Health ministry to enforce disease control law to deal with air pollution

13 Sept 19:48 Key points summarised by AI

The Public Health Ministry plans to enforce a 2019 disease control law, for the first time, to combat PM2.5 air pollution after cabinet approval.
This law empowers the Disease Control Department to declare affected areas, triggering measures such as mask distribution, work-from-home advisories, and halting farm waste burning.
Hospitals will establish dust-free wards specifically for new-born babies and postnatal mothers to protect vulnerable populations from air pollution.
While mandatory work-from-home is not yet required, officials are exploring methods like using dried ice to improve air circulation as cloud seeding is currently not feasible.

Examining Thailand’s four-part education revolution

Yesterday 14:22 Key points summarised by AI

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.