Most people in Thailand and across the region believe that sending their children to an international school is one of the best ways to prepare them for the future.
This is true to a great degree, and there are some excellent international schools available. But many more, especially in Thailand, fall far below what any parent should expect. Just tacking "international" onto a school name is not enough.
Look around Bangkok and you will notice a number of international schools that have emerged in the last decade or two. Some look more like startups that are trying to make their mark and generate money for their shareholders. Although some international schools are non-profit organisations, most have been established by wealthy businesspeople who expect a decent return on their investment.
I personally had the experience of attending an international school and it benefited me greatly. Having been born into a middle-class family, I never imagined what it would mean to be a student at one of the most prestigious schools in the country, but hats off to my father for spending a fortune to send me to International School Bangkok.
Today the school I attended some two decades ago costs at least three times what my father paid.
If you are a parent, you know how difficult it is to get a seat in a top-tier international school. You also have experienced the shock of learning that a single year of your child's education will cost as much as a new four-door sedan. Some expatriates are lucky as their employers will pay all or part of those tuition costs, but for the rest of us, these sums come out of the family pocket.
Today with more than 110 registered "international schools" in Thailand alone, according to the website of the International Schools Association of Thailand (ISAT), one can only imagine the quality of some of them.
This does not include the "international programmes" offered by some prestigious Thai schools that have discovered a new marketing approach that allows them to collect higher fees.
Talk to the authorities in the country and they will tell you that they have been trying to ensure the quality of teachers and schools, but ISAT itself has little power to enforce changes. Having an outside party accredit the schools is helpful but accreditations but do not come with ratings similar to those given to hotels.
With a plethora of schools to choose from and only a handful considered to be Grade A, it is not easy for parents who lack detailed knowledge of what constitutes a good school and which ones are mediocre.
Grading by bodies such as ISAT or the Education Ministry could be based on criteria including curriculum, student-teacher ratios, facilities, or help for special-needs children. However, many schools prefer a marketing-based approach that stresses the grade point average (GPA) of graduates and the universities (preferably with big brand names) that they end up attending.
Thailand for decades had only a handful of international school operators, but the go-go economy of the early 1990s set off a free-for-all of new investments. Even today it seems that anyone with five or 10 rai of land can open an "international school".
The Education Ministry does not have a lot of time or resources to devote to international schools and their quality. The main duty of its Office of the Private Education Commission is to make sure schools are delivering a product that is worth the fees they charge. There are certain guidelines that all schools in the country must follow but the ministry has its hands full just trying to deliver the basics to the other 95% of the population.
Fair enough, but what help is available for the 5% of the population that are looking for a good quality education that Thai schools do not offer?
Today if I had a child I would want him or her to go to ISB, but I would not be able to afford it, not as a salary earner. I would have to forget about the top 10 schools, all of which would take away about 40% of annual earnings (don't forget that the government takes another third in taxes). What's left would not be enough to keep me going.
If the government and the international schools are looking to attract more middle-class students, then clearer standards, ratings and better enforcement would be a good place to start. Parents who are not wealthy but are willing to make extraordinary financial sacrifices deserve to know that their investment will be worthwhile.
Umesh Pandey is Asia Focus Editor.