Somtawin ejecting kids with late paying parents

[E-Dork]

It's hard for me to have sympathy for lazy louts who are not willing to try or work hard to succeed in life and support their families and pay their bills responsibly. I can understand if a health emergency causes a financial problem but beyond that I see very few valid excuses.

Hit the nail on the head there HHFarang. As has been stated before... how many of these people complaining about not being able to afford a good school's fees would you expect to see enjoying themselves out and about town frequently. Quite a few I would imagine. Dozer said you should not even consider starting a family if you earn less than 40k a month and was attacked for it. 40k a month.... thats 800 quid. Do people really earn less than that here.... even teachers (in Hua Hin) supplement there salary with a few private lessons to make it more than that. Teachers in Bangkok earn far more than that. If you do earn less than that what the hell do you do for work.

[Big Boy]

E-Dork wrote:

Sorry for the confusion Big Boy.

I took your comment from the thread "could you afford international school fees" which I posted the link for. I know it's an old topic but I thought the comment fitted quite nicely into the debate on this topic.

Unless you have changed your views on the matter I assume your comment still applies.

Yes in general, I do still stand by my comment. However, the problem lies in the amount of research carried, and the element of risk built into their planning.

In the last couple of years, the value of the Pound has de-valued by one third against the Baht. Personally, I've seen the bad times (30 Baht to the Pound) and the good times (70+ Baht to the Pound) in Thailand (I consider the current situation as slightly above average - but wish it was better). I've been coming here for many years. A lot of expats did not discover Thailand until the good times, and made their plans based on 70 Baht to the Pound. At that rate schooling would have been well provided for.

I would guess many would have mitigated any risk to the extent of a drop of maybe 10% in the Pound's value. With such planning, these people will be struggling now. Many will have also have burnt their bridges back home. They will be clinging on for dear life here in Thailand at the moment. They probably would have to sell any property in Thailand at a significant loss, and would probably need local authority accomodation if they moved back home. The UK job market is not too healthy at the moment, so they could be worse off than in Thailand.

I do not know any of the characters involved in this, and do not know if they are still living the high life at the expense of their children's education. The above paragraph, is simply my take on the probable situation. Hopefully, this situation is only temporary, and a little leeway can be given in the short term whilst waiting for problems to resolve themselves. I agree with Norseman's view that it wouldn't cost the school too much to let the kids continue for a period. However, I accept that neither this nor any other school is a charity, and maybe a longer period of notice needs to be given for the parents to pay, or make alternative arrangements.

I hope that has answered E-Dork's question regarding my views. This topic is not about my views (which include a lot of guessing and probability), so please.

[E-Dork]

A very reasonable view Big Boy.

As you have stated there are a lot of variables to think about.

Maybe a new thread (pretty miserable one at that) "Where did it all go wrong?" The economy? Wife took the house? Job fell through? etc.

[Super Joe]

40k a month.... thats 800 quid. Do people really earn less than that here.... even teachers (in Hua Hin) supplement there salary with a few private lessons to make it more than that. Teachers in Bangkok earn far more than that. If you do earn less than that what the hell do you do for work.

Maybe a new thread (pretty miserable one at that) "Where did it all go wrong?" The economy? Wife took the house? Job fell through? etc.

Well if nothing else E-Dork, you have firmly underscored one commonly held belief . . . "You can pay for school, but you can't buy class."

SJ

[Hezze]

I have 3 kids at STW and when informed of the discount for paying early I was glad to save a few bucks. It would be awful if my kids had to change school due to parents not paying their fees. They are all kindergarden age but I am now looking at cost and places for college/university level. When the day comes I wont be surprised of the costs and I will have the money for their full tuition before they even start.
For me this can only happen by working more than what I would need or want at the moment and though unexpected things can happen a school fee at the start of a new term is the easiest thing to foresee.

[E-Dork]

Last night I met the nicest, most genuine person I have possibly ever come across. He too is having a serious cash flow problem and is struggling to pay for his 2 kids Education in Hua Hin. After talking with this chap for a fair few hours it made me realise that I have absolutely no right to speak ill of anyone who is struggling to pay for their kids as I have no idea of their situation/predicament and how it came about. Everyone makes mistakes and I hold my hand up to say my opinions of low earners/people struggling to make ends meet was quite wrong as I have never met these people. I apologise whole heartedly if anything I said caused offence to people who are struggling.

I guess now my main gripe is about any parents in Hua Hin who are obviously not pulling their weight and making sacrifices in order for their children to recieve a good education.