An incident at a school assembly has ignited a curious debate over what some regard as an outdated and top-down education system 

Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times' foreign editor Bhagyashree Garekar chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe.

They talk about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises. 

In this episode, she chats with ST’s Indochina Bureau Chief Tan Hui Yee.

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:34 Why did over 100 students get ugly haircuts?

2:55 Do Thai schools have haircut rules for students?

4:10 Authoritarianism or a matter of discipline?

5:40 Is student unrest welling up in the election season?

7:55 Are gender identity issues at play?

9:20 What do ugly haircuts tell us about a changing Thailand?

9:55 Is Thailand a relaxed, tolerant society?

Read Tan Hui Yee’s article here: https://str.sg/i4ia

Produced by: Bhagyashree Garekar (bhagya@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani

Edited by: Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani

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Special edition series:

True Crimes Of Asia (new): https://str.sg/i44T

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