(Photo: Surachai Piragsa)Excessive workloads, long teaching hours and a worsening work-life balance are raising concerns about teachers’ wellbeing and the quality of education, especially at Thailand’s small schools, a new study finds. The Equitable Education Research Institute (EEFI) warned of a growing crisis following the release on Friday of a nationwide survey covering teachers in public and local authority schools, private institutions and those under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. The survey found that teachers in small schools teach an average of 27.3 hours per week, exceeding the Ministry of Education’s standard by 37.6%. These schools often depend on a limited number of teachers to handle both teaching and administrative duties, reinforcing inequality and restricting opportunities for disadvantaged students. The EEFI has proposed reforms ranging from cutting unnecessary paperwork and redistributing workloads to reducing teaching hours, providing mental health support and pursuing long-term bureaucratic reform through digitisation and mentoring systems.

Source: Bangkok Post January 16, 2026 13:36 UTC