Schools in Southern Thailand's province of Narathiwat to reopen

The Teachers' Federation of southern Thailand's province of Narathiwat have voted to resume classes on Dec. 4, but left it to members in the most vulnerable areas to decide whether to do so, the Thai News Agency reported Sunday.

Sanguan Intharak, deputy chairman of the Teachers' Federation, said after the vote that the military have been asked to provide extra forces to patrol the routes and provide protection for teachers during the morning and evening rush-hours.

Sanguan was confident that the local forces would be able to ensure safety for its members, but stressed the need to be vigilant. Teachers in southernmost border provinces have been targeted with much ferocity by insurgents in recent days.

Last Monday, teachers in Narathiwat, along with their colleagues in Pattani and Yala, voted for an indefinite school closure, following a wave of arson attacks on school buildings and shootings of two Buddhist teachers and a school director by suspected militants.

Sanguan added that members who teach in over 150 schools in five districts of Narathiwat, namely Ruso, Si Sakhon, Ra-ngae, Cho- airong and Sungai Padi could decide for themselves whether they would reopen the schools on Monday.

Source: Xinhua