Teachers in jail
Two weeks ago, I posted about the raids on Bangkok area schools by members of the immigration police. Several teachers were taken into custody during the raids and two of these, at the time of this writing, still remain behind bars in Bangkok. The simple story might be that two teachers were arrested because they were caught using fake degrees. Yo my friends, the story is never simple.
Do the crime, do the time? Hah! Don’t be so heartless ’till ya know all the facts. The two arrested, one Brit and one Canadian, worked at our newest Hall of Shame school, Kornpitacksuksa School in the Bangbon area of Bangkok, Thailand. You can read the Hall of Shame induction on this link. There is a lot of information that hasn’t been shared with the public concerning these arrests and the press is ignoring the plight of these teachers. Ain’t that just cozy?
On Friday, January 12th, 2007, members of the immigration police visited several schools, including Kornpitacksuksa School. Most of the teachers at this school were led to the roof in order to hide out until the coast was clear. Two teachers were not. They were summoned to the office and turned over to the immigration police, just like a couple of sacrificial lambs.
The immigration police knew these teachers did not have proper documentation. One of the teachers was hired by the school with just a 2 year diploma. The school was desperate for teachers and, at the time, felt that this would be sufficient to get a work permit and teacher’s license for the teacher. They were wrong and the Thai Ministry of Education asked for a 4 year from the teacher. Kornpitacksuksa School told the teacher that he should obtain a fake degree and they would use that to submit to the MOE. The teacher complied and he received his teacher’s license only to have it revoked a short time later because the MOE discovered it was fake. Big surprise, right?
Ever desperate for a good teacher, the school administration used one of its sister companies to hire the teacher with the position of graphic designer. The teacher didn’t think anything about it. After all, this is Thailand. He had a work permit, 1 year visa and was continuing to teach at the same school. What more did he need? Obviously a lot more.
The immigration police came to Kornpitacksuksa School looking for this teacher and any other that they could get their grubby little paws on. They arrested him along with another teacher. They were thrown in jail and it has been reported that they were sentenced to 3 months in jail for their offense. What happened to the school administrators? Nothing, nothing at all. Never mind the common law Thai wife of one of the teachers or the Filipina wife of the other teacher. Mai pen rai, isn’t that a Thai expression.
I say pen rai. It is time we cared, it is time we gave a damn. These teachers were done wrong by Thai government, they were done wrong by the school, sure the teachers were culpable, but so was the school. Why isn’t a school administrator warming the jail cell next to them? This is just plain wrong, but enough said by me. I want to hear what you have to say about this.
Comments
6 Comments on Teachers in jail
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Blown Apart on
Thu, 24th Apr 2008 9:00 am
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mark on
Fri, 5th Sep 2008 3:35 am
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Double Duty on
Thu, 13th May 2010 1:48 pm
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Steeve on
Wed, 19th May 2010 2:51 pm
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Alan on
Thu, 29th Jul 2010 3:20 pm
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Sky on
Tue, 22nd Nov 2011 4:58 pm
Kornpitack is the worst school in Thailand for teaching. I know, I taught there. What a nightmare.
Blown Apart
why dont people just get legitimate qualifications?Stay clean and the world is a good place to live in.That’s my policy.
Any farangs teaching English at Kornpitack school must really enjoy the kids screaming and yelling all the time in the classrooms. Ear plugs should be the standard there if you teach at this school. Besides becoming deaf there as a English teacher, you’ll also become ‘dumb’ or ‘dumber’ if you continue to teach at Kornpitack. Take my word for it.
Double Duty
I don’t think any of the Farang teachers at Kornpitack are high school graduates. I’m pretty sure about that after meeting a couple of them…….Duhhhhhh!
Steeve
Well what ido you think the approx. ratio of teachers with degrees at are working abroad? I am a newbie to the entire ESL/TESOL/CELTA/etc.. world. I want to be a teacher but do it legally.. So to understand to work in Thailand you need a
-degree of some sort ?
- A 2 year diploma plus a TESOL certificate will get me what in Thailand??
I hope hte answer is not jail??
In Thailand, especially Bangkok, the schools will even send your so-called degree out for the ‘sniff test’ to make sure that it’s real. But whatever school you try to apply for in Thailand, no matter what kind of degree you have, avoid the Kornpitacksuksa School in Bangkok at all costs, or you will go to jail sooner than later.
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