PATTANI, Nov 30 – Embattled state schools in this southern province, closed for a week after the murder of a school principal last Friday, will reopen Monday after an official promise of heightened security for teachers.
Deputy Education Minister Sermsak Pongpanich, accompanied by senior military and police officers, met with teachers, school managers and representatives of the Confederation for Teachers in Southern Border Provinces at a school here on Thursday after attending the cremation of Nanthana Kaewchan, principal of Ban Tha Kamcham School in Nong Chik District.
More than 300 government schools in Pattani have been closed since Monday.
The one-hour meeting concluded with the authorities’ promising to provide better protection to teachers and respond to teachers’ demands, first proposed to the government in 2010, calling for better welfare for teachers and other education workers.
Pattani Governor Pramook Lamoon said the meeting agreed to encourage community participation in school activities and to boost security for teachers’ during their commutes routes.
The deputy education minister also inspected Ban Bang Maruad School in Panare district, which was burned late Wednesday night.
