Free Education In Thailand

[Big Boy]

On the Somtawin thread Frank Hovis wrote:

described by Article 26 of the Declaration of Basic Human Rights. "Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory"
In Thailand 12 years of education is provided free by the government, nine of those years are mandatory.
Thailand should be rightly proud that it meets the requirements laid down by article 26, including section 3 which states "Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children."

It is section 3 that puts the onus on parents to ensure that when they leave the state funded education system that it is they themselves who have the responsibility to meet the requirements of sections 1 & 2 for their children. If they cannot do that then they must revert to state funded education until such times as they have met a particular countries mandatory educational requirements.

I pay for my grand daughters education in a Thai school. While the cost is nowhere near the scale of Somtawin, it is not free. Apparently, all that free education meant was a grant to help fund education, which equates to 300 Baht per child at my grand daughter's school. This grant can only be reclaimed by production of a receipt proving the parent has incurred school related expenditure eg school uniform, books etc.

[poosmate]

I also agree that education is not free for anyone in Thailand.
Many workers struggle to afford to send their children to school.
Some popular state schools even charge extra fees and backhanders.

[playboy]

Hello;
I don't know if education in school is free in thailand, but since I was in kidergarten school 50 years ago my parent paid for my private school. When I was in grade 5-7, I was in a well known private school in my city which costed about 2000 bath per trimestre. In high school I transfered to public school which costed around 130 bath per trimestre or per year I could not recall. Anyhow when I got to college I decided to go to Bangkok for my college education. I believed that I paid around 3000 per trimestre which is a private well known college. In that time I worked during a day from 6-2.30pm 6 day a week and in the evening to attend the classes. I must pay my own money for the class. I asked my school if I can pay in each trimestre instead of once per year.(which normally we must pay full amount per year) they agreeded with me. On second year of education I could not study anymore since I transfered to university, so I decided to quite and not to pay for the last treimestre I did not attend. What I said here is you pay as you go, if you don;t pay then don't go. It is so logic.... By the way the college did not exist anymore. I don;t know if because of bad business or too few students attend.

[dozer]

"the trouble with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other peoples money."

M Thatcher.

[E-Dork]

Temple Schools are not completely free as such (extras come and go over the year) at a maximum around 2000 baht for a year would be sufficient. I have never met anyone who "struggles" to send their kids to a temple/state school in many years in Thailand.

Poosmate said...

many workers struggle to send their kids to school

I would think that is more like.... many workers struggle to pay for their kids meals everyday.

[poosmate]

I would think that is more like.... many workers struggle to pay for their kids meals everyday.

And each semester many labourers here struggle and some borrow to pay the school fees - however small this amount may seem to you.
The school also require uniforms and books and yes food.
But you have never met anyone in this predicament.
I have.

[E-Dork]

And each semester many labourers here struggle and some borrow to pay the school fees - however small this amount may seem to you.
The school also require uniforms and books and yes food.
But you have never met anyone in this predicament.
I have.

I have met workers, many of my own in fact that struggle to support their kids. On a salary of 10000 baht a month some of these guys try to support 3 or 4 children believe it or not. Nothing to do with the price of the state school which is next to nothing, but simply the fact they are struggling to pay for their children full stop. This again boils down to having more children than one can afford.

Again I will say.... It is nothing to do with them struggling to send their kids to school because of school fees, but struggling to provide for their kids as a whole.

[poosmate]

E-Dork

This topic is FREE EDUCATION.
If Education is free as is suggested by the government then struggling to pay school fees would ease at least one aspect of poor labourers family budget .
Of course a person who struggles to pay school fees is probably struggling financially in many aspects.
Stop splitting hairs.

[charleyboy]

I teach English one day per week at a local school here in Cha-am.
I do it free for the children.
I like to give a little bit back to the community.
And before you start saying, you're not allowed to...
I don't give a flying f@@k.

[Frank Hovis]

The education part is free. All municipal schools provide free education.
They do not provide books, uniforms, food, extra curricular activities or tuition in subjects outside the core curriculum for free.

The few thousand baht per semester/term 'fees' that municipal schools charge is not a fee. It is an 'ask'; they are asking people who can afford it to contribute to the school. Payment is not compulsory but you will be visited regularly by a teacher or school administrator who checks if you really can't afford it. This works in Thailand because the shame of not paying the 'ask' is enough to make people borrow the money. Any school that demands an education fee is either a private school, and their fees can be as little as 1000B/term, or is a municipal school that is breaking the law.

Municipal schools use some of the 'ask' money to assist extremely poor families with the cost for used books, uniforms and food at school. Poor families, in this instance, are families who really have no hard money, they may collect plastic bags, cans, bottles and tire carcasses from highways as their main source of income and trade items for food rather than sell them. Their homes are likely to be no more than wood, cardboard and rice/fishfood bags. They are truly financially poor.
Thailands free and compulsory education system at least gives these children a tiny chance at bettering themselves rather than condemning them to a life of scavenging for survival.

[Norseman]

That's what I like to hear.
Charlieboy, that's the spirit and I'd love to do it myself, but my English isn't good enough to even try.
This is exactly what we should do as rich ex-pats here in Thailand.
Try to give a helping hand if you can and are able to do it.

[poosmate]

Payment is not compulsory but you will be visited regularly by a teacher or school administrator who checks if you really can't afford it.

A bit like compulsory then unless you are assessed as poor

[Big Boy]

Frank Hovis wrote:

The few thousand baht per semester/term 'fees' that municipal schools charge is not a fee. It is an 'ask'; they are asking people who can afford it to contribute to the school. Payment is not compulsory but you will be visited regularly by a teacher or school administrator who checks if you really can't afford it. This works in Thailand because the shame of not paying the 'ask' is enough to make people borrow the money. Any school that demands an education fee is either a private school, and their fees can be as little as 1000B/term, or is a municipal school that is breaking the law.

OK, I don't know if you are right or wrong. However, it is a request for money, and whether you call it a fee, an ask or Fred; it is money being asked for to allow your kids to go to school.

Thai people are a race who do not like to lose face. Regardless of whether they have money or not, they will not want to be seen as being on the poor list. Also they don't want to be seen going into the local Pawn Shop with what little possessions they have.

My daughter has actually pointed out the helmeted men in black sent to peoples homes to collect fees. A visit from the Kray twins would be more welcome. I come from a working class background, and I've seen my parents have to decide whether to pay the tallyman who called for his slice of flesh every Friday night; or would we eat the following week?

Aside from 'the ask' there are other customised items the schools insist on eg backpacks advertising the schools name, which are more expensive than the exact same item without the school's name.

I have no objection whatsoever to these fees/charges, and gladly subsidise my grand daughter's Thai education. I'm also satisfied with the standard. It is my belief that even in the poorest schools, talent will show through. My eldest grand daughter was recently ranked 300th in a National Written English examination.

What I do object to is people sat in their ivory towers, with no financial worries whatsoever, sitting in judgement on something they may have read in the press.

[charleyboy]

It is my belief that even in the poorest schools, talent will show through.

Totally agree with you Bigboy.

[Norseman]

I think I can go along with your statement charleyboy, that the talents eventually will light up, and I do agree with BB and his idea about the Ivory towers.