‘Unacceptable’: Thai teachers’ group slams deal on beer discounts

Teachers’ network calls for partnership between state agency and brewery to be withdrawn as it promotes harmful behaviour

A group of Thai teachers has protested against a state agency’s partnership with a beer company, claiming the deal tarnishes educators’ integrity and sends the wrong message to society.

The one-year deal, signed last month by Tawandang German Brewery and the government office for improving education workers’ welfare and benefits, offers teachers a 10 per cent discount at three branches of the brewery firm.

Chayapa Khunpittikana, coordinator of the Thai Teachers Against Vice-Promoting Welfare network, said the partnership promoted harmful behaviour, the Bangkok Post reported.

“The image of teachers is already often viewed negatively,” she said. “For a state agency to endorse and incentivise access to vices through discounts on alcohol is unacceptable.”

Benefits such as discounted beer could damage the public image and ethical standards of teachers, as well as the education bureau, the network stressed in an open letter to Thailand’s Education Minister Permpoon Chidchob.

The deal could also have a negative influence on young people who are likely to mimic their teachers’ behaviours, and erase the dignity and respect traditionally associated with the teaching profession, the letter noted.

The network called for the deal to be withdrawn and urged authorities to instead establish partnerships that truly enhanced teachers’ welfare – such as securing affordable private healthcare access.

Nearly 40 per cent of Thai teachers reported facing consistent monthly financial challenges, according to a 2024 survey. Those who struggled financially were more likely to go to work even when sick, the report found.

The network’s protest, however, found little traction online, with many users questioning the actual impact of the deal and Thai teachers’ public image.

“Can’t see how a modest discount at a venue like Tawandang would lead to some sort of dangerous increase in booze consumption among any demographic,” a comment below the Bangkok Post article read.

“How about the teachers start caring about educating the kids more than they care about trying to appear as authority figures and then it doesn’t matter if they drink a beer with dinner?” user Jack Kawakami Long wrote on Facebook.

Last year, a Thai teacher sparked widespread criticism after he shaved bald spots as punishment into the heads of dozens of tertiary school students who violated the school policy on hair.

In May, another Thai teacher made headlines for posing nude at his school while wearing only a Batman mask.

Despite the network’s complaint, Thailand has recently moved to relax its alcohol regulations, marking a significant shift in policy.

In March, Thailand’s House of Representatives approved a revised alcohol control bill that lifts advertising restrictions – a move designed to support craft producers and boost the country’s beverage industry as part of its soft-power strategy. The bill now awaits deliberation at the Senate.