Over 330 schools in Thai far South re-opened

PATTANI, THAILAND, December 3 (TNA) - All 332 schools in Pattani province, which were closed last week following the shooting dead of a school director by suspected insurgents, were re-opened Monday amid tight security. Teams of combined forces of soldiers, police and administrative officials in Pattani have, however, stationed on roads through which teachers and students go to their schools and go back home to provide security for them, after the female school director of Tah Kam Sam School in Nong Chik district was killed on November 23. The Governor of Pattani, one of violence-plagued provinces in the Thai deep South, and other provincial officials visited the school to boost morale of school personnel and students. In nearby Yala province, around-the-clock security measures have been provided by local troops and rangers at Baan Pong Yue Rai School in Mueang district to boost morale and confidence of the school's personnel and students. Meanwhile, National Police Chief Police General Adul Saengsingkaew confirmed that police have security measures to protect teachers in the Thai far South, saying that the overall situation in the southermost region is improving but security authorities have to take precautions, particularly during the upcoming New Year Festival. According to the national police chief, police are closely working with the 4th Army Area Command to protect local teachers around the clock and he has also ordered his subordinates to monitor movements of suspected insurgents and he believes they can assure safety for government officials and teachers. Regarding an arson in the Baan Tha Soop locality in Panare district of Pattani province Monday morning, the na nal police chief acknowledged security authorities are to cope with any attack or retaliation by insurgents. Deputy Education Minister Sermsak Pongpanit, who inspected the situation in the southern border region on November 29, told reporters that local teachers want rescheduled daily periods of their protection while concerned authorities have asked them to inform security guards of their unscheduled trips, with the protection to be focused on Buddhist teachers who are a main target of insurgents. The deputy education minister noted that his ministry will soon discuss more welfare for teachers in the troubled Thai far South, as suggested by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. (TNA)