All Pattani schools to be closed down
All schools in Pattani province will be closed down indefinitely after two teachers were killed by suspected militants this week.
The decision will affect all 336 schools, ranging from elementary to high schools, in the province, a senior teacher said Saturday. "We have to close all schools in Pattani indefinitely because no one can guarantee teachers' safety. The schools would be shut from Monday," said Boonsom Thongsriplai, the chairman of the Teachers Federation of Pattani. The closure was in response to the killings of two Buddhist school teachers in Pattani this week. Non Chaisuwan, a 48-year-old school director, was gunned down Friday inside his parked car by militants, who then set fire to the bullet-riddled vehicle. The federation said Non was the 60th teacher killed during three years of unrest in the south. Earlier on Thursday, Suradet Waddeanga, a 40-year-old school teacher, was shot dead in a drive-by shooting after work. Some 100 schools in neighboring Yala province also remained closed amid a spike in arson attacks against school buildings. On Friday a school in Narathiwat was raged to the ground allegedly by the militants. Suspected militants have intensified their attacks during the past weeks. Teachers have become the prime targets of the militants. The Nation
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