The Office of the Council of State said this week that anyone who has applied for and received a student loan must repay it, following a social media campaign asking the government to wipe such debt.
The campaign began on Wednesday when an online petition launched on the website of Welfare State and Justice Studies gathered 10,000 names and called on the authorities to assist with the debt burden faced by graduates two years after they have left college.
The move was aimed at raising awareness of the right to free education, the organisers said.
However, it drew considerable flak as critics said the students had taken out the loans of their own volition based on the understanding they must be repaid.
Noppadon Pareeloek, a spokesman for the state office, responded yesterday by saying that cancelling students' debts was not the answer.
He said it would just promote financial indiscipline, leading to even more problems in the future.
Those in need of assistance can have their repayments stretched out to match their circumstances and income, he added.
Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is concerned about those who are struggling to repay their student loans and has ordered the relevant authorities to provide them with greater assistance.
The premier is also concerned about people not getting fair access to the educational system as better education is key to making Thailand more competitive, the spokesman said.
As such, remedial measures have been implemented to mitigate the financial burden of indebted graduates including extending their payments from the middle to the end of this year, Mr Anucha said.
At present some 6.217 million students have yet to repay in full 696 billion baht in loans taken out.
