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Foreign Teaching Regulating Laws
The Teachers and Educational Personnel Act of 2003 identifies the qualifications and requirements needed to secure a teaching license by a foreign teacher before working in a school. All foreign teachers except those who are employed in the university or language schools or centers are exempted from this law. The provisions found in the law are definitely aimed at protecting the teaching profession in Thailand. The law is indeed significant and timely. But three particular requirements stated in the provisions of the law are found to be weak: two are now “abused” by some business institutes, and one needs total revision: the Thai Culture Training Course, the Graduate Diploma in Teaching and the Professional Knowledge Test.
The “Thai culture, Thai Language and Professional Ethics” for foreign teachers or popularly known as “Thai Culture Training” in short was made as an requirement along with the “Professional Knowledge Test” under the provision found in the law called “Notification of the Teachers Council of Thailand Board on Rules and Procedures for Testing and Evaluation of Knowledge of Foreigners in Applying for License to Practice the Teaching Profession B.E. 2549 (2006)” three years after the establishment of the Act.
In 2007, a few authorized private and public agencies started conducting the Thai Culture training course. However, it was on March 2008 when the Thai Culture Training was fully enforced by the Teachers’ Council of Thailand. The Teachers’ Council of Thailand under the Ministry of Education was established in 2003 as the professional body for both Thai and foreign educators and it has the authority in providing licenses to eligible teachers. Two problems arose during the conduct of Thai Culture training: its implementation and cost.
The implementation stage came as a problem when it appeared that not all schools under the jurisdiction of the Teachers’ Council of Thailand are fully aware and understand the law itself. Many foreign teachers had mixed emotions toward the training and the licensing requirement in general. Some attempted to understand it while others remained unmoved. It was on the late months of 2009 when schools including foreign teachers saw the need of the requirement. Moreover, what made the training unrealistic to many foreign teachers who have been teaching in Thailand for years is its practical relevance on them. There are specific topics that they find nothing new since they claimed that they have fully immersed to Thailand’s general culture. However, to those new foreign teachers who have been teaching for a year or less find the training quite useful. In any case, the general feeling of the foreign teachers is to take it for the sake of securing a license. More seriously, there was a huge uproar of the foreign teaching industry on the training cost. Since its early implementation in 2008, the training cost was ranging from 5,000 to 12,000 Baht. During the late months of 2008, the cost fell to 2,500-4,000 Baht. These days, the training fee ranges from 2,000 to 3,000 Baht. A very interesting question is, “Who determines the training fee?”
Under the law, the Thai Culture Training certificate costs 500 Baht only. Many private businesses and public agencies seek recognition from the Teachers’ Council of Thailand to organize and conduct the said training. They were granted of authorization. And so, it has become a business opportunity. Training fee costs are determined by the number of participants, venue and food costs, and among others. In 2008, only a few understood how the training works, and a particular Filipino teachers group broke the silence. Knowing the importance of coming together to ask for an affordable fee, they organized the first biggest Thai Culture training, which was attended by more than 200 teachers at a cost half of the original 5,000 Baht just for the training fee alone. It was still expensive given the number of attendees but it opened up for negotiation. Since then, these private and public agencies settle for an average of 2,000 – 3,000 Baht training fee. Another way of conducting the said training and getting the certificates without paying too much fee is getting an authorization from the Teachers’ Council of Thailand, and this is possible to big schools or group of schools that employ big number of foreign teachers. In my opinion, the business venture could have been avoided if only the Teachers’ Council of Thailand did not allow the training as a means of source of income of those private and public agencies. The training could have been more acceptable and fruitful when the Teachers’ Council of Thailand strictly identified their pilot centers or schools in all regions or districts in Thailand to conduct a standard yet very affordable training fee.
Consequently, the law also states that foreign teachers without any education degree or teaching diplomas from universities or colleges should take the Professional Knowledge Test administered by the Teachers’ Council of Thailand in all pilot centers simultaneously conducted usually twice a year. The Professional Knowledge Test is composed of four sections. Each section costs 1,000.00 Baht. The catch is when a foreign teacher failed a section of the test, he is allowed to retake it until he passes it. Except for section 1, all other three sections are found to be extremely difficult. Thus, many test takers failed to pass them. The Professional Knowledge Test was poorly conceptualized and designed. Many test takers observed that the test was poorly constructed, too long, very exhausting, specific and technical, and situational based on the host’s “ways of dealing things.” Another problem which causes frustration and disappointment is the non-existence of review materials and references before taking the test. Oftentimes, a test taker needs to retake the test twice or three times to come up with his own review materials hoping that he could pass it next time. Therefore, many academically unqualified foreign teachers refused to take the test. The Professional Knowledge Test needs to be carefully reviewed and revised to free the test takers from skepticism and save the Teachers’ Council of Thailand from getting negative academic and professional criticism.
Another option that the academically unqualified foreign teachers can take is to enroll themselves in the Graduate Diploma in Teaching offered by a very few universities and colleges in Bangkok. In fact, only one or two institutes in Bangkok are offering the said program to foreign nationalities. This Graduate Diploma in Teaching course is an implication of the law. No exact provision found in the Act supports this option. However, universities or colleges in Thailand that wish to open the said program need to have it accredited by the Teachers’ Council of Thailand. While some universities and colleges thought that it could generate possible profit, the market was not responding. This happened because of lack of proper consultation and analysis. The market is a working force with tight-budgeted income. For instance, to a foreign teacher in Bangkok who works five to six days a week from 8 AM to 5 PM with a monthly salary of 30,000.00 Baht, he clearly doesn’t have enough time to attend classes everyday after class; and he obviously needs to work double time if he wish to enroll in a 120,000 – 240,000.00 Baht short course. How physically and financially exhausting it would be for those foreign teachers working in far-flung areas! Unless, of course, if the school supports the foreign teacher with his studies. However, this is not always the case. What other option does the poor foreign teacher have?
Luckily, the Teachers’ Council of Thailand is lenient until 2010. It has allowed school employers to request a permit to teach for their foreign teachers in a span of two years. It can be extended for another year or so but this remains to be seen. There are other “legal” ways to work in schools without being bothered by those strict requirements. In addition, the situation brought more business opportunities to many private teacher agencies and language schools which can undermine the good intention of the Teachers’ Council of Thailand in protecting the integrity of the teaching profession. Many public and private schools turn to teacher agencies in hiring foreign teaching staff. These schools are saved from processing all the paperwork needed, and at the same time in handling teacher-related issues. Language schools and centers are exempted from the licensing procedures. But conflicts arose when those employed by the teacher agencies teaching in public and private schools are not supported by the schools and even the teacher agencies themselves. Many foreign teachers are working illegally in the country and so they do quick border runs twice a month. Some teachers have student VISAS and they are here working instead of studying. With the increasing demand of foreign teachers, other teacher agencies need to consider unqualified applicants to fill the number which is in reality at the expense of the school, the teacher, and the quality of instruction. Even some schools do not practice what the Teachers’ Council of Thailand and even the Ministry of Labor preach. There are renegade schools that continue to hire unqualified teachers. In fact, some unqualified teachers continue to teach despite of the effort of the host government to regulate the foreign teaching profession. What will happen in 2010?
To those eligible teachers who can secure a license easily, they do not see the licensing requirements a big problem except of course for waiting for a period of one year before they get hold of their licenses. This is the kind of teachers that the Teachers’ Council of Thailand is betting for. To those unqualified teachers, they can only hope for the extension of their permits to teach, non-strict immigration rules on quick border run exits, or the “legal ways” that teacher agencies offer. Unless they could pass all four sections of the Professional Knowledge Test or earn a Graduate Diploma in Teaching in Thailand or abroad, then this part of their teaching career will never be a problem. It is also possible that in 2010, there will be a very high demand of qualified teachers to replace all unqualified teachers. Particularly, the demand for qualified native English speakers will definitely remain high.
