A job opportunity has been created for Pinoy teachers to teach English in the Kingdom of Thailand for the “English for All” that aims to improve competencies in the students’ command of the English language.
The Secretary to the Minister of Education of Thailand M.L. Pariyada Diskul said that Filipino teachers are highly regarded in Thailand, saying they are working on big projects with Pinoy educators.
“Your teachers are very diligent and blend in well with our culture,” she said.
“We want to recruit Filipino teachers to be placed in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) government schools, which are the three provinces in the eastern side of Bangkok to upgrade the English competencies of the children in that area. I hope this will be the beginning of many other projects to come.”
With that in mind Thailand Minister of Education Dr. Teerakiat Jareonsettasin initiated the inter-agency meeting between their office and the Department of Education (DepEd) of the Philippines to discuss the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the government-to-government hiring of Filipino teachers.
Photo credit: Rappler
PH Education Secretary Leonor Briones explained that though this will be the first government-to-government program for Filipino teachers in Thailand, many Pinoy educators are already working there.
She noted that a number of these teachers go to Thailand ‘just to visit’ but end up finding jobs and staying there for good. But though that’s a nice way of finding a job, this method will not provide teachers the protection they might need against unscrupulous employers.
The MOU between the two governments will help all teachers receive the right salaries and benefits as well as provide protection for various circumstances.
“It’s not a plan, it’s not a policy proposal, it is an existing situation and if we can think, we can agree on a better way by which we can protect the Filipinos and at the same time, the Thai government, because it’s not able to regulate and it’s not able to keep track of all Filipinos who come,” Briones explained.
To ensure the protection and welfare of Filipino teachers hired via this program, the MOU will be created in accordance with the rules and regulations of several Philippine government agencies, particularly the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), Overseas Workers Welfare Agency (OWWA), and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
