Homepage > Thai Youth Issues > Survey shows change in parents’ priorities

Date: 6th April 2001, The Nation

Thai parents, in a surprising change of opinion, now attach greater importance to the society within a school and the institution’s environment than to its reputation, a study conducted by the Thai Farmers’ Research Centre (TFRC) revealed yesterday.

The survey conducted between March 6 and March 22 on 1,227 families said that the top three priorities for the selec¬tion of a school for their children were that it be a good society, good environ¬ment and have “white” or drugfree sur¬roundings. Reputation, which once used to be very important for parents, came fifth, after “nearby location”.

The study also discovered that many parents in Bangkok were ready to pay “tea money” for their child’s enrolment in a desired school.

The survey covered families with chil¬dren about to start grades 1, 7 or 10 as well as those about to enrol in voca¬tional schools in the upcoming semester.

Tea money can refer to an additional entrance fee of Bt10,000 per household, a Bt1,000 contribution to the school’s associations, a subsidy of Bt5,000 or other expenses worth about Bt3,000.

These expenses usually vary accord¬ing to the number of students taking the entrance examination as well as the willingness and financial status of the parents. According to the survey, most parents have paid or are prepared to pay some form of tea money. For instance, 13.4 per cent of the parents questioned said they had paid the extra entrance fee, while 8.1 per cent had made financial con¬tributions to school associations.

Apart from tea money, many of the respondents were also ready to shoulder tutoring expenses so their children could keep up with their peers and have bet¬ter chances of entering better senior schools.

Tutoring often costs about Bt4,000 for a fourmonth period, but may rise according to the number of subjects cov¬ered and the quality of the tutoring establishment. This amount does not cover other costs like transportation and food. However, the survey revealed that most of the respondents were not prepared for all the expenses and some had even turned to loan sharks despite the high rate of interest.

Some of the respondents said they borrowed money from their relatives, or withdrew from their welfare funds or even pawned their jewellery and other possessions.

The Nation