Source - Bangkok Post (Eng)

Tuesday, February 26, 2008  06:47

          STEVE GRAHAM

          Teachers and students have been borrowing far too much money, and now it is time to pay it back

          Over the recent weeks, there have been several articles in the Bangkok Post highlighting the debts incurred by teachers and students in pursuit of basic opportunities or a better lifestyle.
          One worrying factor is that many teachers can't afford to pay back their loans on the salaries they earn; and to make matters worse, students are borrowing money to finance their education with little chance of repayment after entering the work force.
          The accumlation of education-related debt could lead to destructive, long-term, national consequences; therefore, it may be advantageous to ask if all this credit and loans have become, too much.
                    Do the math
          Students usually borrow from the government to finance their education, so the Student Loan Fund (SLF) was created to help with finances. However, SLF is based on a revolving fund, so money must be repaid in order for other students to borrow later.
          Due to over 90,000 students defaulting on their payments, the renewal of funds for future students is not happening. In addition, the prohibility high cost of litigation ensures that four billion baht in outstanding debt will be difficult to collect.
          It will cost the government too much money to track down absentee borrowers and bring them to court to forcibly seek repayments.
          Even with the threat of 12 percent fines for non-repayment of debts, only 3,000 of the 90,000 debtors have organized new plans to pay back loans. This will have an impact on future students who want to take advantage of SLF loans.
          Teachers are not fairing much better with debts either. Financial experts estimate that the combined debt of nearly 5,000 teachers now exceeds five billion baht. Newspaper reports state that one in six teachers has debts at the average of 1.1 million baht each. This debt has been acquired through government financial institutions, credit cards and loan sharks. Many of these loans have been used to finance a lifestyle beyond what is affordable on an average teacher's salary.
          Clearly this situation needs addressing by the new government. The money that is still owed could have been better invested in other education areas.
                    Financing 'free' education
          The constitution states that students are to receive 12 years of free education. However, discussion is taking place as to whether this constitutional goal is being met since parents must also make additional payments for extracurricular activities, computer access, uniforms and even electricity.
          Former education minister, Dr Wichit Srisa-arn, warned that the involuntary collection of donation money from parents could lead to problems such as financial strain and corruption.
          The Secretary General of the Basic Education Commission Dr Kasama Voravarn na Ayudhaya was reported as saying that in order to prevent schools from collecting these additional fees, the government would have to provide qualified teachers and computers in addition to funding infrastructure and maintenance.
          Financing "free education could cost 23 billion baht, and this estimate does not take into account the salary cost of hiring new teachers.
          The idea of "free" education is a noble idea; however, there are always additional costs. Parents have a duty to pay if it is within their budget. While low-income families would benefit from a truly free education system, those families with a more fortunate background could help reduce the government's burden by paying additional costs.
          Supporting our teachers and students in this was would show great courage and could prove to be a sound base on which to build a more stable future.