Some commentators have noted that Thailand is seeing growth in the international school business following an economic rebound after the Covid-19 pandemic.
International schools nationwide were hit badly by the pandemic over the past two years, resulting in school tuition discounts, which reduced earnings.
Due to the pandemic, onsite learning underwent a transformation into online learning. Parents of foreign students were also unable to return to Thailand.
But the situation is improving. After restrictions began to ease, many businesses, including international schools, are gradually recovering.
Direct effect
According to data from the International Schools Association of Thailand in 2019, the international school business in Thailand had a market value of 60 billion baht. At the time, growth was expected to jump to more than 12% each year after.
Before the pandemic, there were 227 international schools operating in Thailand. The country had the highest growth rate in the international school business in the Southeast Asian region.
Bangkok was the top province, with international schools operating at 118 sites, followed by Chiang Mai with schools operating at 16 sites, Phuket at 11 sites and Chon Buri at eight sites, among other provinces.
The international school business in the North was also affected by the pandemic, causing some schools to close, but Chiang Mai has seen a gradual expansion following the easing of pandemic rules and the reopening of the country.
Suphani Phumi Dilig, president of the Northern International School Club and director of the Unity Concord International School in Chiang Mai, told the Bangkok Post that the downside of the pandemic is that many foreign students were blocked from entering the country.
The entry restrictions resulted in the change of learning methods into online group study sessions, which meant higher expenses that the school had to bear, she said.
"All 21 international schools in Chiang Mai usually have monthly meetings to discuss policies and solutions to problems," she said. "Two to three new schools are in the licencing process so they can operate in 2023."
The Education Ministry has issued a regulation to cap student numbers at 50% at each international school, a move that affected foreigners with Thai children in the province, she said.
The children of mixed couples often go to international schools because they offer American, British and Chinese curricula, she said, adding an expansion would benefit the parents.
Wealthy Thai families also send children to international schools to learn languages, she said.
"I expect that the international school business will gradually expand," she said. "Since the easing of pandemic [rules], the country has seen a strong rebound in investments."
However, the recruitment of quality foreign teachers in intentional schools remains a challenge as native speakers must be professionally qualified, she said.
"Schools must seek these teachers who graduate in foreign countries, such as the United States or Canada, to work in Thailand for one to two years," she said.
"But they will only stay in the provinces for two years to absorb the local culture before moving to Phuket," she noted. "Foreign teachers are difficult to find unless they decide to settle in the country."
Path forward
Meanwhile, the international school business in the northern province of Lampang faced challenges as the population in the province earned less than those in Chiang Mai, leading to a change in marketing strategy to attract more locals.
There are just three international schools in Lampang, with one of them, Saint Helier-Brelade International School, which was just permitted to operate in 2021.
Pongsiri Kamkankaew, deputy director for marketing, research and academic affairs at the British International School of Northern Thailand (BISN), said he tried to uplift the international school business after opening Saint Helier-Brelade International.
In his capacity as the school's CEO, Mr Pongsiri, who said he's been in the business for a long time in Lampang, said he has always evaluated the real-time situation of education marketing.
"Business in the education industry is quite a challenge in marketing as it is based on confidence and reliability," he said. "We were the first to offer international programmes for two decades as we targeted customers who wanted to have better education in the small province."
The international school market in Lampang is quite niched. Therefore, the school cannot be compared with large-scale schools that also offer an English programme.
"We've never been scared of engaging in business rivalries," Mr Pongsiri said, adding that BISN has reached its mature stage. "The product life cycle in the market has four stages -- entering the market, growth, maturity and recession."
"BISN is going to reach the recession stage because of a recent decline in the [kingdom's] fertility rate as well as business rivalries," he said. "We founded Saint Helier-Brelade International to go back to the initial stage."
Asked about the challenges the industry faces, he said the business can continuously be expanded due to global trends. The expansion of commercial zones would lead to more investments and change customer behaviour, he said.
"In the past, foreign parents would normally seek international schools in either Lampang or Chiang Mai, so they could stay together with their children," he said. "The Covid-19 pandemic also affected the business, but our school was the first to launch online learning in Lampang."
"Speaking of business competition, parents will be the ones who decide between international schools and schools that offer English programmes," he said. "[Tuition] is also an obstacle because the Lampang population is mostly low-to-middle-income families. Most students who can normally afford international schools are from wealthy or government families."
"Our actual tuition [at Saint Helier-Brelade International] is 250,000 baht each semester," he added, "but it has been reduced to 40,000 baht, which is the same for English programme schools".
According to the Office of the Private Education Commission, the office is ready to push Thailand forward as a hub for education in Asean.
It said that the continuous growth of international schools is Thailand's strength in its Eastern Economic Corridor in Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao.
In addition, tuition in international schools in Thailand is quite reasonable at about US$6,000 (about 200,000 baht) to $20,000 per semester in provinces and Bangkok.
Although tuition is quite expensive for Thais, the price tag is competitive when compared to that in Hong Kong ($15,000), China ($35,0000) and the United Kingdom ($50,000).
Thailand is located at the centre of Asean, located near both India and China. Thailand is also one of the most popular destinations among tourists due to its similarity in culture and society with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
