Govt to use Bt60bn residue for co-pay, welfare boost

11 Sept 01:31 Key points summarised by AI

The Thai government plans to allocate approximately Bt60 billion from the 2025 fiscal budget residue to fund key initiatives.
A significant portion will boost monthly subsidies for 13 million state welfare cardholders, increasing their payment from Bt300 to Bt2,000 for a single month.
The funds will also partially finance a co-payment scheme, expected to launch in October, providing a one-time Bt3,000 payment to 20 million eligible Thai nationals via the 'Pao Tang' platform.
Additional residue funds are earmarked to settle a Bt35 billion debt with the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives and provide Bt1.5 billion in compensation for people affected by border conflict.

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.