"Student Loan Fund" Preparing a loan framework exceeding 48 billion baht to support 780,000 students for the 2026 academic year.
On 18 June 2026, the Student Loan Fund (SLF) clarified reports circulating on social media claiming the fund is facing liquidity shortages, requiring government budget requests, and that many students are awaiting loan disbursements. Additionally, there were claims of high outstanding debts. The SLF affirmed it continues to support educational opportunities without interruption and is committed to helping borrowers resume loan repayments.
Ms. Anchalee Purivitwattana, Deputy Director of the Student Loan Fund and Acting Director, stated that the SLF continuously supports loans for students lacking financial resources. The SLF's main mission has been creating educational opportunities for students nationwide for over 30 years.
Furthermore, the SLF plays a crucial role in reducing educational inequality and developing the country's human resources. Currently, the SLF has over 7.4 million borrowers who have received more than 850 billion baht in loans. In the 2025 academic year, over 780,000 students were approved for loans totaling 47.8 billion baht. For the 2025 academic year, only the final living expense installment remains, which will be fully disbursed to borrowers by the end of June.
Ms. Anchalee added that for the 2026 academic year, the SLF has set a loan framework of over 48 billion baht to support about 780,000 students. Loan applications opened on 16 May 2026, with 304,288 existing borrowers confirming loan disbursement requests totaling 16.912 billion baht. The SLF has begun gradually disbursing these funds to borrowers.
For new student borrowers, the SLF is currently reviewing loan approvals. The process is proceeding according to schedule without any delays or interruptions.
Regarding the issue of high outstanding debts, this remains a challenge for the SLF, especially amid the current economic conditions affecting borrowers' income and repayment ability. Therefore, the SLF has implemented measures such as debt restructuring to extend repayment periods and reduce payment burdens, encouraging borrowers to re-enter the repayment system.
Moreover, the government and SLF have reduced the penalty interest rate to only 0.5% per year to ease burdens and provide opportunities for borrowers during economic slowdown periods. This is not intended to encourage neglect of repayments but to help reduce debt burdens and enable more borrowers to repay.
The SLF continues to emphasize financial discipline alongside fairness to borrowers. It also promotes that students study fields essential to national development to meet labor market demands, increasing employment opportunities after graduation and enabling borrowers to repay their loans.
Nevertheless, the SLF remains committed to its mission of creating educational opportunities and reducing inequality so Thai youth can access education equally. The SLF thanks senior borrowers who have consistently repaid their loans, as every baht repaid creates educational opportunities for future students and is key to the fund's long-term sustainability.
Thanks to the Student Loan Fund Facebook page.