BANGKOK, Dec 1 — Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana and his ministerial deputy, Sermsak Pongpanich, will visit the southern provinces on December 6 to give moral support to teachers.
Mr Phongthep who joined Prime Minister weekly TV programme “Yingluck Government Meets the People,” with Mr Sermsak said that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has expressed deep concern over the safety of teachers in the three southernmost provinces and ordered the Education Ministry to give full support to take care of these teachers.
Mr Phongthep said that he has also met with representatives from the Confederation of Teachers of Southern Border Provinces (CTSB) to hear their proposals on security measures and other related issues.
He promised to push forward the teacher welfare issues that the cabinet approved since last year with no positive development as yet achieved, and vowed that progress could be realised in three months.
The deputy premier said that he and Mr Sermsak would visit southern provinces on December 6 to give moral support to the teachers.
He added that all schools in Pattani would be opened normally on Monday.
Mr Sermsak said that he attended the funeral of Nantana Kaewchan, the director of Ban Tha Kam Sam School in Nong Chik district, who was killed last Thursday by presumed insurgent, and took the opportunity to discuss with the security agencies in the area as well as the Pattani governor about security measures for the teachers.
The killing prompted the CTSB to announce the closure of 332 schools in Pattani to pressure for a review of security measures.
Mr Sermsak said the ministry would consider increasing a monthly risk allowance for southern teachers from Bt2,500 to Bt3,500. More benefits would also be considered, such as low interest rate loans and tax rebates.
