Even though I fully agree with you that all schools in the deep South should be closed until the Army gets its act right, this doesn't mean that the education of our children should be put on hold as you may have had implied.

What I'd like to see, while the children are kept at home for their own safety, is for the teachers to continue with their lessons via radio and television stations. The teachers travelling to and from the stations should of course be under heavy protection.

Please do not stop the education of our children!

Dr Vichit Phanumphai

Bangkok

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Taxpayers' money being wasted on Net censorship

Re: "Activists call for cyber-freedom, say 50,000 sites shut", News, June 10.

I have just read that this interim government is going to introduce legislation to make it a criminal offence to open or even attempt to open Internet sites that they consider unsuitable for public viewing or have blocked.

Millions of baht are being spent employing people solely to police the Internet. Never mind the poverty of many Thais who struggle to exist from day to day. It appears to me that whilst other Southeast Asian countries are moving forward Thailand is going in the opposite direction.

Billy Bowlegs

Bangkok

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System overhaul needed with free-schooling clause

Re: "Push for 15 years' free education fails", News, June 15.

I fully agree with the Constitution Drafting Committee adding a clause obliging the government to provide 12 years of totally free schooling to all Thais.

But before raising the quantity of students, we should vastly boost the quality of the education that we're giving existing pupils. Turning out more followers when we need leaders won't help much. It's no secret that our education system is in terrible shape; for example, last year, the Education Ministry evaluated 30,000 state-run and private schools at the primary and secondary levels, and found that 15,000 were in what they likened to a "coma".

Start with teachers, and make sure that every school is led by several role models who embody Harold Garnett's vision: "The best teacher is … one who kindles an inner fire, arouses moral enthusiasm, inspires the student with a vision of what he may become and reveals the worth and permanency of moral and spiritual and cultural values."

Select students who are eager to learn how to think, not what to think; who focus on an education, not just a degree; and who know that cheating fools only the cheater. Teaching MBA students at the National Institute of Development Administration, I learned much from every class; give us more students like them.

Foster teachers and students who are of such integrity that we never repeat a university fiasco where a vice-rector said (during the Panthongtae Shinawatra incident of alleged cheating): "Cheating is not taken seriously here. Out of 250,000 students, we're only investigating 10 cases of cheating" - and the university council, teachers, and student body, by their silence, accepted the statement that demeaned their institution and their degree.

How to pay for all this? Well, use any confiscated assets from Thaksin; let donations to educational institutions be worth double their actual contributions, without limit; allocate part of "sin" duties to schools, etc.

Put education back into schools.

Burin Kantabutra

Bangkok

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'Devil Thaksin' graphic had no place on news page

I admired The Nation for taking the former government to task with good, albeit slightly slanted reporting. But I am shocked by the fact that your line between news and opinion has been blurred to an unimaginable level. This lack of objectivity reached a new low with your front page graphic in your June 15, with Thaksin depicted as the devil, replete with horns, a forked tail and a pitchfork. Although I am no fan of Thaksin and is glad he's no longer running the country, this is simply an unnecessary attempt to demonise the man. While you were at it, why didn't you add a Hitler moustache?

Maybe a cartoon by your esteemed cartoonist Stephff would have been appropriate in the same vein on your editorial pages but putting this sophomoric graphic on your front page (or any news page) is beyond the pale. The facts of Thaksin's shenanigans are enough to damn him in the public eye.

Jongrat Phankinnaree

Bangkok

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Thaksin's politicking may sink Man City

Re: "All funds can be accounted for: lawyer", News, June 15.

I was so surprised to read Noppadon Pattama's latest comment blaming the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) if Thaksin fails to finalise a deal with Manchester City. Failure to negotiate a takeover at this stage would enormously damage the club since time is so limited for the club to get ready for the new season.

If this takeover deal finally fails, somebody needs to be blamed, but I don't think it's the AEC.

It seems strange that the process is taking such a long time, since Thaksin announced his intention to take the club over at the beginning of last month. If an investor is serious about wanting to own the club, a takeover deal must be completed in time for the new season.

It is a pity but the future of Manchester City looks quite hopeless. If the Manchester City deal was really just a means of Thaksin making his presence known from the beginning, it really is shameful.

KT

Bangkok

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Skytrain riders deserve a video-free carriage

Re: "Video advertising on the Skytrain leaves some passengers travel-sick", Letters, June 11.

The video commercials on the BTS Skytrain are highly intrusive. They make it very difficult to think, read, talk to your travelling partner or use a mobile phone. I called the BTS hotline. The BTS officer said the "test-run" sticker on the screens was not to see if the videos worked well, but to gauge the appropriate noise level (which I take to mean "how much we can get away with") in light of constant passenger feedback. But one passenger's tolerance level is another passenger's pain. The solution is simple. BTS should give passengers a choice by allocating one carriage, or even part of a carriage, where there is no video or audio intrusion. Tens of thousands of people each day will opt for the silent carriage.

Ken Scott

Bangkok

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Writer's defence of smoking doesn't hold up

Re: "Smoking bans clear a path for further government meddling", Letters, June 14.

In a very weak argument John Arnone blames the United States for creating questionable studies related to second-hand smoke. He says the results of these studies are part of some vague conspiracy by the US to impose its will on the rest of the world. He tries to push everyone's "hot buttons" by questioning the US's credibility by saying that the country told us there were "weapons of mass destruction in Iraq". He states that if you listen to Metallica in local bars you wouldn't need to be a smoker because of the drugs and narcotics available in the bathrooms. He says all of this is leading to the deterioration of his personal rights which will eventually lead to him not being able to legally smoke in his own home. How can anyone buy into these views?

There is actually no defence for smoking anywhere but as long as it is legal smokers should be allowed to practice their vile habit. That said, addicts who, after processing the available information regarding their impending slow and painful death and the death of their house mates, should take into consideration the lives of other fellow human beings. The light came on for many reformed smokers, me included, many years ago. It took my mother more than a year to die. She was never without her oxygen tank or able to take a deep breath the entire time. Think about that for a moment.

There are still many bars and restaurants throughout Thailand where he can slake his addiction, only putting the employees and himself at risk. However, as people here become more educated and thus aware of the dangers posed by addicts, smokers must be prepared to move on.

David G Barkdull

Bangkok