Topic: School Corruption in Thailand

[Nemesis]

What stories do you have about corruption in Thai schools? What first hand knowledge? No need to mention specific school names.

[Nick2007]

Tax fraud as a matter of course. Copying books, which is theft. I presume it goes on everywhere.

[Geekboy]

I worked at a supposed Christian School that had pirated software on all of their computers, copied textbooks and looked for any way they could to steal.

 

I can't understand how schools with money enough to throw around, violate intellectual property rights and then use the defense that they can't afford the legit.

[hero]

It's funny, since I've been working in a government (supposedly the poorest of all the schools) I haven't seen a copied textbook

The last private school I worked at were more than happy to use copied textbooks.  They usually said that they were awaiting delivery of books at the start of the semester - but often the books never showed up at all!

Plenty of pirated software at both schools too.

[diaw]

At Thailand's leading academic university - the 'well-known one', *all* textbooks are copied. In my time there, I never saw one legit version of any textbook. At the start of semester, the teachers would bring a copy of their copy of the book & appoint a class leader to have the book copied & bound at the campus copy-shop.

In fact, I was quite interested to see what the original books looked like over Amazon.

As for legitimate software licenses - I never saw one.

[IHvACrtfctImAGrtTchr]

good... the only reason those books are so damn expensive is to pay the ceo's millions in annual salaries

[Mods-Rockers]

good... the only reason those books are so damn expensive is to pay the ceo's millions in annual salaries

I take it you failed economics 101 then!

[bomha]

The last that I had heard, AUTHORS were still entitled to royalties.  Would we all like to receive royalties for every book we wrote and published?

[RobRoy]

At my first job here, I taught computer science.  I loaded my personal copy of visual basic and my Thai coteacher, who was doing his masters in ICT, commented he had never seen original Microsoft CD's before.  At that point, I was actually astonished, but now after four years, thats par for the course.

The one that amazes me is the "perks" that are provided to the school by some of the parents.  Refrigerators, TV's, microwaves,etc.  I often wondered why the school didn't kick out some of the more worthless students, seeing a new frig or water cooler explains a lot.

[IHvACrtfctImAGrtTchr]

never even took economics but I make a whole lot more than you

[Mods-Rockers]

never even took economics but I make a whole lot more than you

Well now that does show a degree of stupidity borderring on the ridiculous, So tell me, what is my income in Thailand? how much income do I recieve from my Government (mil) pension? What is my average income from invetments back home.

And anyway the above notwithstanding, I would rather be poor than gain my income by selling my booty as you do!!!


BTW, are you the great JL aka ADP aka HD?

[certified]

Corruption is a way of life here. They have no respect for copyrights simply because their own societies are too backward to produce it's own quality material. Essentially the Chinese and Indians are the leaders in this sort of theft with South East Asia copying them. They should be laughed at and felt sorry for because these are just copy economies that can't exist on their own merits. THEY JUST DON'T GET IT DO THEY?

[retiredstillteaching]

It's good to see we're back on topic.

When I arrived in Bkk from Korea and my possessions soon followed by ship, the local shipping agent advised me that Baht 3,000 to the customs officer would prevent my things from being put at the end of a long line that went thru several corners in the huge receiving building at the Port of Bangkok. So I paid and got my stuff next day.

When I mentioned this to the director of a family owned group of schools I taught for in Bkk, he he suddenly began to beam with pride and started to say, "We have a tradition..." then broke off his sentence because I turned and started walking away. He and his attitude continue to disgust me to this moment. My strongest personal objection is that the owners/managers at schools in Thailand want farang to be Thai, or more like Thais than we might already be. Ugh! 

[bluefalang]

i have difficulty getting too bent over pirated software and books.

i am aware of significant bribes being paid to get a student accepted into a given school/university and guranteed a diploma.

i also know of university employees that would, for a fee, arrange for the sexual services of unversity students.

and -- a faculty member using the services of falang teachers (under duress) in his private business.

or -- x amount of money was provided by the university to a faculty member to pay for extra teaching services rendered by falangs. the faculty member then changed the payment amount to y (after the sevices were completed) and pocketed the difference. when asked, the faculty member decribed the process as "bargaining" and delaminated at the teachers unwillingness to be teamplayers.  

[diaw]

i have difficulty getting too bent over pirated software and books.

On that score, I must say, after downloading a bunch of books through e-mule & then printing them out, I've changed my policy & am now buying legit versions through Amazon.

Have you ever worked out just how much space a bunch of poorly-copied books, housed in leverarch files takes up? It's actually a whole lot easier to read a properly-bound original.

I do use e-mule to preview the odd expensive book, & if it is worth the expense, I go ahead & order it. I feel a whole lot better doing things this way.