Armed soldiers guard the road leading to Malatee Porsotee's village school in southern Thailand while security volunteers with rifles keep watch over the classrooms.
Students gather in the morning sunshine to sing the national anthem, raise the Thai flag and take daily exercise on a grassy yard surrounded by flowering bougainvillea, as roosters peck in the dirt.
But the presence of guns in this otherwise tranquil scene underscores the danger that teachers like Malatee face every day.
Education workers are a top target for insurgents in Thailand's Muslim-majority southern provinces, and her school has already lost one to a militant attack.
The Thai army says more than half of its troops in the region are deployed to protect educational institutions and teachers, some of whom carry their own guns for protection in case of an ambush during their daily commute.
"I don't know what's along the way on the roadside. Sometimes grenades were found, so I'm scared," said Malatee, a 28-year-old Muslim who teaches English at Ban Takeh primary school in Pattani province.
"I'm afraid that it will be my turn or I'll be the target. I'm afraid to stay late in the evening because it's dangerous, so I hurry home instead of teaching late."
Despite the increased security at schools across the region, the killings show no sign of ending.
On July 26, 55-year-old school director Pitchai Suasaeng was shot dead while driving home from work elsewhere in Pattani.
Armed soldiers guard the road leading to Malatee Porsotee's village school in southern Thailand while security volunteers with rifles keep watch over the classrooms.
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