Security measures prepared for new school term in Thai Far South

SONGKHLA, THAILAND, October 29 (TNA) - Security measures have been well-prepared by all parties concerned in the Thai Far South, as local students and teachers will return to their schools in the new semester early next month. Deputy Education Minister General Surachet Chaiyawong told journalists on Thursday, while visiting Songkhla Province in the Thai Far South, that representatives from the Ministry of Education in each area in the violence-plagued Thai Deep South have constantly coordinated with the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), Region 4, on the planned security measures and have regularly held meetings with local teachers and educational personnel to brief them on the prepared measures in order to make sure of more efficiency of the measures once they are implemented in the new semester. General Surachet acknowledged that violent incidents against local teachers in the Thai Far South have declined over the past year and he believed that the new security arrangements would help further reduce the violent incidents in the southernmost Thai region gradually. The deputy education minister also called a meeting with executives of schools in four southernmost Thai provinces, including Songkhla, Yala, Pattani and Naratiwat, to follow up progress on his ministry's education development project for both public and private schools at all levels in the southern border provinces. (TNA)