Rung said the new school directors would hire local qualified people to work as temporary teachers in place of those who decide to transfer out of the three provinces.

He said education in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat would not be disrupted even if all teachers sought transfers because of the system of hiring local people on a temporary basis.

Teachers in the three southern border provinces have been targeted by Muslim separatists. Although they are escorted to and from school by security forces, many have been gunned down when travelling alone.

Rung visited Narathiwat yesterday to inspect a cluster of official houses for teachers in Sungai Padi district. A separatist fired an M-16 assault rifle at the houses early on June 28, damaging several and injuring a teacher, Sunthorn Nilwisut, 41.

Rung visited Sunthorn at Sungai Kolok Hospital.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, he said he would assign directors of education zones in the three southern provinces to find ways to improve or relocate official residences of teachers so that they would be safer.
The minister said teachers in the three provinces had been living in fear so he would let them be transferred.

“From now on, the ministry will manage education in the three provinces with a new system. We will recruit fearless school directors and let them hire local people as teachers on a temporary basis,” Rung said.

But the policy to allow teachers to be transferred out of the provinces worried the Southern Teachers Federation.

Wicharn Atikkaphan, president of the federation, said education in the three provinces was already suffering from inadequate teaching staff so if more teachers were allowed to move out, the problems would be increased.

In another development, Defence Minister Thamarak Isarangura visited Yala to be briefed on the progress of the operations of the Southern Border Provinces Peace Building Command. He was briefed by Lt-General Kwanchart Klaharn, commander of the Army Region 4, and Yala Governor Boonyasit Suwanrat.

Thamarak said he would increase the number of local people as self-defence volunteers to help security officials restoring peace.

Also yesterday, a Democrat Party MP from Narathiwat, Jehaming Totayon, held a press conference in Bangkok to demand the government speed up efforts to restore peace in the three provinces.

Jehaming said the volatile situation had severely damaged the region’s economy and most hotels had to reduce their room rates to as low as Bt199 a night plus breakfast.

“The rate is lower than hotel services for dogs in Bangkok, which is Bt200 a day,” the MP said.

The Nation
Narathiwat