Eight schools remained closed after third round of flooding

BANGKOK, Jan 24 (TNA) -- Thailand's Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) reported that eigh schools in the Thai southern region have continued to temporary close, as the region faces the third round of flooding. OBEC Secretary-General Karoon Sakulpradit said since the region has been hit with the third wave of flooding, the total number of schools affected by this year's severe flooding has reached 2,057 schools, eight of which have to remain closed, including one school in Surat Thani province and seven others in Naratiwat province. OBEC, meanwhile, has prepared a restoration plan of two phases, including physical restore, where most of the schools have already started repairing damages buildings and furniture, while the second phase would entail solving flood problems in the long run. Mr Karoon said representative from OBEC would soon be arriving in the southern region for a provincial level talk with all 12 provinces to initiate the second stage of the plan. The second stage would cover the long term plan to response the repeat of flood. He stressed that all schools must be repaired at the quickest pace to prevent a recurrence of flooding in the future. (END)