More benefits to be offered to teachers in Thai deep South

BANGKOK, December 1 (TNA) - The government is considering to offer more benefits to school teachers in Thailand's violence-plagued far South; while schools in Pattani province, which have been closed for more than a week following the killing of a school director, plan to reopen next Monday. Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana and Deputy Education Minister Sermsak Pongpanich spoke of the policy during the weekly radio and TV programme of Prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra Saturday morning. Sermsak said that his ministry will initially increase monthly allowance for teachers in the Thai deep South to 3,500 baht, from 2,500 baht now, noting that more than 20,000 part-time teachers who have never received the monthly allowance will also be entitled to receive the same amount of monthly allowance. Sermsak revealed that soft loans and tax reductions will also be offered to teachers in the Thai far South, and that the extra benefits and welfare are expected to be implemented within the next three months. According to the deputy education minister, Premier Yingluck is worried over the safety of teachers in the troubled southern border region, particularly those in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces, and has ordered his ministry to offer more benefits to teachers in the region. Phongthep and Sermsak, meanwhile, are scheduled to visit the southernmost Thai region on December 6 to discuss improved safety measures for teachers and to boost their morale. (TNA)