Woman dies en route to appeal rejected state welfare card application
AI In-Brief
Thailand News in Brief
Thai PBS World
Thailand and the world, every day
AI can make mistakes. Please double-check.
Woman dies en route to appeal rejected state welfare card application
13 Sept 06:18Key points summarised by AI
A 65-year-old woman tragically died while traveling to appeal her rejected state welfare card application, underscoring the severe impact of the program's eligibility issues.
The incident prompted the Nan Governor to establish one-stop service centers for appeals and provide support to the victim's family, acknowledging the widespread challenges faced by applicants.
Millions of vulnerable individuals, particularly the elderly and disabled, are being denied essential benefits due to tightened criteria, often for reasons like owning non-functional vehicles or missing application records.
These cases highlight the significant hardship caused by the rejections, as the modest 300-baht monthly subsidy is crucial for many poor people across various provinces.
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.