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Thai Education Ministry Plans to Tackle Teachers’ Debts Nationwide


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By Tarin Angskul

   

BANGKOK (NNT) - Thailand’s Education Ministry has unveiled the government’s plans to tackle debts owed by about 900,000 teachers nationwide, worth about 1.4 trillion baht.

 

Education Minister Treenuch Thienthong said the government aims to enlist teachers’ savings cooperatives in solving the problems. Three cooperatives in each of the 4 regions of the country will be chosen as models to work with financial institutions and local education agencies to tackle the problem. This model will then be expanded to other provinces nationwide in November.

 

She said this approach was previously adopted by teachers’ savings cooperatives in Samut Prakan and Kamphaeng Phet provinces, to address similar debt problems in the region. They reduced interest on members’ savings to no more than 3% and changed the interest on low-risk loans to bring them in line with those of financial institutions at 4.5-5%.

 

Ms. Treenuch said other measures launched to help in-debt teachers included debt-restructuring programs, withdrawing lawsuits against debtors and reducing loan interest for teachers aged over 75 years old to 0.25-0.50%.

 

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She's the niece of Sanoh Thienthong, IMHO one of the most scaly, tricky and untrustworthy Thai politicians of all time. Convenient?

 

What valuable aligned qualifications or valuable aligned experience does she bring to the highest position in the Thai Education Ministry, which desperately/urgently needs major reforms?

Edited by scorecard
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3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Personally I think the debts of all Teachers and health workers should be written off once they have spent 10 years in a teacher or health role where their education has been - and is being - used. The wiping off of the debt would be well worth the donation to overall society 

Presume this is sarcasm.

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4 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand’s Education Ministry has unveiled the government’s plans to tackle debts owed by about 900,000 teachers nationwide, worth about 1.4 trillion baht.

Living beyond their means... self inflicted debt by tin gods.

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4 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Personally I think the debts of all Teachers and health workers should be written off once they have spent 10 years in a teacher or health role where their education has been - and is being - used. The wiping off of the debt would be well worth the donation to overall society 

Nah that  way they will  just  immediately  borrow  more on the premise they will be written off in another 10  years, what they need is LESSONS in"responsibility"......maybe they could find someone to teach them that

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26 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Okay let me help you with the teachers debt issue.

I know two recently graduated teachers, first year in the profession both went out and bought brand new cars.

It's a status symbol, like saying look at me I've arrived.

While the schools have been closed the teachers have been receiving their normal salaries, unlike others who have lost wages or are unemployed and in real financial trouble.

Any debt they have is self inflected by living beyond their means and having the capacity to borrow more from the bank because of their civil servant status.

And remember teachers pay less tax than others [I believe 3%]

Why should they be allowed to borrow beyond their repayment capacity and then have it written off?

 

BONUS  POINTS..............its  all of their  own doing.

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How about paying them a decent salary? I don’t think that has been raised for 15-20 years, while the cost of living has increased significantly. How do you expect people to survive on the same salary year in year out when prices of just about everything just go up and up? 

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1 minute ago, alien365 said:

When I moved here I bought a new eco car. My wife (also a uni lecturer) was a bit worried as others were telling her that we had to have at least a Vios level car. I couldn't believe how others thought it was any of their business and told the wife to return that sentiment. It's crazy to buy what you can't afford mainly to impress others.

-

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4 hours ago, Rampant Rabbit said:

Nah that  way they will  just  immediately  borrow  more on the premise they will be written off in another 10  years, what they need is LESSONS in"responsibility"......maybe they could find someone to teach them that

Do we blame them or should the banks be sanctioned for giving loans that are far out of proportion to the salaries people receive? What is happening to these teachers when they default?

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Again many people post here who dont have any knowledge about teacher's money issues! I think many dont know either, that they have own bank where they cant take money off because that bank is almost bankruptcy. All teacher's are not member in that bank but most are. My wife has there over 1,5 million bth whitch she cant toutch, even she work now in higher position than teacher.

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32 minutes ago, rudi49jr said:

How about paying them a decent salary? I don’t think that has been raised for 15-20 years, while the cost of living has increased significantly. How do you expect people to survive on the same salary year in year out when prices of just about everything just go up and up? 

Wifes  Brother  teacher  in Loei 60 yrsold now retired     gets 32k a  month PENSIOn from the govt for  teaching all  his  life, sounds  ok to me.

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Just now, itsari said:

If they write off the debt for teachers all debtors in Thailand  will want the same treatment . 

Well most of them are probably at the bank today seeing if they can get more on their loans, since they aren't working. 

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How about teaching the teachers about responsibility for their actions , then maybe they can become responsible people and stop crying about the mess they got themselves into, don’t spend more than you earn and don’t borrow money to try show off

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5 hours ago, scorecard said:

"...I am a teacher I must have an expensive house and car ."

 

Very true comment, very common attitude.

 

I'm aware of one man drives a Range Rover, now 5 or 6 years old.

 

Last year he asked the Range Rover agents / showrooms in Bkk to arrange for him to buy a special pack of items he could have installed in his Range Rover so that it perfectly copied the current model.

 

He's still paying off the Range Rover and is in deep debt to pay for the big expensive house he and his wife (also a teacher) live in.

 

In the past, he got a promotion to head teacher in one section of the very big and famous government high school where he teaches.

 

To show his position he arranged for a uniformed driver to drive him to school, stop the car, run around to the passengers side rear door, open the door and go down on one knee with head bowed way down, then, when the teacher alighted the driver had to carry his work bag into the teachers room.

 

After 1 or 2 days the headmaster ordered that this activity stop.

a perfect example of Thai behaviour 

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