Schools in South to open on Monday
Schools in the southern provinces, closed last week in protest at the government’s mishandling of the violence in the region, will likely to be able to re-open next Monday, Pattani Governor Pramuk Lamul said on Tuesday.
The governor expected that all the problems would be solved as the security authorities concerned had already tightened and reviewed their plans. Therefore, the schools could resume service on December 3.
Hundreds of schools in three deep South provinces – Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani – were closed down last week in protest at the government’s failure to prevent daily violence in their areas. The final straw was the killing of a female school director, Nantana Kaewjan, who was gunned down last Thursday a mere 100 metres from her school in Pattani’s Nong Chik district.
Pramuk added that the review of security plans would see a change in safety provisions for teachers and students.
Previously, combined forces would check the route and guard the teachers and students only in the morning as they made their way from their home to school, and in the afternoon as they returned from school to their houses. “From now on, the forces will inspect the route and areas throughout the day to ensure security and safety for them,” the governor said.
He added some 50 core leaders and representatives of teachers’ organisations in the South would go to Bangkok on Friday to meet the education minister to jointly discuss plans to solve the violence in the region as well as measures to restore morale and confidence among the educational personnel.
