As the number of students defaulting on the government's low-interest student loan scheme increases, Thailand's education minister has proposed making government loans contingent on an applicant's future income and employment prospects. But critics say this could turn education into a commodity and could widen social inequalities.
Student loan defaults are a reflection of serious structural problems in the higher education system, which does not prepare students well for a changing world of work, one detractor argued.
Thailand's Loan for Education Fund has provided loans valued at over Baht357 billion (US$11.6 billion) to 3.7 million low-income students since it was established in 1996. While 60% of loan amounts due have been paid back, according to the fund's figures, defaults have increased. More than 160,000 cases of loan default are currently going through Thai courts. Borrowers must pay back their loan within two years of graduation or face court proceedings. Another 500,000 borrowers cannot be contacted, adding to the overall default of up to Baht7 billion (US$226 million).
Education Minister Woravat Au-apinyakul said recently the main reason for the high level of defaults was graduate unemployment. Therefore revamping the loan scheme to make it contingent on students' future income could solve the problem. Students pursuing subjects with good employment prospects after graduation will be given priority for loans under a new regulation Woravat said he had asked the Office of the Higher Education Commission to draft.
Under the reform of the loans system, a debt moratorium will be granted to defaulting borrowers who are unemployed and the ministry will provide them with job training.
Woravat said he hoped the new system, which would also be extended to middle-income families, could come into force before the beginning of the 2012 academic year.