Job Discussion Forums

Sgt Killjoy · Joined: 26 Jun 2004 Posts: 438

FYI, teachers were arrested last Friday in Bangkok at their schools. Some are being deported.

Crime: Fake degrees and/or no work permit.

Just beware, teachers.

dove · Joined: 01 Oct 2003 Posts: 271 Location: USA/Japan

I heard about this from some other forums I have been browsing. I can understand being arrested for not having the appropriate working papers, but how did the authorities know the degrees were fake? They must have had a lead and were tracking specific teachers, right? I mean how could the police just enter a school and demand to see degrees and then determine they were fake?

laconic · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 1:01 am Post subject: Arrests

Some more information:

http://www.teflwatch.org/forum/index.php/topic,841.30.html

Sgt Killjoy · Joined: 26 Jun 2004 Posts: 438

As shocking as it seems, they actually did their homework and checked out the teachers.

cafecafe · Joined: 24 May 2006 Posts: 20

The teachers arrested were teachers who submitted fake documetation to the Ministry of Education and got caught. Rule number one: don't come to Thailand without a proper degree. And yes, a teaching certificate is not enough to teach in Thailand. You now need a degree and a certificate to secure a teaching license and a work permit from the Thai government!

abusalam4 · Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 143

[quote="cafecafe"] You now need a degree and a certificate to secure a teaching license and a work permit from the Thai government![/quote]

I think that they are right in insisting on "real" degrees and do something about those with fake degrees. Those with fake degrees do in some way harm the reputation of those with really earned degrees.
I am wondering what has really been the cause for situation to go out of hand to that extent in Thailand? Are there so many foreign teachers who have fake degrees? Anymore worse in Thailand than anywhere else?

Zanada · Joined: 18 Aug 2004 Posts: 500 Location: Here

Is that a fact? You now have to have a Degree to teach in Thailand?
I was hoping to one day give Thailand a try but I don't have a degree, just a TESL Cert. with a couple of years of experience in China.
I can forget the LOS? Sad

stilloutthere · Joined: 06 May 2005 Posts: 23

You have always had to have a degree to teach legally. The Thai government now checks degrees the way employers do in the US. You sign a form authorizing your school to send verification of your degree directly to them. They also now look up the school in a directory.

A lot of people are still teachig without a work permit. They do three one-month visa runs, then go somewhere with a Thai consulate and apply for a two-month tourist visa, then get a one-month extension, then start with the over-the-border runs again. It's just harder and more expensive.

stilloutthere · Joined: 06 May 2005 Posts: 23

Also, a certain number of years of experience can be used in lieu of a degree. That's true even in Japan, which is really strict.

TEFL anonymous · Joined: 19 Feb 2007 Posts: 22 Location: Tampico, Mexico

I think that the authorities wanted to keep track of what, who and where a bit more with regards to farangs. In September of last year that American teacher in Thailand falsely gave himself up to the police for murdering the little girl a few years back. He didn't have all his papers in order... And around the same time, I think it was two teachers were deported for behaving improperly with their young students. They didn't have all their papers in order either...

I guess they didn't want pseudo-teacher murderer/rapists roaming the country any more. And who can blame them?!

macka · Joined: 11 May 2007 Posts: 45 Location: uk

"still out there"

what is this about a certain amount if years experience being used in lieu of a degree?????

dont you mean in kieu of an esl qualification?

sethness · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Posts: 209 Location: Hiroshima, Japan

In Thailand, often teh reasons given for govt action on an ordinarily tolerated/overlooked crime are merely an expedient way to deal with the defendant.
The real "offense" that brought the defendant to the government's attention can be quite unrelated.

If, for example, those teachers were facilitating an end-run around the many websites that the Thai government blocks...? (Even owning Internet endrun software like "anonymizer" or "TOR The Onion Ring/Router" is on its way to being punishably illegal.) Or something that seemed to support Thaksin (the former PM who was ousted by a military coup recently), or something unflattering about the current government or the Thai royal family-- any of those things might earn an individual intense attention from govt folks looking for ways to oust/arrest/trouble/silence the offender.

DunceCap · Joined: 31 Dec 2006 Posts: 2

Last I heard, there were still folks teaching in language schools with just a cert.

If you want to teach elsewhere, a degree is a must.
Some have tried without a degree, and have ended up
with immigration/police at their school. Because they said they had a degree, but didn't.

...to deal with this some have:

a)paid off the police
b)escaped over the wall
c)went elsewhere to teach
d)went back to school to get a real degree

are some degreeless teachers hanging out in Thailand and teaching?
of course.

CoolThailand · Joined: 08 Jun 2007 Posts: 18

lanceevan1 · Joined: 26 Jun 2007 Posts: 21

Sorry, But anyone who teaches on fake degrees, or credentials should not be teaching. It is highly offensive to those teachers who did the work to get their degrees and credentials.

End of Story.