Heads up, "Teacher"...Thailand wants you!

[preahko]

Oh yeah, the bitches will be lining up for this one, hahahaha:

 

SHORTAGE OF ENGLISH TEACHERS

Plan to hire native English-speaking teachers

 

BANGKOK: -- The Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec) will seek a Bt350-million budget to hire 300 native English-speaking teachers for its primary and secondary schools to tackle the shortage of English teachers, a senior official said yesterday.

 

According to the proposal, the native speakers would each get about Bt1 million per year - a salary of Bt83,000 per month - compared with the Bt9,000 per month drawn by Thais teaching English.

 

Obec chief Chinaphat Phumirat said the foreign teachers would be from the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, India and the Philippines.

 

Obec's secondary schools currently have only 25,000 Thai teachers who have graduated in the English language, while primary schools have 5,000 such teachers. He said the move in 2010 to employ 3,000 Thais who had graduated in the English language to teach at its primary schools had boosted the students' academic results greatly. Obec hence felt encouraged to consider employing more native speakers to teach at its schools.

 

Link

[Flashermac]

 

Native speakers from India and the Philippines? At a million baht a year, they could get 80% of the archan Farang to quit their university positions to teach pratom.

 

Having seen the way English in taught in pratom and secondary schools, no matter how qualified one is one can't make much difference. Think of 50+ unruly kids crammed into a room for 50 minutes three times a week. Why doesn't Obec do something about the way the system is set up instead?

 

 

 

 

 

[Nervous God]

Problem is the curriculum, no matter how good the teacher, it demands stoopid things that cripple any logical way to learn English.

 

I bet they DO hire Indian and Philippine teachers (I would) and keep the change (I wouldn't)

 

I know a number of schools that independently hire expats, at pretty local wages mind you, to teach English.

[arsenalsteve]

Next month is what????,and the date???

[cavanami]

Send an alert to Stick

[Pianoman]

Knowing several Farang English teachers who are working / teaching here, I can't imagine what they would do if they started having to accept teaching with "Newbie's" who were getting paid 83,000 baht per month, when most of them are making far less than 50,000 baht including their "After School Lessons" compensations...

 

Pianoman

[Central Scrutinizer]

Most farang English teachers in the Surin area make 30,000 baht a month OR LESS. ANd, from what I hear daily from them the Thai teachers are jealous and do not want farang teachers in their schools. Lots of friction and resentment from The Thai teachers.

[Flashermac]

As I've said in other threads, most Thais seem to think Farangs get paid much more than they really do. A new Thai teacher may start at around 8,000 to 9,000 baht a month - but will get at least a 5% (half step) pay increase every year and sometimes a 10% (full step) pay hike. A Farang teacher may start at 25,000 to 30,000 ... but then stays there! The Thai teacher will also get full medical coverage for life and a pension, which the Farang certainly will not get.

 

Farang teachers do start high in comparison to Thai teachers. But the more senior Thai teachers will be making just as much as the white guy is. I have Thai colleagues who have a higher salary than I do. They all own homes and drive nice cars. They aren't starving.

 

@Pianoman - there is already bad feeling at some of the major international schools such as Harrow over the salary difference. Teachers hired in the UK or US will be paid more than Farangs hired locally, even though the teach the same classes. Those hired outside Thailand will also get round trip plane fare and probably not have to teach summer classes, which are dumped on the local hires.

 

 

 

 

 

[gobbledonk]

Most farang English teachers in the Surin area make 30,000 baht a month OR LESS. ANd, from what I hear daily from them the Thai teachers are jealous and do not want farang teachers in their schools. Lots of friction and resentment from The Thai teachers.

 

Not just the teachers - there are plenty of Thais in the Ministry of Education (Orwell would have loved that ..) who arent happy with the standard of Farang English teachers. The answer, apparently, has been to make the hoops they need to jump through sillier each year, culminating in a mandatory 'Thai Culture Course' that is seen as an insult to teachers who have lived in Thailand for many years, learnt the language etc.

 

Like their 'ideal' tourist, their ideal teacher is young, attractive and not looking to stay in Thailand long-term. Their country, their rules - fine - but why engage in the BS written in the OP ? TiT.

 

 

 

[Flashermac]

Many adverts for foreign teachers have an "age not over 50" requirement, but I've seen a few these days that say "age under 35". Are they looking for teachers are breed stock?

 

My first contract was ages ago at what was then considered the top teacher's college in Bangkok. (It's now a rachaphat and I'd say has gone down hill.) After I'd been there two years, some genius in the MoE decided Thailand didn't need Farangs and all contracts were stopped. My dept head wrote a letter saying they needed me - I was the only Farang in the English Dept and besides teaching was their unofficial advisor. No dice ... no want Farang! A friend had been at his name govmt secondary year for 6 years; the MoE told his school "we no want". We just moved over to the Ministry of University and took uni jobs. Several years later, the MoE got a new head who reversed the policy and actively sought foreign teachers again. (Back then contracts were few and hard to get, unlike today.)

 

Never forget that the top position in the MoE is politically appointed. A few years ago, when Thaksin was the poobah, he was changed the head of the MoE several times. My Mrs told me no one could keep up with the MoE's policies, since every new head changed them!