Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will not attend the 42nd ASEAN summit in Indonesia, prioritizing the upcoming general election on May 14th where he is a candidate.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai will represent Thailand, participating in key discussions on regional security challenges like the Myanmar crisis, South China Sea dispute, and US-China rivalry.
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.