Paying for the Privilege to be Educated in Thailand's Corrupt School System by Phairath Khampha 31 May 2001 Educational reform is supposedly in the air in Thailand, but the dubious practice of paying so-called 'tea money' to schools to secure places is a problem so deep-rooted that many Thai experts believe official suggestions do little to tackle the fundamentals. These are the shortcomings of the Thai educational system because often truly intelligent children are denied a proper education in an extremely corrupt education system that only favours those who have the money. This in turn holds back development in Thailand because many talented people are not allowed to raise to a position where they can truly benefit society as a whole. Money, so the saying goes, is the root of all evil. But if it promises your children academic excellence, a safe environment, and a bright future, will you give in to it? Many parents succumb when it comes to their children's education. The idea of giving the best education possible to children is rooted in all parents' hearts. In Thailand, where formal education is not a free public service, even though the law supposedly guarantees it, and admission to good schools is highly competitive, many parents are more than willing to do whatever it takes to get their children a place. And here is where tea money, a Thai term for graft, comes into play. "If your children are very smart enough to pass the exam, there is nothing to worry about. But for those who are less smart and might fail the exam, it's safer to contact the school or the go-between in advance," said Passphol Verameythee, a businessman who reserved, with tea money, a place in a private elementary school for his daughter. Although the Ministry of Education recently announced that all students must have "equal" admission rights, many parents harbour concerns about the "equal" educational standards of Thai schools. In Thailand some people are awlays "more equal" than others. Merit is rarely rewarded because it is a society that caters to greedy, corrupt behaviour and absolutely no fair play. It is not surprising that those who can afford to pay are not reluctant to secure their children a place in one of the better schools-with tea money paving the way. "In one noted state school, they announced 1,400 students who passed the test for Mathayom 1 (the entrance grade for high school). But when the semester began, there were 1,700 students altogether. No one cared to check where those extra 300 students came from, and how," noted Assoc Prof Dr Sompong Jitradub, educational reform advocate in the Faculty of Education at Chulalongkorn University. The tea money practice is not limited to private or state schools. Shockingly, the practice has even spread to religious institutes where all greed should theoretically be relinquished. "My aunt contacted a high-ranking monk who held certain responsibility in the school run by his temple. With his granted quota and, of course, with my 15,000 baht, he managed to place my son," revealed Pongpat (not his real name). The average Thai barely earns 2,500 baht per month so people often have to resort to criminal activities to raise the money. A survey in early 2001 by the Thai Farmers Research Centre-based on 1,227 families with children of school age, particularly those looking for entry to Prathom 1, Mathayom 1 and 4, and vocational schools-shows that 48.5 percent of parents were pulling strings through schools and go-betweens, and were paying tea money. The report showed that the majority of parents saved money for their children's education, including tea money, but many of them had to rely on financial sources such as bank loans, chit funds, gambling and even pawn shops. Some parents turn to relatives and friends, but others depend on loan sharks, whose lending rate is as high as 20 percent a year. Others resorted to all manner of criminal activities. The breakdown of the tea money shows an average of 10,000 baht pure graft, 1,000 baht donation to the school's association, 5,000 baht to become a school patron, 5,000 baht to support school activities and 3,000 for "others"-such as free meals and gifts for the go-between. The figure, however, soars up to six digits in private and/or sought after schools, where competition is excessively high. "Four years ago, I paid about 90,000 baht for my first son's admission to his elementary school. But this year it costs me 200,000 baht," said Ruangrudee Sawasskul, a housewife. "I paid 300,000 baht altogether to move my child from her old school to a new school: 50,000 baht for a letter of recommendation from the old school, another 50,000 baht for the director of the new school, and 200,000 baht for donation to the new school," said Krisana Sorntheera, a manager of an export business. Both, however, felt it a worthy investment for they have no need to find a new school for their children until they finish Mathayom 6 (Grade 12 equivalent). But tea money does not end after admission. Extortive demand for tea money continues in many forms-monetary petitions, donations for parental association, sponsorship and levy, alumni support, school fund raising and festive activities. Tea money itself arrives in many guises-from thick envelopes of cash to handsome cheques-handed under the table or in flower bouquets-from donated items to raffle tickets and seasonal gifts. "My son's school pleaded for donations for a new building and a computer room. Parents were asked to co-operate by donation-either in money or in kind, like computer equipment," said Prapass Sittanuwat, a merchant. He continued that, throughout his son's three years at junior high school, he had no choice but to spend approximately 100,000 baht for a multitude of school activities, in addition to his 80,000-baht tea money for entry. "I am willing to pay tea money for school admission, but I feel I am forced to make those extra educational tributes for what seem to be unnecessary causes," he fumed. Like other parents, Prapass wonders where all the money goes. "I believe 50 to 60 percent of tea money goes to school development for our children's learning benefits. But I don't know about the rest," commented Dr Sompong. The root of the problem is apparently a result of the failure of the government to provide a decent standard of education in state schools. State schools receive inadequate and unequal funding and the authorities cast an unblinking eye over the problem. "Authorities in the government could not care less about the situation. When it's time for their children to get into a school, they can just exercise their power-usually without tea money-to get their kids a seat. So they don't see tea money as a major problem in Thai education," pointed out Dr Sompong, also an education columnist for Mathichon newspaper. "Furthermore, they are the ones who profit from all the tea money. It goes into their pockets." Therefore, well-regarded private and certain state schools which promise academic excellence, modern teaching methods and learning equipment, and safe environments-are still on the top of the list for parents. But according to Ministry of Education, of all 2,269 schools nationwide, only 351 are considered reputable schools, and most parents and students have an eye on them, hence the overdemand on these schools. To deal with the problem and encourage equality, the Ministry of Education arranged a quota system for school admission a few years ago. The guidelines-which applied to all schools under the supervision of the ministry-stated that 70 percent of newly-admitted students must have lived in the local area for a certain period of time. The remaining 30 percent is made up of those who pass the entrance exams, those with "special" abilities and those who have a special contribution to make, either in the form of money or existing relationships. So, in fact the situation is still the same because of these special existing relationships. "This does not appear to me to be the solution. The 30 percent can be unqualified, but they can just get in because of their parents' money," Dr Sompong said. How about change in admission criteria? Responding to Article 26 of the 1999 National Educational Act, which takes effect from 2002, schools must no longer emphasise just the result of the test, but also assessment of learners' performance through observation of their development; personal conduct; learning behaviour; and participation in activities. The test is used as the means to enter the school. If the tea money payment is adequate, the applicant always "passes" the exam. "In practice, I still think schools will rely mainly on the test results and pick only the smartest or the ones who pay the most. Therefore, it does not really embrace the principle of equality," said Prapass. "Besides, the shift to other criteria such as interview and readiness are subjective and might pave the way for other kinds of bribery. I wish the government would take this issue seriously," added Rungrudee. Apparently, the tea money culture is hard to change. The practice has existed for several decades. It goes hand in hand with the Thai patronage system and global capitalism and the general corrupt and greedy behaviour of Thai society. "Tea money will never disappear from our country. Even educational reform could not help. I suggest parents seriously form a school association and team up to take action against unnecessary monetary requests from schools," said Pongpat. As of May, aside from the money needed for tuition fees, extra tuition fees, and textbooks, many parents were preparing big sums of money to pull strings, ready to buy their children a good education. The new academic year started in late May. "I don't mind giving the school some tea money as long as some of it goes to benefit the students, and the school can guarantee a good future for my children. I just wish my children realised how difficult it is to put them to school and thus study hard," adds Pongpat. The issues remain tenuous. Tea money can be seen to be truly beneficial, in ways that it pays for school improvements and so on. Or is it simply a vehicle for systematic greed? It all depends on how one prefers to look at it. But the only reason it can continue to exist is because of systematic greed in Thai society. "Tea money is a chronic problem and is massively unfair. No one should be granted educational opportunities on monetary terms. "Education must be provided equally for every child," concluded Dr Sompong. "it is better for society because it does not produce generation after generation of social parasites, which is what we currently do. It is these parasites that economically hold us back. Parents question school fees increase Yet even so, secondary school fees are rising, despite a government order scrapping tuition charges, parents said. Nanthiya, a parent of a Mathayom Suksa 1 student at Benjamarachalai school, said she was asked to pay more than 10,000 baht in non-tuition fees for her daughter in May. She wondered why the fee was so high when the General Education Department had ended tuition charges. "The fee I paid is a 10-fold increase. Two years ago, the fee was only 1,000 baht which included tuition fees, a student's uniform and textbooks," she said. The school authorities had told her the extra money was for drinking water, cleaning, a 10-day course for new students, and a three-day camping course. "The school director called a meeting and told us that the school had to collect high fees to provide a quality education," she said. The director told parents that if they were not willing to pay they should look for another school. Under the department's policy, schools were allowed to collect just 750 baht in non-tuition fees a year for a junior high-school student. Another parent said her local school was charging 2,600 baht, which did not include uniforms and textbooks. Niphon, a parent of a Mathayom Suksa 1 student, said his local suburban school had demanded donations in exchange for admitting his child. The school had asked him to fill out a donation form in which parents were asked to put the amount of money they would give to the school. "I have little money, but want my child to study there. So I said I would donate 5,000 baht. The school was not satisfied," he said. The school said some parents offered to donate 30,000 baht, but their children were still rejected. The school did not have room for children who paid less. Education Minister Kasem Wattanachai said he would look into it. In return for scrapping tuition fees, schools were given state subsidies. He asked why some schools were demanding extra money. The ministry would find way to do away with tea-money, he said. Thus, in Thailand only the children of the economic and political elite, and of corrupt government officers can get a proper education. Parents cry foul over 'donations' as school demands admission fee A committee was to look into allegations that a prestigious, yet state-owned, secondary school in Bangkok demanded donations of 60,000-150,000 baht from parents in exchange for admitting their children. The General Education Department ordered the probe following a complaint by a group of parents, whose students failed to get seats at the state-run school. About 20 parents on May 21 gathered at the Education Ministry to demand action be taken against the management of Triam Udomsuksa Pattanakarn School, for allegedly demanding donations from parents who wanted their children admitted to Mathayom Seuksa 1 (Grade 7). The General Education Department forbids all state-run schools from demanding donations from parents. One parent who joined the protest said the school had set an additional 200 seats for Mathayom Suksa 1 after admitting 640 students. Parents of students who were not admitted in the first round of the selection process were notified of a second chance for their children. These parents were asked to fill forms stating the amount of money they were willing to donate in exchange for seats for their children. "At first, I didn't state the amount on the form. The school later called me to complete the form by writing down the amount I would donate. I filled in 50,000 baht. However, my child was not admitted. The seat went to another student whose parents offered more money," said the parent, who declined to be named. Panya Pichetmethakul, another parent, said: "I wanted my child to get a seat there, so I wrote down 80,000 baht. In late April, I was notified that my child was not admitted because the donation was too small. On May 5, I went to the school and offered 100,000 baht, but they said it was too late as the admission process had been completed." Kasama Voravan na Ayutthaya, director-general of the General Education Department, said if the allegations had grounds, a disciplinary panel would be set up. The school director and people involved would face dismissal if it was found they kept the donations for personal use, and parents who had shelled out money could reclaim the sum. However, most expected that some of the money would be diverted to members of the committee of consideration to obfuscate the case so that it ultimately would fade away--the classic move in corrupt Thailand.