The 5 indicators of the “Thai Teacher Index 2025” highlight the heavy debt and excessive workload burdens carried by teachers within Thailand's education system, problems that should not be overlooked. The latest survey by Suan Dusit Poll established the 2025 “Confidence in Thai Teachers” index, finding that the public rated teachers highest for good personality and appropriate professional attire, while the lowest scores went to being frugal and debt-free, reflecting the heavy debt burden still borne by Thai teachers.
Although teaching is the core of the teaching profession, in reality many Thai teachers face overwhelming responsibilities outside the classroom, leading to accumulated stress that inevitably impacts their quality of life.
- Excessive paperwork workload
Teachers must handle numerous reports, professional evaluations, and administrative tasks, which encroach on the time that should be used for lesson preparation and student development.
- High societal expectations
Teachers are expected to be perfect role models and are often easy targets for criticism on social media.
- Technological pressures
Teachers must modernize their teaching methods by using technology and AI despite budget and resource constraints, especially in remote areas.
These burdens show that the role of Thai teachers today extends far beyond classroom teaching, becoming systemic burdens that affect work efficiency, mental health, and quality of life. Solving problems in Thai education cannot focus solely on skill development or individual dedication, but must reconsider job structures and support systems to restore teachers’ time, energy, and focus for their primary role in developing learners.
One of the most severe and chronic problems in the Thai education system is teacher debt, which directly affects morale and quality of life.
Teacher debt situation data
Total debt: approximately 1.4 trillion baht
Number of debtors: over 900,000 teachers and educational personnel, or about 80% of all teachers nationwide
Main debt sources: Teachers’ Savings Cooperatives and commercial banks
Many teachers have net income remaining of less than 30% of their salary after debt repayments, impacting their quality of life, mental health, and concentration on educational duties.
Why do teachers have so much debt? Mostly from borrowing for basic welfare needs such as housing, vehicles, and children’s education, combined with easy access to loans through agency welfare programs, leading to overlapping debts beyond their repayment capacity.
The teacher debt crisis is not merely a personal financial issue but a structural problem reflecting an imbalance between income, welfare, and the burdens teachers bear. When many teachers must devote time and energy to managing debts, it inevitably affects their focus, morale, and educational quality. Addressing this requires long-term systemic adjustments in support, welfare, and policy mechanisms to restore teachers’ quality of life and strengthen Thailand’s education system over time.
A survey by Suan Dusit Poll, Suan Dusit University, conducted annually for 21 years, sampled opinions nationwide across all professions. It found public confidence in the “Thai Teacher Index” for 2025 at 8.00 out of 10 points (up from 7.94 in 2024). The highest-scoring indicator was good personality and appropriate professional dress, averaging 8.27 points; the lowest was being frugal, not extravagant, and debt-free, averaging 7.44 points—the lowest score for six consecutive years.
- 56.30% use technology and AI in teaching management
- 52.01% have good interpersonal skills
- 50.72% understand learners and societal changes
- 49.28% have excessive workloads and insufficient time
- 44.99% lack budget support
- 40.97% face debt problems
Although public confidence in Thai teachers in 2025 remains high and is improving steadily, with clear strengths in personality, interpersonal relations, and adaptation to technology and AI, structural problems remain significant obstacles—especially heavy workloads, budget constraints, and debt issues. These indicate that long-term teacher quality development must go hand in hand with addressing support systems and welfare to enable teachers to perform their core teaching roles fully.
Amid ongoing concerns in Thailand’s education sector about the heavy workloads burdening both teachers and students—with teachers tasked with many responsibilities beyond teaching and students facing heavy homework and intense academic competition—
for 2025–2026, the Ministry of Education has clearly signaled policies aimed at addressing these root causes under the main concept of “reducing burdens on teachers and students.” This article explores concrete policies and analyzes challenges in implementing them effectively across all schools as follows.
- Officially abolish teacher duty monitoring; the Ministry has allocated budgets to hire janitors or security staff as replacements to relieve teachers from this exhausting and long-standing burden that also poses safety risks.
- Reduce redundant paperwork and evaluations; streamline the Professional Performance Agreement (PA) system to be less complex and cut unnecessary reporting to free teachers’ time for teaching development rather than administrative tasks.
- Assign one teacher per classroom to address teacher shortages in small schools and remote areas.
- “Learn Anywhere Anytime”: The Ministry is rapidly developing the National Learning Platform, aggregating high-quality learning content from various sources, enabling students to review lessons or learn ahead free 24/7, alongside the “one student, one tablet” policy gradually distributing digital devices to reduce educational inequality.
- Adjust homework and reduce competition, emphasizing assignments that foster analytical thinking and hands-on activities rather than extensive rote homework, to lower student stress and reduce parents’ burdens in driving children to extra tutoring for grade competition.
The burdens currently faced by Thai teachers are not merely individual problems but reflect structural limitations of Thailand’s education system—excessive workloads beyond teaching, budgetary issues, and a debt crisis that undermine quality of life. Although teachers retain public trust and demonstrate adaptability and dedication, if the system continues to overburden them beyond capacity, achieving quality educational outcomes in the long term will be difficult.
The “reduce burdens on teachers and students” policy represents an important step addressing root problems. However, the key challenge lies in advancing these policies from concept to widespread, sustained practice. If unnecessary burdens are truly reduced, teachers’ time restored, and stable support systems built, teachers will not only fully return to classrooms but also become the main force in elevating Thai education quality and building a secure future for learners and society over the long term.