In response to Raphaella (Postbox 18th June) I do not usually post on blogsites, but your letter infuriated me to such a degree that I feel I must respond. You bring up numerous points of contention that I feel must be addressed.

1. You expound on how you, and several of your colleagues, are currently working in Issarn without degrees. You go on to state that, as we all know, in Thailand it is "not what you know but who you know". I'm so glad you recognise that there is a corrupt system in this country, but I regret to inform you that you, and your friends, are not "legally working" in Thailand!! The law in Thailand clearly states that ALL foreign teachers MUST possess a MINIMUM Bachelors degree and an E.S.L. certificate. Just because your agency or school has the "connections" to get you an "illegal" Non-Im B, a teachers licence and a work permit does not mean that they are "legally employing teachers without degree certificates". In point of fact they are doing the exact opposite!

2. You continue by saying that "the salary you receive is low in comparison..." DUH!!! You are not qualified. Why should you be paid a comparable wage to someone who is? Would you pay a plumber to perform bad surgery at the same rate as a qualified surgeon?

3. You further state that because the "level of English is extremely low" in the North East and there is a "huge shortage of teachers it's possible to teach legally without a degree." NO IT IS NOT!! Again, please see point #2 regarding corruption. This year, 2011, the Thai governments mandate is to have "at least one N.E.S. teacher for every government school in Thailand." To that end, they have allocated 60,000 Thai Baht per teacher to all government schools. As long as there are unqualified people such as yourself and your friends willing to work for stipends, and break the law, the corrupt schools and agencies will continue to pocket the difference and your "friends" teaching without fake degrees will continue to find it "harder to find employment"

Your letter contains a list of grammatical, punctuation and spelling mistakes too numerous to count. I dread the thought of "unteaching" the bad habits you are instilling in your students, although it wouldn't be the first time I've encountered this.

In conclusion. Your misguided activities continue to foster a corrupt system and hamper those of us that are actually qualified from finding gainfull employment. I implore you to cease and desist your illegal actions forthwith. Once we have finally expunged people like yourself from teaching illegally in Thailand, maybe we can begin to actually raise the level of education in this country. I only wish that I knew the name of your school/agency so that I could report your lawless ways and have you deported! Do you even pay taxes?

Phil (ajarn.com) says - David, you say that you don't usually post on blog sites. Well, after reading the above, I can certainly understand why. I'm guessing that you posted the letter just to get a bit of a reaction. I certainly hope that's the case. Where do I start? Firstly, you harp on about Raphaella's contribution containing numerous spelling mistakes. To be honest my man - so did yours. Secondly, a TEFL certificate has never ever been a legal requirement for a teaching job in Thailand. I'm sure it does you no harm when you are applying for jobs, but it's not a legal requirement. In addition, there are still certain teaching jobs that do not require a degree. And as for the last line "I wish that I could contact your employer and have you deported" - well, that just makes you look a prat. Nuff said.

David