Being a professional taking a career break and having just come back from Thailand having worked at a couple of Schools I realised that the whole approach to employing Western teachers is done with no understanding or appreciation of the morality and rights of employees that we take for granted in the West.

The whole approach from interview and getting the job, through the experiences in the workplace and the end of contracts and ‘booting you out of the country’ means that you come away from the experience with a total sense of frustration. It feels like in Thailand, as an employee you have no rights what so ever and are treated with no respect what so ever.

Thailand really needs to change its attitude to employing westerners if it wants this system to work and for decent people to feel that they want to stay. At the moment, everything is stacked against you and there is so much totally pointless beauracracy that it just grinds you down.

I noticed that the longer a western teacher had spent teaching in Thailand the more bitter and apathetic they had become about the whole experience so it is no wonder that there is a high turnover of good people and that Thailand is seriously struggling to improve the levels of English spoken.

By Jon, London on 2012-09-26

Sorry to hear those above stories.  I am Thai as you can tell from my English structure of my writing.  These issue above caused from lack of communication, misunderstanding in English of Thai people.  This should be a good lesson for foreign teacher who willing to work or current work in Thailand.  According to my understanding all legal statement which relate to your permit visa should be available for you on Thai government website.

By pattarath, bangkok,thailand on 2012-05-25

A year ago, survey by Thai Government was shock for public in Thailand. Some 88% teachers failed test from their subjects.
Huge incompetence which is so dangerous.
I wonder how much of those 88% belongs to English Thai teachers?
I couldn’t find any valid information about it but I guess incompetence in teaching English is not less than 40%. Any clue?
Thailand need radical reforms in Education.

By Mickey on 2011-11-22

Great article. I’m not sure how many people would believe a lot of the stories you cite but from my own knowledge of the Thai Ed system, and the people who work in it I don’t doubt that they are true.

By Kerrie, UK on 2011-11-20

Let’s put things into perspective here. Thailand remains one of the few countries where foreigners with very few qualifications, and in quite a few cases no qualifications at all, are able to land FT teaching positions within the mainstream system. I mean, what do people expect? With such low requirements the country is hardly likely to be a world leader in the field of education,is it? If it was, then things would be rather different and 95% of the farangs currently working here wouldn’t be able to do so. We shouldn’t forget how lucky we are. A 4 week intensive course and hey presto - you are now a qualified English teacher. Many Thai teachers are committed professionals with qualifications coming out their ears and yet they still have to accept the fact that they are going to earn a fraction of what the the TEFL course qualified farang is getting.

Having said this, The stories like the ones on here and others that you hear on the grapevine still never cease to amaze me. It also continues to shock me at just how short sighted, unrealistic and naive some schools can be. I recently saw an advertisement for a position in an ‘International school’. They needed somebody who was fully qualified to teach GCSEs, in other words, someone with QTS. They were offering the princely sum of 33K per month. I mean, who are they trying to kid?! DREAM ON!!!  I have no doubt that they will end up employing someone with a BA (if they are very lucky) and a 4 week TEFL course cert that was obtained from a language school on a beach somewhere down in the Islands.

There is no doubt that thailand is behind, way behind. But the fault lies with the system and the people who run the schools. I’m sorry, but you try putting 55 kids of ANY nationality in a small room all day long - you are GOING to have problems. Many of the kids that you meet here are wonderful, bright, highly respectful and intelligent young people who are simply being stifled in their current environment. It is a great shame. For me the worst part is just the general acceptance of the situation -the ‘that’s just the way it is” attitude. Of course, the general population don’t know any better, and having 55 mixed ability teens in the classroom of a ‘top, private school’ is perfectly normal.

By Paul, BKK on 2011-10-30