Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul
Interior Ministry will hold discussions with Education Ministry about the possibility of reintroducing civics classes to the school curricula, to instil an awareness of unity, duty, ethics and brotherhood among Thai students, in the hope of reducing violent inter-school rivalries.
Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul floated the idea following the shooting near the Scared Heart Convent School in Khlong Toei last Saturday, in which a school teacher was killed and one vocational student was seriously injured. The shooting is thought to have been the result of rivalry between two vocational colleges in Bangkok.
Anutin said that civics courses were taught in the past, but were scrapped in recent years for no apparent reason, adding that he sees the need for the courses to be revived to teach the ethics and duties of Thai citizens.
He said that he has instructed the Department of Provincial Administration to coordinate with the Royal Thai Police to get tough with the carrying of guns in public by private individuals, saying that no permits will be issued for civilians to carry arms in public.
Regarding school rivalry, which is reported to be the cause of student violence, he said that school administrators have been told to make sure that their students do not carry weapons into schools and to educate them about the consequences of student violence.
Meanwhile, police in charge of investigating the Khlong Toei shooting said that they know the college where the gunman has been studying and they are trying to track down the shooter and his accomplice.
Three classmates of the injured student have been questioned by the police and all of them claim that they have no conflict with the students of any school, because they are in their first year.
