- Honiara based schools close early
- Innocent students victimised
BY MAVIS N PODOKOLO
Honiara High School teachers and students are still traumatise following the heartbreaking situation where four of its classrooms were burnt down in the recent social unrest.
Apart of the classrooms an ICT lab, school library and one workshop were also burnt down while a school hall was partly damaged due to heat.
School principal Allen Ketei in an interview with this paper yesterday said the situation is really devasted and heartbreaking especially for those who serve the school for a long time.
He said with the burnt down of the classrooms and other important infrastructures worth more than SBD5 million it will affect the school’s new intake of form 4 next year.
Not only that, it will affect students to access quality education.
“This is very sad story for the school.
“This situation is unfortunate and heartbreaking for those of us serving the school for long time and work hard to improve this school”.
“It is really devastated and we teachers and students are traumatised by it. We love this place because this is where nature our students and called it our second home and workplace,” he said.
Ketei said as the result of the situation the school management have recommended to the Honiara City Council Education Authority (HCC) to close early until further arrangement is done with the Ministry of Education to rebuild it.
He said with the current situation, form four students will be affected while forms 5, 6 and 7 are okay.
Ketei said at this stage the school is considering options how best they can assist students to complete their studies but that will depend very much on the supports they receive as well support from the Ministry of Education.
He adds over the years they have built the reputation, the quality and promoting leadership and made some progress but the recent destruction has pulled them down to zero level.
Despite of the situation they are not giving up.
“We will not give up; we will rebuild this school for our children and the nation. As a leader I will stand with the teachers to rebuild this school because this is our country’s,” Ketei said.
He stressed that the situation provides the school admin and current teachers to look at alternate ways to re-booster the trauma and the side effects of the destructions of the school.
When asked whether the school will conduct an investigation to identify the culprit, he said that they will depend on police.
For that purpose, he appeals to stakeholders, aid donors, former scholars, families, communities, and friends of Honiara to help them rebuild the school.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development in its circular message recommends all Honiara based Education Authorities to close this year’s academy as of yesterday.
Permanent Secretary Dr Franco Roddie said while law and order eventually restored the threat still remain.
He said the ministry following the social unrest conducted a brief survey for early closer of schools and received anonymous respond from the schools.
Based on that he approved the recommendation to close as of yesterday and not wait until Friday.
He clarifies that the circular message does not includes schools in the provinces.
