pittance

No thanks!

[lovelomsak]

They had a Cameroon women teaching at my wifes school. The second day at the school another Cameroon woman came to the school and they had a fight right in front of the students at the school,because one of them was having sex with the others boyfriend. Seems it made a bad impression on the director.

[thesetat2013]

You are not the only one to see a shift in hiring teachers. I also have seen several schools give contracts to non native speakers instead of native speakers. Not just Africans either.

[lostinisaan]

When I resigned my former position, they employed two Cameroonians. But neither the students understood them, nor the Thai English teachers. I'd met both at a seminar about 2 years ago and couldn't understand them either. Nor did they get me.

Then the TCT had a problem with their degrees and many other issues.They ( the school) won't do that mistake again.

There're two job offers at ajarn com, but the Asian teacher who posted it never forwarded the "good resumes" to the superiors. The head of department finally called me four days before school started, if I couldn't help her to find a teacher, which I already did when working there for almost four years.

I posted a thread here with quite a lot details,easy job, money was okay, paid for 12 months, with a free accommodation and couldn't believe that nobody seemed to be interested.

On the other hand I see posts where people work for an agent/ agency, having huge problems. Doesn't make sense to me. sorry.

Edited May 24, 2015 by lostinisaan

[steven100]

The Africans will work for half of what most other teachers make. It's a sign of the times ....

12k a month ... lol , I spend that in 3 days on food, drink & leisure.

[siam2007]

They had a Cameroon women teaching at my wifes school. The second day at the school another Cameroon woman came to the school and they had a fight right in front of the students at the school,because one of them was having sex with the others boyfriend. Seems it made a bad impression on the director.

[Mencken]

There are a few hundred jobs on ajarn.com perhaps another hundred on the hack boards as well. Perhaps another few hundred in the wild.

I think there is a huge brain drain in progress.

A distinct impression that many of the smarter teachers have left and the pickings are slim.

I've had no issues getting a job, near 40k. Too many hours, but we will see how it goes. Appears school is having difficulty filling spots so its either: cant find decent teachers or cant find warm bodies. Not sure which at this juncture.

I do think quality of teachers even lower than last year, if that is possible. I know two solid teachers who left.

Even 40k is crap money if you are doing a proper job. If you are lying for a living, 30 is good money. Saw lots of thieves last year, snickering all the way oway the bank. Filipinos especially at 15k far better.

[Loaded]

I don't think by choice they are recruiting African teachers; there is a massive under-supply of European/North American teachers especially in provincial and rural towns.

[steven100]

I don't think by choice they are recruiting African teachers; there is a massive under-supply of European/North American teachers especially in provincial and rural towns.

not by choice but by $$$ ...... thais will always go for the ' pay the cheaper salary ' ...

[Loaded]

I don't think by choice they are recruiting African teachers; there is a massive under-supply of European/North American teachers especially in provincial and rural towns.

not by choice but by $$$ ...... thais will always go for the ' pay the cheaper salary ' ...

99% disagree.

Parents want farang-looking teachers. they are the school's customers.

If price was the deciding factor, they'd only employ Thais. They also wouldn't need to deal with non-imm B visas and work permits if they only employed Thais. This isn't what parents want.

My opinion is based on 16 years of employing and being employed in Thailand. There might be exceptions but Africans evoke negative emotions in Thailand mainly due to the negative press they receive here.

[lostinisaan]

They had a Cameroon women teaching at my wifes school. The second day at the school another Cameroon woman came to the school and they had a fight right in front of the students at the school,because one of them was having sex with the others boyfriend. Seems it made a bad impression on the director.

Have you got that on tape? Please.....

[bamukloy]

The Africans will work for half of what most other teachers make. It's a sign of the times ....

12k a month ... lol , I spend that in 3 days on food, drink & leisure.

Actually I wanted to say that..that my beer budget is double that alone per month, but thought better of it haha

[Saan]

The Africans will work for half of what most other teachers make. It's a sign of the times ....

12k a month ... lol , I spend that in 3 days on food, drink & leisure.

Actually I wanted to say that..that my beer budget is double that alone per month, but thought better of it haha

Good on you two. I am sure you have brightened the day for many by letting us know how much you spend on beer.

Now back to teachers in Isaan or the lack thereof.

[smotherb]

The African teachers have access to some of the best forgeries in the world! Not all but certainly some have dodgy degrees etc.

Dodgy degrees as well as all sorts of dodgy educational certifications are avalable to anyone who uses the internet. It may surprise you to know how many of the NES teachers are non-degreed, even though they have presented a degree to school officials.

[recom273]

I looked around for jobs in Issan, I have to make a big commitment, probably load up and ride up 1500km and live away from my wife for an initial period, then relocate my house, 2 more bikes, probably 4 flights up and down the country, find my wife a job - the reward a non negotiable 10 month contract at 30k ( a drop of 90-100k per year ) and no reassurance that I ( or the agency ) would get a repeat contract.

Issan isn't Bangkok or the south where jobs are plenty. It's too much of a risk for me.

[AlQaholic]

All the Africans graduated from Harvard with a Doctor degree in teaching English, and teach for less salary, easy choice for the schools.

[steven100]

I wouldn't teach for anything under 300k a month .... guess that's why i haven't been hired ....

[quandow]

The school from which I just retired had an absolute policy of NOT hiring anyone with black skin. Period. The hiring official for our area (he had four schools within his purview) had several applications from extremely dark skinned teachers that he kept in a drawer. Any time he had a problem getting the school to hire a white teacher that he deemed qualified, well he'd just put that white applicant in with the black applicants, and hired they were!

[Dario]

No problem here in northern Surin province. At the private school where our almost 6year old daughter Amy goes to her last kindergarden year class, they have: one Filippina for kindergarden, one male Brit and new one charming young lady from Miami FL, USA. Amy is the protege of Khun Jenna, the Filippina English teacher, apparently (her words) Amy is the smartest kid around, she translates when necessary from English into Thai for her fellow class mates. Amy is fluent in English, as my wife and I speak practically only English with her. No wonder we're proud of her.

Edited May 25, 2015 by Dario

[wotsdermatter]

How can a person graduate in the year specified and be the age specified. Either get things right or get off the keyboard. "..graduated 1924 at the university of Buea/Cameroon." "Here's a good example: His age: 26- 30, must be a very flexible teechaa"

[jorgenbo]

Dario,

What a lovly daughter.

I have a young nephew 4 years old. He is very, very bright. He is Autistics. We enrolled him in a private school..to my regret, it is Christian, here in the mids of the most Buddhist community anywhere in the world. Shame! The first day in school he was kicked out. The next day he was re-assigned to another teacher. Again he was kicked out. He can read and write and excells at math and logic games. He talks only to computers, not people. He speaks English, not Thai.

Now he is in Thai private school and performs with excellence. He is going to be an aircraft design engineer.

Good wishes for you and you baby.

Kind regards

Ibrahim

Edited May 25, 2015 by SlyAnimal
Removed e-mail address as per forum rules, if you want to contact the poster, please do so via PM

[TheRascal]

What a bunch of racist pigs on this site.

I agree there are a lot of questionable attitudes on this site.

You refer to Farang as if Farang means white foreigner. This is false. Farang meas "flucking foreigner" black or white.

Disagree. It means white foreigner. It doesn't mean Black, Latin, Indian, Arab or anything other than white. One of my close friends was born in Colombia but lived in the UK most of his life, he visits Thailand - is he Farang? No, he's Kon Latin.

[Thunderbirds20]

Fo some reason, the Thai Immigraqtion policy has changed. Instead of welcoming people from the West that spend money and respect everything Thai, now they discourage us from coming or staying here, .. many westerners that were here for years have gone to more welcoming places. Now, Thailand seems to favor the least desirable tourists on the planet, ... Russians, Chinese, scamming blacks from Africa, Sex starved Arabs and Indians.

The number of people coming to Thailand is up, but I bet the monetary benefit is down!

[anono222]

Pardon me there jorgenbo, but I must take exception to your mind numbing rant. I too possess some crediatials that would impress and amaze, but I wouldn't offer you a dime if your view on the world is so self-centered and narrow. I am the hiring director at a large school, and I personally verify the documents, histories, experience and backrounds of our new hires right down to twitter and facebook. Our teachers are from all over the world, including those cited by you. My personal experiences with our foreign staff totally refute your gross generalizations. Yes, we may get someone on occasion who requires extra help from our mentors. But overall, you don't have a leg to stand on. Sorry your existence requires validation through the degradation of others you know nothing about. As one of the all of whom you speak, I would gladly present, verify, and prove my documents are legitimate. Have a sad day, seems like you have no choice. Doc

[crickets]

the number one unspoken rule of hiring a teacher in thailand is make sure he isnt black.the schools must be desperate. Personally it doesnt bother me but i know of a teacher who hired a black man and the school told him to fire him right away but he refused to because he had already relocated. Both were promptly fired.

[watcharacters]

I don't think by choice they are recruiting African teachers; there is a massive under-supply of European/North American teachers especially in provincial and rural towns.

not by choice but by $$$ ...... thais will always go for the ' pay the cheaper salary ' ...

As economies improve in Western countries, Thailand will need to reevaluate it's teacher pay scale.