When schools re-open, governments schools are likely to have increased budget constraints (this crisis will most likely result in a shift in government spending and a sharp decease in government revenue) and they are likely to be forced to reduce expenditures by reducing the number of foreign teachers.

The loss of millions of jobs throughout the economy will likely result in fewer people being able to afford to send their children to private schools and the reduction in both the number of students and revenue will require a reduction in spending, most likely including on salaries.

What the impact of the crisis will be on university enrollment is not clear, but an economic dip of this severity will likely result in a reduction in enrollment as well and could even make the international programs less attractive. But the impact is likely to depend on the severity of the economic decline.

With so much of the Thai economy based on tourism and foreign trade, my guess is the economic impact is going to be worse and longer lasting than many people are considering. I hope I am wrong. And without foreign visitors and a huge reduction in foreign trade the demand for English speaking staff will also decline cutting into the jobs available at language schools.

And I suspect every qualified teacher and millions of unqualified English teachers around the world are applying for online positions, not all of them are going to find any work.

I am generally an optimist, but we can't shut the world's economies down without major impacts on people's lives and I don't think anyone has an answer on whether the world will soon get back to normal or we should prepare for a new normal.

Just my thoughts, I don't have a crystal ball but I do quite a bit of research on the impact of economic conditions on individual lives.

Scott