The suicide of a teacher in Buri Ram province this week reflects how inefficient the Ministry of Education has become in terms of tackling teachers' heavy workload.
This has been a chronic problem plaguing Thai education, and one that often prevents teachers from being able to dedicate enough time to their students. However, the ministry has fallen short in its attempt to tackle the problem.
In the latest case, the woman took her own life due to work-related stress, according to reports. Anusara Chuanram, 39, an English teacher at Baan Bu Nong Tao School in Chamni district, was found dead at her home on Monday morning. She left behind five pages of handwritten notes detailing her mental and physical struggles.
In one note, she wrote: "I bid farewell to this world in pain. I have faced mounting problems with finances and accounting work. Tasks have accumulated to the point that they are nearly impossible to resolve. These issues stem not only from me, but from disorganised systems that allow funds to be withdrawn before proper documentation, with no clear responsibility for reconciliation."
The late teacher described chronic stress, near-daily migraines, and deteriorating health, and pleaded with the ministry to be more considerate of teachers burdened with multiple roles, especially in small schools where they also handle accounting and procurement.
A friend reportedly confirmed Anusara had expressed concern about being held liable for discrepancies in school finances, such as missing receipts and unresolved debts involving other staff members.
Of course, she was not the first teacher in Thailand to have been burdened with an excessive workload. Many have issued public complaints about how they have too many tasks -- either issued by their superiors or the central government -- which eat into time that should have been spent with their students.
It has become normal for teachers at small state schools to multitask -- teaching, doing administrative paperwork, and even handling procurement projects. There have been reports of teachers resigning to save their sanity and health due to the overwhelming nature of their workload.
One glaring example would be the case of Sunsanee Wonghong, who resigned in May 2023 after serving as a teacher at the Ministry of Education for almost 11 years.
Sunsanee, who received a master's degree in education from Silpakorn University, wrote on her Facebook page that she was at her wits' end due to having to teach, handle human resources-related administration, and oversee the procurement of school supplies. Some other teachers say they have been ordered to take the warden's shift.
In January last year, the Ministry of Education banned schools nationwide from ordering their teachers to take this shift after one woman teacher at a school in Chiang Rai province was attacked by a man who tried to rape her on this shift at the weekend.
Such troubles are not what the public or parents wish to hear. Lest we forget, the Ministry of Education has always received the largest share of the fiscal budget. For the next fiscal year, it has been granted 355 billion baht -- again, the highest budget allocation.
Instead of focusing on procuring computers or building infrastructure, it is about time policymakers and the new education minister make sure teachers have enough time to spend with their students -- not unnecessary workloads.