Thread: DD, isn't your missus a teacher?

EDUCATION / LENDING FIRMS POSING AS SAVINGS COOPERATIVES
Deductions from teachers' wages to repay loans halted by ministry
SIRIKUL BUNNAG

The Education Ministry has ordered its provincial offices to stop deducting money from teachers' salaries for the repayment of loans they had taken out from teachers' groups which the ministry says misleadingly claimed to perform as savings cooperatives.

Loan firms, particularly in the Northeast, allegedly misled education executives into thinking they were registered as savings cooperatives which disburse loans for teachers.
Subsequently, the executives had approved their request for teachers' loan repayments to be deducted directly from their monthly salaries, Deputy Education Minister Varakorn Samkoses said.
He said the teachers' groups had registered with the Commerce Ministry and called themselves ''teachers cooperatives''.
With funding from international non-bank companies, these groups lent out money to teachers, mostly in the Northeast, who were misled into believing they were some form of savings cooperative for teachers, he said.
The groups loaned up to 100,000 baht to each teacher and charged similar interest rates to those charged by non-bank financial companies in the market.
According to Mr Varakorn, local education directors were asked to deduct the money from teachers under their jurisdiction and agreed to do so as they mistook the groups' status.
He said the Education Ministry has instructed all regional directors to cancel payroll deductions for such loans.
At the same time, the Commission of Teachers and Educational Personnel on Wednesday revived the revolving fund for teachers to help those in debt. The fund ceased operations 10 years ago.
During its existence, the revolving fund approved 319 million baht of loans to 1,900 teachers. The loans are managed by the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, as part of the government's efforts to boost the sluggish economy, said Mr Varakorn.

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