Thread: Forced retirement at 60?

First, I know this is likely a thread somewhere here. I did search, admittedly not for a long time, found nothing and thought I would post.
If you can reply with a link to an existing thread, that would be much appreciated.

I teach at SUT in Korat, a fine institution with a (surprisingly) competent administration and professional colleagues. I totally love the school, just not the city. If I could stay here, I certainly would.

Here is the problem. I was just told that tenured teachers are forcibly retired at age 60, and contract teachers (c'est moi) cannot have a full-time contract after age 60. Their hours and benefits are reduced to 60% of a full-time teacher. This, of course, despite the intentions of the school and despite the demand for qualified teachers. I was also just told that this holds for all government universities in Thailand.

Where can I find out more about this issue? In particular, do any schools offer full-time contracts after a candidate passes the magic 60 mark? I am now 58 and I know I gotta do some planning now.

The way I understand it, I have the following options:
1. Stay at SUT, take on side projects and hope they add up to enough
2. Look around for another school anywhere in Thailand that will offer me a five-year contract
3. Move to a Matayom and work harder for less money.

Suggestions? Tips? Other threads?

Cliff Sloane
Korat

I think that there's internal politics and the green eyed factor at play in these matters.

I was teaching at a university with similar good admin and management. Then I hit 65 and was told that my contract would not be renewed because I was officially retired.

The age difference is due to Thais having to retire at age 60. At our uni, after age 60, we had to make a formal application each year for permission to work on giving the reason that 65 was retirement age in our respective countries.

Once we hit that age, it was no application and no renewal.

One of the possible reasons is that Thai staff could resent the fact that farang are allowed to work later into life and that, at age 65, any excuses the uni has run out.

That's my take on it anyway.

I have heard that there are schools who will take on staff beyond that age but couldn't speak from experience. My 20 plus years of teaching have all been in the post compulsory (16+) sector so don't have experience of teaching kids.

My understanding is that as long as the school wants to continue to employ you that can. Being 60 isn't a factor for you unless you are a government employee. Many schools don't understand this or use it to rid themselves of employees they no longer want.

Let me clarify a point.
My Dean said that the law of the land prohibits him from giving me a full-time contract. He will still keep me on, but the government regulations say that it cannot be for more than 9 credit hours in a term, as opposed to 15 credit hours for full-time.
As I understand your posts, Kasetsart has at least one full-time English teacher older than 60. And I would like to know where Mister Smythe Brown works!!
I also understand that this rule does not affect Matayom or Prathom schools. But I still suspect it affects Rajamangala and Rajabhat schools.

...Silpakorn near Cha-am has at least 1 foreign teacher over 60...as indicated in previous posts, I'm sure universities can demonstrate flexibility for the right person...especially if they're located away from urban centers and the Keeper of Regulations at the MOE...

When I first moved to Thailand, I was just turned 62 years old.

I'd posted my CV (Resume) on the Ajarn forum board. With over 20 years of teaching experience and two teacher's qualifications it made quite an impressive CV.

I got a phone call from a uni in Rayong area saying that they were very interested in me but I had omitted my date of birth on the CV, could I please email it to them which I did.

I never heard from them again.

^...damn, you're old....

Hello. I teach English at a university in Bangkok. Regarding full-time employment in Thailand, it's very simple: Public institutions have a government-enforced retirement age of 60, for both foreigners and Thais, while private institutions do not. It's up to the individual private institution who they will hire or keep on full-time. If you want to work FULL-TIME at 60 and beyond, contact every private school in Thailand, and I'm sure - assuming you're a native English speaker - that you will get a job. It's really a simple matter. The ONLY exception to this rule - and this exception applies to both foreigner and Thai - is if the 60-year-old employee has a special and vital skill, such as nuclear medicine technologist, stealth bomber mechanic, or whatever. In these cases, it's possible that the employee can be kept on past 60 at a public institution. Good luck.

^agree. I know a 63-year-old lawyer-turned-teacher who, dumped from Arts, was kept on by the Law Faculty....he said he was doing essentially the same thing, but with different texts...