Closed schools to reopen tomorrow

All schools in three southern border provinces which were ordered closed on Thursday and Friday last week will be reopened tomorrow, Confederation of Teachers of Southern Border Provinces chairman Boonsom Srithongprai affirmed on Sunday.

The confederation passed a resolution to close the schools after a number of militants broke into Ban Bango School in tambon Panan in Pattani's Mayo district last week and opened fire, killing two teachers.

Mr Boonsom said he had instructed directors of the schools through confederation committee members from all areas to reopen them on Monday, Dec 17, after security agencies promised to provide protection for teachers around the clock.

Members of the confederation in each locality were to hold a meeting regularly with representatives of other agencies to assess the situation.

At the same time, the teachers must stay on high alert.  On receiving any information concerning security, they would have to report to the authorities immediately.

"While receiving help from the authorities, we have to also take care of ourselves," Mr Boonsom said.

Mr Boonsom said that apart from the ongoing security operations and development work to counter insurgency, the government had agreed to provide 4 billion baht for schools to carry out a plan for improvement of educational quality, starting in fiscal 2013.

There would also be more defence volunteers in all communities to better protect the teachers, he said.

Malasen Ahson, acting director of Tha Kam Sam School in Pattani's Nong Chik district, said he was glad Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra had proposed several plans to convince teachers of their security.  Late last month, the director of his school was shot to death in a gun attack.

If the plans proposed by the prime minister were seriously implement, he believed the situation would improve.

For teachers, security was primary while welfare was secondary, Mr Malasen said.

In a related development, sources said police had completed the examination of empty M16 ammunition cases and a bullet recovered from Ban Bango School following the attack that killed two teachers last week.

The M16 ammunition shells were found to have been fired from an M16 rifle which was used to shoot and wounded Pol CPl Pongpipat Sriwiwas in front of a shop of Pirayanukroh School at Ban Paluka Samae in tambon Pado of Pattani's Mayo district on June 29 this year.

The same M16 rifle was also used in two separate attacks on marine bases at Ban Bangkao in Pattani's Sai Buri district.

Two policemen of Pattani's Thung Yang Daeng district were shot and wounded with this rifle in an attack on Highway 4071 in Thung Yang Daeng district.

Moreover, two villagers were shot to death with this weapon, also in Thung Yang Daeng district.

Five teachers who survived the attack on Ban Bango School had been interrogated.  It was believed the attack was the work of an RKK separatist group operating in Sai Buri and Thung Yang Daeng districts.

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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2012/12/16/closed-schools-to-reopen-tomorrow/