Thailand's commerce ministry backs international schools' push for 120,000 pupils

Thailand's Ministry of Commerce will use its overseas trade offices to sell the country's international schools to foreign families, after Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Supajee Suthumpun met the International Schools Association of Thailand (ISAT) in Bangkok on 30 October 2026.

ISAT, led by its president Usa Somboon, told the ministry its 207 member schools teach about 89,000 Thai and foreign pupils. The association wants that figure to reach 120,000 within four years.

The first markets are South Korea, Japan and Myanmar. The pitch to families there rests on safety and reasonable living costs.

The plan

The Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), whose director-general Warawut Somhongprasert attended the meeting, will handle the work. It plans to:

• arrange business matching between Thai schools and partners abroad through its overseas offices
• take Thai schools to education fairs in other countries
• promote them at international conferences and events that Thailand hosts

Supajee framed schools as an export earner. Promoting international education brings in money well beyond tuition, she said, with families spending on housing, food, travel and services while their children study.

Usa said the association and its members had agreed the 120,000 goal together, and that growth in education services would raise national income and help related businesses.

A crowded market

The ministry's interest comes as the sector's own growth slows. Kasikorn Research Center reported in October 2026 that the number of international schools in Thailand rose about 5.3 per cent this year while pupil numbers grew 3.8 per cent, so the average school has fewer pupils than a year ago.

The centre expects average tuition at Bangkok international schools to rise about 5 per cent for 2026-27, up from 3 per cent the year before. More than 45 per cent of the country's international schools are in the capital.

Three Bangkok schools at the top of that market:

School	Curricula	All-in yearly cost
Bangkok Patana School	British, IB	US$16,200 to US$31,000
Harrow International School Bangkok	British	US$16,900 to US$31,500
Ruamrudee International School	American, IB	US$15,000 to US$23,300

The push reaches beyond the capital. Northern Thailand, including Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, sits close to Myanmar, and Chiang Rai's local press see a chance to draw families from Yangon, Mandalay and Shan State.

More on international schools in Bangkok.