Thread: Why Does It Cost So Much To Educate Our Kids Here?

End of term and the wife tells me that she has paid in advance for the coming term.

Nearly fell over when she told me. Got one 5 year old, one 11 year old and a 13 year o1d at an International School in Pattaya a the fee including all extras was just short of 400,000 Baht. With the other expenses such as ESL and extra lessons for Thai I am thinking about getting a third job.

Funny though, had a bithday party for my daughter last Friday and a number of teachers joined in the celebration.

Although I know most of them are poorly paid (when compared to what they would receive back home) and receive very meager concessions for housing ect., not one of them complained about their situation. They as one were all discussing about how there was not enough investments going back into the same school and for the students benefit.

One person, (who I cannot name) claimed the school was making a fortune and he has to fight every day for even 100 Baht and to improve the facilities for the students.

As I know there are one or two teachers that post on TD, and as a father (that pays a small fortune to educate his kids) would like to know your opinions about whether the school directors here treat the schools as a business only or a place of education.

Is that 400k for each kid? Or altogether? If it's 400k altogether, then that's not too bad. My school charges 300k for each kid, which I think is ridiculous. I would never educate my kids here, though (if I had any). It's just too expensive!

They cost so much quite simply because they can. If private school fees doubled I bet they would be just as busy. There's always enough customers.

And of course most of that cash goes into a few people's pockets...

Investments for the sake of education? What an absurd thought.

Jeeez. Have you considered Boarding school in Aus or Europe?

Originally Posted by durianfan

Is that 400k for each kid? Or altogether? If it's 400k altogether, then that's not too bad. My school charges 300k for each kid, which I think is ridiculous. I would never educate my kids here, though (if I had any). It's just too expensive!

Thanks for your reply.

The 2 elder children are full price and I pay 50% for the 5 year old. (A token discount and if you have 3 children in the school).

The International Schools are feeling the squeeze. American School (campuses in Sukhumvit and Bangna) are laying off staff due to falling enrollment.

Parents here have to make sacrifices to send their kids to school - perhaps deferring that yacht or motorbike. But not giving your kid an internationally relevant education is the shittiest meanest thing you can do.

However, don't pay the 'Registration Fee' which the schools candidly admit is a way of making you stick with them. I've pointed out to them that educating the kids well is the best way to secure our loyalty.

Is the education difference between a govt school and Regents comparable with the price? Is it worth it? Do you get value for money?

By the way we have budgeted 1,600,000.00 Baht for our kids and per annum. Not including all of the other daily costs and expenses they throw at us.

What amazes me is why the teachers don't seem to be getting a fair salary for the obviously good job they are doing!

After all the teachers are the engine room of the school.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Although I know most of them are poorly paid (when compared to what they would receive back home) and receive very meager concessions for housing ect.,

I'm not sure, but with housing allowance international school teachers can earn something around 120,000 baht a month.

On average a teacher in the UK would earn about 25,000 pounds....about 2,000 pounds a month, current exchange is 65 baht, which makes it about 130,000 baht a month.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

What amazes me is why the teachers don't seem to be getting a fair salary for the obviously good job they are doing! After all the teachers are the engine room of the school.

Mate, we've been asking that question for years. We're expected to create and mold the future yet we just get blamed for the disasters. The money is shit, the hours long and the potential for abuse absurd. I'll never go back to it.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Why Does It Cost So Much To Educate Our Kids Here?

Becuase these are not cheap

Originally Posted by bkkmadness

Is the education difference between a govt school and Regents comparable with the price? Is it worth it? Do you get value for money?

Mate, last year I did think it was worth it but this year I have to wonder.

This school has a number of problems they have to sort out and the main problem starts with the owner.

Apparently the Bangkok Branch is losing money hand over fist and the Pattaya Branch is piggy backing the poor performing one.

Hence the children and the teachers are suffering.

Still had enough money to build a white elephant at the rear of the school though. All on parents school contributions.

Originally Posted by bkkmadness

Is the education difference between a govt school and Regents comparable with the price? Is it worth it? Do you get value for money?

Welcome to the Thai 'value trap'

If you send your kids to a free Thai speaking Government school, you will get what you pay for.

Well it's a long way off for me hopefully, but when I get into this situation I'd have to be considering govt schooling with some paid for private tuition. Is that feasible or is the govt schooling really that bad?

Alternatively once they get to 10-11 just going to sit them in front of google and tell them to search and read for 8 hrs a day.

Originally Posted by NickA

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Although I know most of them are poorly paid (when compared to what they would receive back home) and receive very meager concessions for housing ect.,

I'm not sure, but with housing allowance international school teachers can earn something around 120,000 baht a month.

On average a teacher in the UK would earn about 25,000 pounds....about 2,000 pounds a month, current exchange is 65 baht, which makes it about 130,000 baht a month.

Quite possibly my mistake for presuming they were poorly paid. If your figures are accurate I stand correcting.

Funny though! Offered a lovely new 2 bedroom house, fully furnished with all the trimmings, with a pool and 2 minutes drive from the school to an English teacher for 20,000.00 Baht and she laughed.

Love the house and appreciate the offer but do you really think I can afford that type of money on my salary. She is presently trying to buddy up with another female teacher and to jointly rent the house and share the costs.

Hope they do
Pleasant on the eye (one might say) and very welcome in this mooban

Education in Thailand is a lucrative and exclusively commercial enterprise.

I brought my 5 year old daughter, and we checked around the schools, I went and sat in a few class' at Buda schools, Govt schools, and a couple of international schools here in CM, and when it came down to it, I sent my kid back to the states to go to school.
Then I married a Thai school teacher with 20 years seniority and went to her school and helped the kids with conversational English some times and after really being exposed to education in Thailand, I am ever so glad to have made the decision to send her back, I would have done that even if I would have had to go with her.
I raised her from the time she was 3 days old until I sent her back 14 days before her 6th birthday, I miss her but love her to much for her to suffer thru life with the education she would have ended up with by going to school here.

Originally Posted by NickA

I'm not sure, but with housing allowance international school teachers can earn something around 120,000 baht a month. On average a teacher in the UK would earn about 25,000 pounds....about 2,000 pounds a month, current exchange is 65 baht, which makes it about 130,000 baht a month.

Really?

Shit I'd go back to work for that - maybe.

We are paying 30,000 a term for my 3 year old son and 4 year old daughter. So thats 240,000 baht a year for two kids under five years old.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Funny though! Offered a lovely new 2 bedroom house, fully furnished with all the trimmings, with a pool and 2 minutes drive from the school to an English teacher for 20,000.00 Baht and she laughed.

The teachers that I know around here get a 20,000 baht housing allowance. I know this because the local house & condo renting guy knows this and knows he can charge them 20,000 baht for a 10-15,000 baht property.

Of course, schools in Pattaya and other holiday destinations will probably pay less.

That's the higher wage level for farang teachers only though isn't it NickA?

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Quite possibly my mistake for presuming they were poorly paid. If your figures are accurate I stand correcting.

Funny though! Offered a lovely new 2 bedroom house, fully furnished with all the trimmings, with a pool and 2 minutes drive from the school to an English teacher for 20,000.00 Baht and she laughed.

Love the house and appreciate the offer but do you really think I can afford that type of money on my salary. She is presently trying to buddy up with another female teacher and to jointly rent the house and share the costs.

Hope they do
Pleasant on the eye (one might say) and very welcome in this mooban

Are they lezzers?

They'll probably have all the schoolgirls round for nude pool parties.

If you stand on the bog, you might get a better view ! Then you can complain to the estate management committee.

^^teachers I know are from Ruamrudee, ISB and The Regents school. I don't know what other schools pay, but i thought 80,000 was about the minimum for international schools. On the other hand government schools pay 40,000 baht

There's a few international school teachers on here, maybe they can enlighten us more.