Reviews

I am a parent from China and my child is currently in first grade at this school.
The school's building is in the beautiful Lanna style and when I first came to Chiang Mai I was attracted by the environment and reputation of the school. New International School has a good reputation in the area as an international school with a long history. However, some recent events have made me feel that the school is undergoing some changes and I would like to share my observations and feelings with you.

First of all, the school opened its newly renovated high school building in the new semester and welcomed a large number of new students. However, as far as I know, some students feel uncomfortable in the new school building. I personally speculate that this may be related to the exceeding of the formaldehyde standard because the new school building was renovated for only two to three months before it was put into use immediately. This situation has taken me by surprise, and I cannot even help thinking that similar problems often occur in China.

In addition, there was a food safety incident at the school last month in which about five students were hospitalized at the same time due to food poisoning, and doctors confirmed that they all came from the school. The incident sparked concern and discontent among parents, who have expressed their demands to the school authority. The school authority promised to rectify the situation and agreed to allow parent representatives to visit the cafeteria. However, shortly afterwards, another group of students developed similar symptoms. The chain of events was disappointing.
Thankfully, food hygiene in the cafeteria has improved under the daily supervision of parents.

During my visit to the cafeteria, I was quite shocked when parents noticed the condition of the school's drinking water fixtures. As a consumer who has installed and maintained several home water purifiers in China, I am very familiar with the performance of water purifiers. The school's direct drinking water units were not commercial models; their core cartridge (reverse osmosis membrane) was a standard 10-inch household model. Even though these water filters serve hundreds of students, the cartridges are still replaced as frequently as once a year. This is completely inconsistent with the loading and replacement cycles of household water purifiers, and clearly does not meet the needs of such large-scale use.
Although the school replaced the filter cartridges throughout the school based on parent feedback, there was no monitoring of the water usage of the water purifiers, and the home water purifiers are still in use with a subsequent maintenance schedule of semi-annual replacement.
I have to prepare a large bottle of water for my child to bring to school every day.

The school also recently announced a 20% increase in school fees for the next school year. I know that many schools have adjusted their increases after the outbreak, but this is not in line with the school's promise of an increase of about 5% per year when I enrolled. As a businessman, I understand that international schools are commercial organizations and that there is a commercial logic to the price increase, especially given the current shortage of international school places. However, this decision is still offensive.

In short, I believe that the NIS, with its chaotic management and over-emphasis on economic benefits, is eroding its original appeal.
Perhaps I had high hopes for international schools, but I am now greatly disappointed. I am currently looking for the next more suitable school for my child.