General vows all South schools to open by Nov 3

The six schools damaged in arson attacks on Sunday in Thung Yang Daeng district would soon be allocated a budget for repairs or rebuilding, said Udomdet, who is also Army chief.
Students would be provided with temporary classrooms, he said.
If the government’s Thung Yang Daeng security model proves successful, it will be expanded to other areas, he said.
The anti-arson measure proposed by Lt-General Prakarn Cholayuth, chief of the Fourth Army Area, provides all schools in the region with alarms and dispatches civil defence volunteers to guard schools, villages and tambon.
The 7.30am bomb attack in Narathi-wat’s Sungai Kolok district left Second Lieutenant Khunanont Permpornsri with wounds to his leg and hip and Sathit Baokaew with wounds to his body from the shrapnel. Surin Jehnu, headman of Meuba village, and his deputy Asaree Jehwae were slightly hurt.
Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan has appointed Thawil Pliensri, a former secretary-general of the National Security Council, as his personal adviser for national security, while naming Army’s advisory chief General Aksara Kerdpon as the head of the team negotiating with insurgents.
Former Narathiwat MP Jehaming Totayong said the Thung Yang Daeng operation was under attack due to the militants’ assessment of its weak spots.
Thai authorities should get school board members to help in mustering public support and protecting schools, he said.
Aksara, as the negotiating team leader, should think of new ways to instil a warm feeling in the public to foster sympathy for tackling the southern unrest, he said.
The Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre is proceeding with building 288 futsal pitches in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, starting with 50 this year with a budget of Bt58 million and 50 next year with Bt58 million. The project was a response to tappers’ appeal for help with plummeting rubber prices.