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Monday, 28 March 2011 10:26
Mr. Bill Templer, in his article published January 10, 2011 on The Nation newspaper, thinks so. “Bias against Filipino degrees ‘indefensible’ ”, Templer, who is located in Trang in the south of Thailand, said in his article. Describing himself as “an American educator who is concerned about Thai education”, Templer outlined the impact of one MOE (Ministry of Education) policy, which puts graduates from Philippine universities (both Filipino and Thai citizens alike) at a disadvantage when it comes to promotion and/or salary packages in Thailand. But then, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
By 2014, it is said that this policy will be enforced across the country. Because the Philippines is one of only three countries left on the planet (Djibouti and Angola being the other two), which operates on a 10-year basic education program, as opposed to a 12-year program followed by the rest of the world, graduates of Philippine universities shall have to accept the inevitable. According to one school director of a prestigious university in Bangkok, MA grads of Philippine universities will only be offered salary and benefits packages given to those with a BA from a Thai (or any other non-Philippine university). And he adds, the only way around it, is to impress your way with the potential employer so he/she gives you a much better package than what the MOE policy would otherwise suggest or allow.
How does one accomplish that? “Be like Marcos” the school director said (referring to former Philippine President Marcos), who made everyone in Asia (and probably the world) sit up and listen, by appearing confident, articulate and showing the smarts of someone who knows a lot. While that is sound advice from someone who knows the ins and outs of education in Thailand, it fails to eliminate the existence of the MOE policy that goes against the Philippines’ 10-year basic education program.
Indeed, does this particular MOE policy put teachers in Thailand at a disadvantage?
According to a study made by Analiza Perez-Amurao, a faculty at the Mahidol University International College, the answer is, “not necessarily”. Philippine graduates are still comparable to their counterparts in ASEAN despite the 2-years gap in Philippine education. According to Perez-Amurao, Filipino professionals are satisfactorily rated in performance, technical competence as well as adequacy of course offerings. They are even ranked highest (together with professionals from India), in terms of quality, cost and availability!
Bracing themselves for what may become of this MOE policy by 2014, , Filipino teachers in Thailand are approaching it from a proactive angle. On February 16, 2011, a group of Filipino teachers put their heads together at the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok, to come up with ideas. Part of the discussion focused on some long term goals, such as offering teacher development opportunities, highlighting the positive contributions of the Filipino teaching community to Thai society and to Thai education, and activities that forge stronger ties with our host country, Thailand.
From the looks of it, Filipino teachers refuse to see things from a defeatist perspective, and are choosing to take stock of their qualities and make them known to employers of foreign teachers in Thailand. It’s an uphill battle, from this writer’s standpoint, but one that is NOT a lost cause, as long as all Filipino teachers in Thailand support this group’s effort to come up with positive solutions to what could become a potential problem in the near future.
Mr. Bill Templer, in his article published January 10, 2011 on The Nation newspaper, thinks so. “Bias against Filipino degrees ‘indefensible’ ”, Templer, who is located in Trang in the south of Thailand, said in his article. Describing himself as “an American educator who is concerned about Thai education”, Templer outlined the impact of one MOE (Ministry of Education) policy, which puts graduates from Philippine universities (both Filipino and Thai citizens alike) at a disadvantage when it comes to promotion and/or salary packages in Thailand. But then, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. 
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