Corruption in the Thai Education System

I was telling you what I like about Krabi Town. Across the street from Relax Coffee I found an neat little guest house run by Sam (not his real name). Formerly Sam taught in a Thai school. The experience was disheartening. Sam told me the parents paid high fees to send kids to school in Thailand, but the school trustees were siphoning off the money, and trying to force the teachers themselves to buy basic supplies such as paper for their students at inflated prices. He said corruption was endemic in the Thai education system. “The typical class for ten-year-olds has about fifty or sixty students. Unless you are an army drill sergeant, you can’t teach in that environment. Not much learning takes place."

As he spoke we could hear the drums being played by a nearby elementary school in some kind of parade ceremony.

“They play the drums at the schools everyday” said Sam. “Thai kids have to listen to a lot of drum music. . . .”