Student Loan Fund Debt Restructuring: A Boost for Thailand's Education System

Strategic Insights -

The Thai government has taken a major step towards alleviating the debt burden of students who have borrowed from the Student Loan Fund (SLF) by reiterating its policy to develop people and the nation. Through debt restructuring, the SLF is moving forward with a new law that will reduce debts, extend repayment periods, and provide a 100% discount on penalties for borrowers who finish paying their installments. The government aims to support borrowers affected by the salary deduction system and has established measures to encourage borrowers to repay their debts.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Student Loan Fund (SLF) is restructuring debts for approximately 3.5 million borrowers, with 70% of them already processed.
  • Borrowers can check their new debt amount via the website www.studentloan.or.th, with the new debt calculation covering approximately 3.5 million borrowers.
  • The SLF will automatically adjust the debt amount for borrowers who have signed a debt restructuring agreement before the new system is complete.
  • The SLF is currently developing a new application due to incompatibility with the 'GSB Connect' application, which will enable borrowers to check their actual debts via the website.
  • The salary deduction system will now deduct both current and outstanding debts from previous years, with 490,225 borrowers having their salaries deducted in April 2025 and another 251,083 borrowers in May.
  • The SLF provides two groups of support for borrowers affected by the additional 3,000 baht deduction per account: those who have entered into a debt restructuring agreement and those who have not yet signed a debt restructuring agreement.
  • Borrowers can submit a request to reduce the amount of salary deduction via the SLF website by May 17, 2025, or June 14, 2025, for May and June 2025, respectively.
  • From May 2025 to September 2026, the SLF will return 1,215 accounts, totaling 2.95 million baht, to borrowers who have paid in excess.
  • The provinces with the highest overdue payments are Bangkok (129,146 accounts), Nakhon Ratchasima (78,816 accounts), Nakhon Si Thammarat (77,687 accounts), Khon Kaen (73,409 accounts), and Chiang Mai (63,346 accounts).
  • The working-age group 30-39 years old (1,132,339 accounts) and 40-49 years old (675,184 accounts) have the highest overdue payments.

Statistics:

  • Approximately 3.5 million borrowers will benefit from the debt restructuring, with 2.3 million borrowers already processed.
  • 70% of borrowers have had their salaries deducted, with 490,225 borrowers in April 2025 and another 251,083 borrowers in May.
  • The SLF has returned 2,528 accounts, totaling 73.81 million baht, as of May 7, 2025.
  • The SLF will return an additional 1,215 accounts, totaling 2.95 million baht, from May 2025 to September 2026.
  • 3,399.13 million baht in overdue payments were recorded as of May 7, 2025.
  • 129,146 accounts in Bangkok, 78,816 accounts in Nakhon Ratchasima, 77,687 accounts in Nakhon Si Thammarat, 73,409 accounts in Khon Kaen, and 63,346 accounts in Chiang Mai have unpaid debts.

Sources:

  • Thai News Agency, 12 May 2025
  • Thai News Agency, 12 May 2025 (Student Loan Fund website)