Who’s eligible for a teaching license from the TCT?
The TCT is the teacher’s council of Thailand also known as the Khrusapha issues the “teaching license” which is required to teach in public schools all over Thailand. When a foreigner starts teaching at a public school, they’re given a temporary teaching permit valid for two years at a time. This temporary teaching permit is given 3 times. But there have been teachers who got it the 5th time. That’s the maximum I’ve ever heard of. Teachers are expected to get a bachelors/masters/graduate diploma (TEFL IS NOT accepted in place of a degree) in “education” while they have the temporary teaching permit. To apply for a teaching license they needed to submit their “education” degree or post graduate diploma and be done with it. This was until 2019. Recently, they have introduced a “professional standards test” for teachers and the latest update says all practicing teachers can apply for this test and have to pass the test to apply for the license. Teachers pursuing a degree in education are also eligible. LATEST UPDATES FROM THE GOVT GAZETTE below.
What’s in the Teachers professional standards test?
The Teacher professional competency testing and assessment is designed to test a teacher’s knowledge and experience.
It covers topics like
1. Teaching profession,
2. Subject group as prescribed by the board (subject knowledge like “English”, “math”etc.
Personal conduct assessment including
1. Learning management
2. Parents and community relations
3.Performance of teachers’ duties and professional code of ethics
To be eligible to take the test, teachers must have a degree in education accredited by TCT or hold a degree in any field and possess a teaching qualification accredited by the TCT or hold a degree and is currently studying towards a degree in “education”.
Exceptions – who are exempt from taking the teachers test?
Teachers holding a teaching license from another country are not required to take the test and can directly apply for a license. This is good news for teachers from anywhere who’ve taught in their native countries with a license. Information on how and when to apply is hard to get. The TCT website gives notifications. The schools are generally responsible for giving information on the test. Thai schools are so lacking in communicating with foreign teachers, that they are losing good experienced teachers to other countries. They need to inform foreign teachers about procedures proactively.
Passing criteria and fees for the test
Teachers need to score 60% to pass the test and the fees for foreign teachers is 1000THB for teaching profession and 1000THB for subject group.
