Good morning,

Tonkla archeep – ‘career sprout,’ apparently – is the name of the new scheme to provide vocational training to as many as one quarter of a million jobless people this year and the next. People joining the scheme will receive “… a living and transport allowance for the duration of the course.

Those who choose to return to their home province after their training will be given money to cover the transport cost plus assistance of about 4,800 baht a month for up to three months.” Specific details are a little sparse – what will be taught? Will jobs be provided or some assistance for people to create such jobs? Is this new money or does it include previously made pledges? Is this any more than a way of keeping a couple of hundred thousand people off the unemployment roster for a while? Well, even if that is all it is, it is better than nothing – I anticipate that the myth of the ‘kind welcome in the rural heartland’ will be exposed by this crisis but we shall see. That does not mean that people are not kind, rather that kindness is not enough to keep people out of poverty. In addition, employment service centres are due to be established in each of the 76 provinces. The centres will collect statistics and offer training to the unemployed.

More violence in the South over the weekend: five villagers and two police officers were wounded when a bomb exploded in Narathiwat next to a soy milk stall where people were congregating. A ‘special committee’ is to be convened to oversee development in the South – it will be interesting to see how these politicians will interact with the military, who have a free hand at the moment, given their role in setting up the current unelected (indeed probably unelectable) government.

I mentioned my reservations about the school uniform scheme a few days ago – one school in Lopburi is to be investigated on the basis that it required parents to hand over the money to school officials (to buy the uniforms? It is not clear). Selling things to kids and parents (tuck shops, stationery and uniforms) is an important subsidy for some poor teachers – and there are a lot of poor teachers. We will see how the scheme works in the coming weeks.

Back tomorrow.

0-0 away with ten men – have to accept the rough with the not so smooth, I suppose.