The Ministry of Education collaborates with the Ministry of Agriculture to urgently resolve the teacher savings cooperative debt, which has been found to total over 1.14 trillion baht with 860,000 members. A joint committee between the two ministries has been established, involving the Office of the Council of State to review legal issues.
On 6 Sep 2026 GMT+7, Captain Pattdarasmi Thongsaluaygron, Deputy Spokesperson of the Office of the Prime Minister, disclosed that the government is advancing efforts to resolve debts of teachers and educational personnel. The approach has shifted from merely reducing interest burdens to addressing the problem systemically, particularly debts from teacher savings cooperatives, which represent a significant burden for many teachers. It integrates cooperation between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives to develop comprehensive debt solutions, covering cooperative funding sources through to members' debt burdens.
Data from the Department of Cooperative Promotion indicates that currently there are 116 teacher savings cooperatives with 862,539 members and total loans amounting to 1,141.545 billion baht. The average loan interest rate is 5.60%, reaching as high as 9%, with 15 cooperatives (13%) charging interest rates above 7%.
"Resolving teacher debt cannot focus solely on reducing interest rates. If the cooperatives' cost of funds remains high, debt burdens and repayment periods will remain unsuitable, and members may continue to accumulate new debts. The government must address the entire funding source chain as well as individual teachers' debt management," Captain Pattdarasmi said.
The Deputy Spokesperson of the Office of the Prime Minister said that following discussions on 2 Sep 2026 GMT+7 between Minister Prasert Chanruangthong of the Ministry of Education and Deputy Minister Piyaratch Tiyapairat of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, both sides agreed to establish a joint committee between the two ministries. The committee is chaired by the Secretary-General of the Teachers’ Council and the Director-General of the Department of Cooperative Promotion, respectively, and includes representatives from the Office of the Council of State to review legal issues. This aims to enable swift, practical progress in solving the problem.
The study underway covers securing low-interest funding sources for cooperatives to reduce their loan disbursement costs and ensure sufficient funds for management, assisting members to switch to lower-cost loans, consolidating debts into single packages, adjusting repayment plans, and extending repayment periods. These measures aim to align monthly payments with members' incomes and repayment capacity. The Department of Cooperative Promotion proposes integrating with government agencies to secure low-interest credit sources to ease the financial burden on members and cooperatives.
At the same time, debt resolution must not end with paying off existing debts but prevent new debts from arising. The Department of Cooperative Promotion plans to implement Credit Lock tools alongside the National Credit Bureau (NCB) to prevent participating members from incurring additional debts from other financial institutions or lenders under specified conditions. Currently, 14 cooperatives have applied this tool for 914 members, including 9 teacher savings cooperatives covering 864 members.
Additionally, there is a proposal to set dividend rates appropriate to cooperative performance to maintain balanced management and avoid pressure to generate income through risky lending. Lending criteria will be adjusted following the concept of Responsible Lending, assessing members’ long-term repayment ability and financial obligations after retirement.
"The government’s goal is not merely to reduce teachers’ interest payments but to ensure teachers have manageable debt, sufficient funds for living, and a system preventing them from falling back into debt," the Deputy Spokesperson said.
Captain Pattdarasmi added that an urgent issue is some teachers face debt deductions so large that less than 30% of their salary remains for daily expenses, directly affecting their livelihoods. Therefore, debt solutions for teachers must simultaneously address reducing costs, lowering monthly repayments, adjusting debts to match incomes, and preventing new debts.
The joint committee from the two ministries will expedite detailed studies on measures, funding sources, debt adjustment approaches, and legal aspects before reporting results within 30 days to develop concrete implementation plans.
"From reducing interest rates, we must move to lowering costs; from lowering costs, we must adjust debts to fit incomes; and then build systems to prevent teachers from reaccumulating debts. The ultimate goal is to ensure teachers have financial stability, sufficient living funds, and can fully dedicate themselves to teaching and caring for students," the Deputy Spokesperson concluded.