Tongthong Chandransu: Law guru unlocking Bangkok’s multibillion-baht investment secrets
AI In-Brief
Thailand News in Brief
Thai PBS World
Thailand and the world, every day
AI can make mistakes. Please double-check.
Tongthong Chandransu: Law guru unlocking Bangkok’s multibillion-baht investment secrets
14 Sept 23:02Key points summarised by AI
Professor Tongthong Chandransu has been appointed president of Krungthep Thanakom, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's (BMA) investment arm, by Governor Chadchart Sittipunt.
His challenging role involves addressing the company's notorious lack of transparency, which has shrouded multibillion-baht city projects like the BTS Green Line in secrecy.
Tongthong is tasked with fulfilling Governor Chadchart's campaign promise to enhance Krungthep Thanakom's accountability and bring its project information into the public domain.
A respected law guru with extensive experience as a professor, dean, and senior government official, Tongthong brings crucial legal and administrative expertise to reform the troubled firm.
Thailand's Education Ministry is implementing a four-pronged strategy to address its students' below-average performance in PISA 2025 and tackle significant educational inequality.
The plan prioritizes closing performance gaps by increasing funding for small and low-income schools, overhauling the curriculum to foster critical thinking, and adopting a data-driven management system to reduce teacher workload.
Key initiatives include enhancing school safety, combating cyberbullying, and expanding mental health support through peer-to-peer networks, recognizing the severe impact of distress on academic performance.
An education expert advises verifying if PISA improvements stem from structural changes, advocating for a revived STEM curriculum with practical 'learn by doing' methods, and urging bureaucratic reform to link teacher evaluations to student development.