To open and run a school

[MXcross]

Just out of curiosity , would anyone know what the criteria is for opening a school in Thailand?
For example insurances, paperwork from the local Tessabahn and actual qualifications needed by teaching staff.
This would be for a school run on a British curriculum with the obligatory Thai lessons.
Just asking so I can give a friend the heads up who is thinking of traveling here to look at options within the next year or so to see if it would be viable.
Already has a staff of teachers that are interested in the move from the UK. (not wash outs but people who are interested in teaching those that want to learn)
I don't think prices are what she's looking for, more on the general set up procedures
Thanks in advance for any advice that I can pass on to her.

[margaretcarnes]

If you are talking about a school for farang and Thai pupils - probably impossible to be totally farang run. Even the International schools have mixed staff - and I think Thai management. It's one of those areas of work which Thais can do, so apart from the need for native English speaking teachers in Thailand it is Thai dominated.
However, there have been posts a while back by someone (farang) in HuaHin who was working on implementing a Western form of curriculum and assessment criteria. It was maybe 2 years ago, and I don't know what has happened.
My guess is that a decent totally farang run school could be attractive to some farang parents there, but that even if it were legally possible the school would need to be able to cope with all age groups and ability levels, as well as several European languages to make it worthwhile.
Will be interesting to hear what others think?

[dtaai-maai]

Already has a staff of teachers that are interested in the move from the UK. (not wash outs but people who are interested in teaching those that want to learn)

Be careful in casually tossing in the term 'wash-outs' when talking about teachers in Thailand, as it doesn't apply across the board by any means and isn't likely to get non-wash-outs leaping to your assistance.

Advice? If I were seriously considering starting a school here (a massive undertaking), I'd do a lot more detailed research than ask a friend to ask for advice on a local forum. She should herself join this forum and a well-known teachers' forum in Thailand. She should also find out about the Ministry of Education requirements for what would, presumably, be an international school. They will be stringent.

As Margaret said, there would probably have to be Thai partners involved in the management. You could try asking the people who run the school on this sticky viewtopic.php?f=42&t=20424 , but I'm not sure I'd want to be giving out free advice to potential competitors.

I won't hold my breath.

[PeteC]

Just to clarify something Mags mentioned. The IS my daughter goes to has no Thai management at all. The management is from the company who owns the school, which in our case is a Sri Lankan/Malaysian company. The only Thais present in a position of responsibility are those who teach Thai as a second language. The school does have a yearly meeting with the Thai board of eduction and that's about as far as it goes from what I've picked up at various PTA meetings. Pete

[MXcross]

Thanks for the replies
I wasn't meaning that the teachers here were "washouts", it was meant to imply that they were'nt just people that couldn't get jobs anywhere else rather that they were good teachers disaffected with the standard of pupils where they come from. (behavior and aggression).
The lady has been looking into it but I was just trying to help a little as sometimes when talking to people here things get mixed up and thought maybe someone had done it already and might know a little more than you get from the education department here.
Forewarned is after all fore armed.

[dom77]

I seriously object to the term washouts. We work hard for a living and are totally committed! I would suggest that the person who mentioned this shold stick it where the sun does not shine! Those kind of comments are extremely annoying!

[poosmate]

If the cap fits

[dozer]

If the cap fits

[dom77]

Then I suggesyt you send your kids to a school in BkK!

[Pleng]

I seriously object to the term washouts. We work hard for a living and are totally committed! I would suggest that the person who mentioned this shold stick it where the sun does not shine! Those kind of comments are extremely annoying!

Dom

I'd imagine the OP was referring to the massive slew of farrangs who do teaching because it's the only option available to them in Thailand, and have no desire to perform a good job. There are plenty of 'washouts' in this respect, and yes some of them exist around Hua-Hin/Cha-Am. I'm guessing the OP was trying to assure us that he wasn't intending to bring a bunch of 'travellers' here to potentially take care of their children's futures.

And I think there's nothing wrong with that.

[caducus]

To get back to the question raised by the original poster, if I am permitted to do by the administrators of this forum, I would refer the prospective school owner to www.ajarn.com - where a comprehensive search should present answers to most, if not all, of the questions.

In reply to the previous post and the reference to 'the massive slew of farrangs', I have no idea where 'Pleng' hangs out, and I really suggest that he/she look for somewhere else if he/she is bothered by such 'massive slew'.
May I point out that the days of back-packing teachers belong either in the past, or in the imagination of the ill-informed.
Even the language schools, the bottom-rung of the TEFL profession, insist on a teaching qualification and a bachelor degree, without which no application for a work-permit will be considered.

This strict policy has borne fruit, and anyone involved in corporate recuitment will confirm that the standard of English (reading, writing, speaking and listening skills) of the average job applicant has improved considerably over the past decade, and is continuing to do so.

[bapak]

Just out of curiosity , would anyone know what the criteria is for opening a school in Thailand?
For example insurances, paperwork from the local Tessabahn and actual qualifications needed by teaching staff.
This would be for a school run on a British curriculum with the obligatory Thai lessons.
Just asking so I can give a friend the heads up who is thinking of traveling here to look at options within the next year or so to see if it would be viable.
Already has a staff of teachers that are interested in the move from the UK. (not wash outs but people who are interested in teaching those that want to learn)
I don't think prices are what she's looking for, more on the general set up procedures
Thanks in advance for any advice that I can pass on to her.

Basically the licence holder must be Thai, be over 20 y/o, and hold a minimum of a B.A.
PM me your email address and iI will send you a copy of the Act.

[caller]

Even the language schools, the bottom-rung of the TEFL profession, insist on a teaching qualification and a bachelor degree, without which no application for a work-permit will be considered.

But that teaching qualification can be quickly and easily obtained. On a UK based forum I use, a member has done just that, and within a few months of discussing his plans, is now teaching near Khon Kaen. He is, in fairness, an educated retired guy and serious about what he is doing, but he is a novice teacher.

[caducus]

Whilst I agree that an English teaching certificate that is sufficient for a work permit application can be quickly obtained, I have yet to meeet a holder of such a certificate who cinsidered that the course was easy. Anyway, the example given by the previous poster does not appear to be part of the 'massive slew.

[dtaai-maai]

Whilst I agree that an English teaching certificate that is sufficient for a work permit application can be quickly obtained, I have yet to meeet a holder of such a certificate who cinsidered that the course was easy. Anyway, the example given by the previous poster does not appear to be part of the 'massive slew.

Speaking as someone for whom teaching was a means to make a living after deciding to remain in Thailand, as someone who did a proper TEFL course on Samui in his mid-40s, as a well-educated, experienced bloke who wasn't a qualified teacher in the UK and as someone who therefore probably is part of the "massive slew" (though you can't really have a small slew...), but considers himself to be an effective communicator and a pretty good teacher, I think this whole topic is worthy of a thread of its own.

The problem is not in itself the quality of the individual teacher, but the inability of the Thai employer to know what to look for at interview. I took umbrage at the OP's use of the term 'wash-outs', but I'd also have to raise an eyebrow at Caducus' assertion that a TEFL course is difficult (CELTA perhaps, but they both qualify you for the same job). As I said, perhaps a new thread...

I would also remind everyone of the massive slew of very well qualified teachers we have surely all encountered at one point or another who couldn't actually teach if their lives depended on it.