This is taken directly from a memo that I submitted to my Principal:
I have met with 2 university professors in Bangkok that work directly with Thailand’s Ministry of Education and Teacher’s Council. They explained the current laws regarding Foreign Teachers in Thailand.
1. Once you obtain your Work Permit, you must obtain a Teacher’s License (500 baht) within a reasonable timeframe from your date of hire (takes 1 to 2 years to obtain).
2. In order to obtain a Teacher’s License, you must first attend a 20 hour Thai Culture and Teacher Professional Code of Ethics course. This is a 4 day course carried out by various universities in Bangkok over 2 weekends (costs approximately 4,000-8,000 baht).
3. Please note that in order to attend this 20 hour course, you must have taught at least 1 year in Thailand and possess a University Degree (in any field).
4. If you have a BA degree in Education and a TEFL certificate, you only need to attend this 20 hour Thai Culture and Teacher Professional Code of Ethics course. If you do not have a BA in Education and a TEFL certificate, then all of the following requirements must be met:
a) Attend the 20 hour Thai Culture and Teacher Professional Code of Ethics course (4 days)
b) Attend the 27 credit hours course on Teacher Education (1 year)
c) Successfully pass the Teacher’s Council’s test on Teacher Education (offered approximately 3 times a year)
5. If you do not attend the 27 credit hours course on Teacher Education, you still must apply for, and successfully pass, the Teacher Council’s test on Teacher Education (which they claim is impossible to pass without first attending the course).
6. This course will take 1 year to complete. It will be “distant learning” with lectures on various weekends, but mostly self reading and projects to be carried out on your own time and submitted at interval periods for review by the professors. They are not yet aware of the costs to attend the 1 year course or the fee to take the Teacher Council’s test (first course registration is expected sometime this June).
7. To the best of my knowledge, we have all applied for our Teacher’s License, yet none of us has received the certificate. They explained that this is most likely due to the above requirements not being met. I have asked (omitted) to make the necessary phone calls to clarify.
8. This is a heads-up only for your information.
—end of memo—-
Now, don’t even get me started with my personal opinions on the value I received for my 8,000 baht fee. The only reason I was on Ajarn to begin with was because I need two teachers. It’s becoming ever more impossible to meet the requirements and hire legal teachers. However, please note that the 2 professors also stated that there’s no “quality check” to ensure that school’s are hiring legal teachers. It’s still a free-for-all, who-knows-who, and who’s-paying-who game.
Rebecca
Source: http://www.ajarn.com/postbox.htm
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