The analysis and evaluation of Thai students loans scheme implementation and the deferred debts
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2011
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eng
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xv, 255 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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National Institute of Development Administration. Library and Information Center
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Sakulrat Talasophon (2011). The analysis and evaluation of Thai students loans scheme implementation and the deferred debts. Retrieved from: http://repository.nida.ac.th/handle/662723737/858.
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The analysis and evaluation of Thai students loans scheme implementation and the deferred debts
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Abstract
The Thai Student Loans Scheme (SLS) operation has been questioned for many years regarding its implementation performance. It satisfies many clients, but some not all. A critical problem was discovered when deferred debts (DD) were found as a cause of rising administrative costs at the SLS. So the Thai SLS still requests increasingly high national budget allocations year after year. What actually is the performance of Thai SLS operations, what are the key success factors in implementation, and what causes the DD? These questions are analyzed and evaluated in this study. Policy implementation theory identifies many main factors affecting policy success in general, such as policy targets, resources, and so on. By conducting a literature review, I found some significant factors for Thai SLS performance, which are clear policy objectives/ consistency of the policy with market demands for labor and the national education plan, sufficient budgets and resources, a highly effective implementing agency, strong inter-organizational relationships, and good reports of monitoring and evaluation. Moreover, organizational theory suggests that policy performance can be shaped by organization structure as well as administrative style (top-down or bottom-up), which often means more to the success of the policy. These would lead to efficiency in Thai SLS policy implementation and financial viability. In my findings I found that the DD is a side effect of ineffective performance resulting from bad target setting by policy makers, which are not clear to the implementing agencies, and the uncertainty of policy objectives. There is also weak and loose monitoring and evaluation control of internal implementing agencies, and by the central agency of other agencies, which causes inefficiency in both the central and implementing agencies in loans distribution and repayment processes. The weak and loose controls lead to mistakes in screening for capable and eligible borrowers, causing DD later on. Furthermore, I classified the DD into four categories; they are (1) the unemployed; (2) the underemployed or those who must feed their families first; (3) strategic DD; and (4) those who forgot to pay, do not know their obligation to pay, or have died. The strategic DD particularly cause high accumulated debts to the Thai SLF, as deferred interest and fines multiply year after year. However, past DD management performance - suing, debt restructuring, broadcasts, and holding seminars - are not cost effective and are too time consuming, as the evidence shows. So, I have suggested some better solutions that should start with clear policy objectives, divided into grants for the poor with good grades and loans for others with good grades, and so on. Therefore, this research has shed light on Thai SLS policy implementation, performance analysis, and evaluation which contributes to a better understanding of what has been happening from its establishment until the present. Modern organization theory also points out the right organizational structure for recruiting staff with a two-way administrative style, good leadership and effective open communication, which can certainly keep administrative costs low and improve lending efficiency. The research also makes suggestions for future research studies regarding Thai SLS operations, especially more study of who should be the right Thai SLS targets, how many schemes exactly should there be; what is the most effective loans pattern, and in what ways should the Thai SLF be reorganized. Other potential topics include who would be the best loan collector for the Thai SLS, how could the Thai SLF works efficiently for the best national benefit in terms of its organizational development, with the goal of delivering good output, and what is the best way to monitor and evaluate Thai SLS performance in order to make it work properly.
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Thesis (Ph.D. (Development Administration))--National Institute of Development Administration, 2011