Ministry of Labor to crackdown on illegal foreign teachers
Suchart Chomklin, the new Labour Minister of Thailand, ordered that all documents of 11,200 foreigners teaching in the country’s government and private schools be examined.
In a report from Komchadluek, the minister commanded the Department of Labour to make certain that foreigners have the necessary paperwork, correct visa type, as well as a work permit.
The report added that all schools in Bangkok and the whole country which hire foreign teachers will be checked.
Foreigners who are found to not possess a work permit or correct visa type will face fines of between 5,000 and 50,000 baht and possible deportation.
Agencies that hire illegal foreign teachers will face much harsher penalties. The fines for agents will be between 10,000 and 100,000 baht for each person they hired illegally.
A repeat offense then sees the fines escalate to between 50,000 and 200,000 baht with the prospect of a one-year jail term and a three-year ban from working in teacher recruitment, Thai visa reported.
Local media Komchadluek reported that there are 11,200 foreigners teaching in Thailand.
The top five nationalities are:
Filipino: 4,360 persons
British: 1,569
US: 1,143
Chinese: 778
Japanese: 351
In order to legally teach in Thai schools, a foreigner has to secure a non-immigrant visa (definitely not a tourist visa) a teacher’s license, a medical certificate, a criminal background check, and a work permit.
The report comes after Sarasas school in Nonthaburi finds itself at the centre of child abuse allegations. One of the teachers accused of abusing a student at the school is a foreigner who the authorities discovered had only a tourist visa and consequently, no work permit.
Sources: Komchadluek | Thaivisa
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