Chengdu mother Liu Yuan (pseudonym, 46 years old), who resigned from Chinese media a few years ago, resigned from Chinese media to work with her 11 -year -old son Jason last June to study at the Thai international school.She bluntly said that the decision was questioned by relatives and friends, "Is it crazy?" But after living in Bangkok for more than half a year, she was glad to decide at the time.
Liu Yuan said that Jason was not happy when he was studying in China, and was often deducted because he was running outside the classroom. However, after coming to Bangkok, the school's rich courses and sports activities made his son look forward to school every day."When a child likes school, will you still worry that he is not good at learning? This may be what a mother wants to see most."
There are many middle -class families who moved from China's first and second -tier cities to Thailand like Liu Yuan, and even formed a "Chinese Parent Village" around international schools.
The Haro International School studied by Jason is about 40 minutes' drive from the city of Bangkok. The streets near the campus are broken, the roads are rugged, and there are no decent large supermarkets. However, the rent here has risen with Chinese parents.It is difficult to find a room.
Taking the Liu Yuan family of about 200 square feet two -layer villas rented three villas as an example, the monthly rent has risen from the previous about 18,000 baht (about 700 yuan) to the current about 30,000 baht.The monthly rent of the new villa community by the lake by the school is 150,000 baht, and the listings are quite tight.
Dr. Michael Reddish, vice president of Bangkok Haro International School, said in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao that as the crown disease epidemic relief and the border open, the number of Chinese students began to rebound to the level before the epidemic.
Although the proportion of Harro's Chinese students is still maintained at 5%, the school's external contact person in charge Anneleen Erlingen revealed that the recently received Chinese parents inquiring significantly increased significantly. At the same time, she almost weekly, she almost weeklyIt will receive emails to seek enrollment agents.
According to the data provided by Education Consulting Company, which specializes in the market trend of international schools, the overall enrollment rate of Chinese students in Thailand International School has increased from 2.1%to 3.2%in the past five years.According to data from the Thai International School Association (ISA), at least 128 international schools currently adopt the British and American education system in Thailand; most of these schools are located in Bangkok, followed by Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai Education and other costs are more favored
Due to lower costs and other factors, Chiang Mai is more popular with Chinese families. The proportion of Chinese students in Chiang Mai International School is approaching 40%.
The latest data released by Chiang Mai's study abroad intermediary "V tour" shows that the number of Chinese students studying in Chiang Mai in Chiang Mai has increased significantly in the past three years. Among themAbout 200%compared to the age of 8 to 9 and 13 to 16 years old, more than 200%year -on -year.
Lianhe Zaobao observed on the streets and restaurants on the most lively Ningman Road in Chiang Mai that Chinese families are often a family of young and old, from their conversation and dress, like long -term residents.
Tam Fawcett, Chiang Mai Prince International School Market and Admissions Director, told Lianhe Morning Post that a large number of Chinese families have poured in last year. The school has set up a quota of each nationality from 40%.It has basically reached the top."Even so, many Chinese parents still appear at the gate of the school every day, hoping to visit the campus."
Philippine said that the school is grateful to Chinese parents for their strong interest, but the school must maintain a healthy student ratio.
Asked why he chose Thailand, Chen Jing (39 years old), who was a mother from Shenzhen, and one of the founders of "V Students", said that Chinese international schools generally only receive children of foreign staff and become the admission of many Chinese children.Obstacles, compared with other countries, Thailand is more likely to allow parents to obtain visa visas."Of course, cost is also an important factor."
Taking Bangkok Haro International School as an example, the tuition fees at the elementary school are 753,900 baht (about S $ 29,200) each year, and the tuition fees of Haro and the same level in Shanghai are about 290,000 yuan (about S $ 56,100), Nearly twice as expensive than Bangkok.
Overall, Bangkok's international school tuition is higher than in Chiang Mai. The Palin International School in Chiang Mai is only 430,000 to 530 baht at the same level.
Five years ago, Chen Jing, who transferred the child from a public school in Shenzhen to Chen Jing, explained that she wanted to change the track for the child.In her opinion, the biggest problem of traditional Chinese traditional education is that the evaluation system is the only theory of scores. "If children are not good at academics, they cannot take high scores, life will become no way out, but in fact, life is diverse."
Liu Yuan, who has similar ideas with Chen Jing, also said that Chinese education is single, lacks independent thinking and critical spirit, and may also erase the child's creativity and imagination."There is only one pillar in China, that is, the grades, the grades are not good, the whole life collapses."
The Chinese trial education system has been criticized for many years. Due to the single and narrowing channels of measurement standards, parents can get high scores and pressure their hands to take a lot of financial resources for their children.
Wu Chenzen (35 years old) from Shenzhen told Lianhe Zaobao that she was also questioned by her family when she brought a 3 -year -old daughter to Chiang Mai last year: "Why do you run from a developed city and a place that is naked and exposed outside the wire.Reading? "
Wu Chenzen, who graduated from prestigious schools, described himself as a "three good students" who grew up in the Chinese examination education model, but she believes that Chinese education is lagging behind in some ways and may not be suitable for future society.She was worried about putting parent -child relationships first, and the pressure and tension environment in China would have a impact on parent -child relationships."It is the movie theater effect. What do you do when you stand up in the first row?"
Scholars: Study in Thailand, highlighting the middle class and escaping from the domestic education system
Yang Peidong, a professor of humanities and sociology assistant professors at the National School of Education, Nanyang University of Technology in Singapore, analyzed in an interview with Lianhe Morning Post that Chinese middle -class families rushed to study in Thailand to highlight a sense of urgency they wanted to escape from the domestic education system.
Yang Peidong said that China has introduced a series of extreme educational measures such as "double reduction" in recent years, which reflects that local education has been "rolled up and not rolled again."Children find another way out.
China issued a "double reduction" policy in July 2021. It aims to relieve parents 'pressure by reducing students' schoolwork and extra -curricular training. However, because the selection mechanism has not changed, this move has made many parents more anxious.
Studying in Thailand does not mean "lying down"
Chinese families choose to send their children to study in Thailand to escape from the "inner volume" and the tactical tactical tactics of Chinese families, which makes many people think that the life of studying in Thailand is very easy and even realize the real "lying flat", but the parents interviewed.They all think that this understanding is a misunderstanding.
Chen Jing said: "Change a track, but it does not mean that this track is very easy." If the child is not good at academic, but has room for art or sports, children must also be on this track.Competition with others.
Chen Jing said that after arriving in Thailand, parents cannot "lie flat". The living environment in Thailand is very different from China. Many things need parents to personally take themselves in Thailand. At the same time, parents also need to constantly adjust and learn at the level of social and values.In line with international families.
The reporter interviewed Liu Yuan's family day. Her child Jason had got up at 5:30 in the morning. At 6 o'clock, she went to the school for one hour at the school.Jason also had to go to the school interest class in the afternoon, and did not get out of school until around 4 o'clock.
Liu Yuan said that the child's daily journey is very full, and she takes the child out of the challenge to face more than in China.In order to communicate better with the school, Liu Yuan, who has not used English for many years, has been in class in the local area to make up for English.
According to Liu Yuan, international school activities are very rich, and mothers in various countries often need to prepare their hometown of specialty food as a support service.One of her friends was busy making milk tea all day after arriving in Thailand, and even busy than before.
Liu Yuan lamented that when she came out to accompany, she was actually leaving the comfort zone, but her mother was growing in the process of accompanying her children to grow.
Parents: "Run" Thailand for immigration to Europe and the United States
Some Chinese families studying Thailand regard Thailand as a transit station that can be "retired and retreated", and some families have regarded Thailand as the next immigrant springboard.Scholars of interviewees pointed out that when these families uphold the values that conflict with the mainstream values of Chinese propaganda, "going out" is a natural choice they will make.
The Chinese Internet has described the "Run" of immigration overseas in the English "Run" in the past two years.During the Shanghai sealing city in April last year, "Run" studied again. Many Chinese families who went to study in Thailand were holding the idea of "Run".
According to the Ph.D. Niu Yafan, the School of Social Sciences of the President of Chiang Mai University, she exposed to many families who risked the epidemic in the risk of the epidemic during the research and investigation."Let's talk about the mentality" to live in Chiang Mai.
Bangkok's Haro International School's foreign contact person in charge of the foreign contact Arilin also emphasized in an interview that the increasing number of Chinese parents in the school is more for children with low age.
Lu Xi, an assistant professor of the School of Public Policy, the National University of Singapore, analyzed to Lianhe Zaobao that the trend of the aging of international students abroad just reflects that the values of Chinese parents themselves are dominated, not children who are not adapted, but parents are "using their feet with their feet.vote".
Lu Xi is not surprised by the choice of Chinese families to choose Thailand. "The recognition of Thai international schools is not worse than that of Chinese international schools." In addition to the cost of international schools such as Singapore, Hong Kong, etc.Enough.
Lu Xi analyzed that middle -class families, mainly after 1970 and after 1980, are relatively open on information acquisition channels. They know what happened outside the world. When they feel squeezed by the living space, they naturally feel panic.For the next generation of anxiety, you will try your best to send the child to the child.
Chen Jing said that many families have plans to immigrate to Europe and the United States when they are studying in Thailand.At present, she has handled the Canadian permanent residence for her son, and said that Thailand was regarded as a transitional place.
Niu Yafan said that Chinese middle -class families also have certain social resources in the country in terms of personal concerns, and life can be more moisturized, but if you look at the next generation of education, you will feel that "I can't solve this systemic problem".Education will make a "escape" choice.
Chinese parents interviewed are admitted that they will not rule out to continue their studies in the future. They will make corresponding choices in the US, British system or IB (international diploma) courses provided by international schools in orderInsert.However, not all the families of studying in Thailand chose to "escape" in the end, and there are families return to China.41 -year -old Wang Tao took a 5 -year -old child in Chiang Mai during the epidemic, but the whole family returned to Beijing a year later.
Unlike other parents interviewed, Wang Tao not only recognizes China's basic education, but also believes that China's future development space is greater.She is worried that her child is too young. For too long, she will not only forget her mother tongue for a long time abroad, but also be unfamiliar with traditional Chinese culture. It is difficult to integrate into Chinese society in the future.
However, Wang Tao did not give up the idea of studying abroad. She said that she would consider waiting for her child to go to junior high school.
The question mark and exclamation mark of "go out"
The family interviewed in this report has its own occupation and its own business in China.They have taken the Chinese economy to take off Dongfeng and accumulate a certain amount of wealth.This allows them to continue to maintain an elegant and comfortable life when they move their homes to study.
However, the road to studying in Thailand is not without frustration.Chengdu mother Liu Yuan said that she thought she had escaped from the inner rolls of China. After arriving in Thailand, she found that the Chinese mother's circle was able to go out. They could learn in English from English.I felt stress, and even burst into tears.
But she believes that these pressures can be adjusted, while the disadvantages of the Chinese education system are incompetent parents.
Perhaps for these middle -class families, studying in Thailand is only a part of "walking on the road", and there are many question marks in the future.But this step that they took out of China's domestic environment and embraced the world are a firm exclamation mark.
