A common goal

My visit to Ruamrudee was to meet, for the first time, members of the International Schools Association of Thailand (Isat). We have touched upon the functions of organisation in previous articles and made numerous references to its website at www.isat.or.th.

The role of Isat is best summed up by a quote from its website: “The International Schools Association of Thailand was established in 1994 ... to act as a link between its member international schools, on the one hand, and the Ministry of Education and the Office of the Private Education Commission in particular, on the other.”

That may not sound all that unusual to you, but when I met the various members of Isat at RIS, I realised that the “link between” part of this mission statement is actually quite remarkable and unique.

Imagine, if you can, senior members of opposing telecoms companies in Thailand all sitting down and trying to find a way to work together for the good of the customers. It doesn’t really work if you think about it, does it? Same with TV companies, fast-food vendors, hi-fi manufacturers, Internet service providers... you name it. It would almost be as odd as senior editors at The Nation and the Bangkok Post getting together and formulating a common editorial and marketing strategy.

But that’s exactly what Isat does. Representatives from schools that are actually in competition with each other for students and money work together to further the cause of education in Thailand. And it doesn’t stop there — the organisation is also committed to developing links between international schools and Thai education institutions.

It was also clear from my meeting with Isat representatives — as well as my visits to international schools — that far from being money-grabbing entrepreneurs, pretty much all teachers involved in international schools in Thailand are committed professionals. It seems to be a fairly common misconception — certainly one that’s been related to me on numerous occasions — that international schools exist only as money-making schemes.

Future issues of learning post will continue to cover the international school situation in Thailand as well as explore more fully the role of Isat in furthering its common goals. We will also take a closer look at the international school option and how it relates specifically to Thai parents.

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If you have any queries or comments about this article, you can email us at learningpost@bangkokpost.co.th. Please note that we are unable to enter into any correspondence or make recommendations about whether a particular schools or system is better or worse than others.