Kerevat National High School students arrested

EIGHT male students from Kerevat National High School were taken into custody by police on Saturday night.

They were locked up at Kerevat police station and were later transferred to the Kokopo police station.

One of them was flown out of the province on Sunday.

Students at the school said the eight students, who were mostly in Grade 12, were returning to their dormitories after dinner when they were apprehended at the school grounds and taken to the Kerevat police station.

The students said they did not know the reason behind the arrests.

However, it is believed they were taken in by police for allegedly conducting unlawful assemblies and hindering police duties.

Students at the school had conducted a protest last week following the expulsion of a number of students over allegations of the use of generation names as well as the expulsion of a few students who stood up to the administration and other issues.

Kerevat principal Ray Alo confirmed this report saying the students were taken into custody and alleged they were under the influence of alcohol.

He also said the students, who were all from the Highlands region, had a confrontation with police and one of them was flown out of the province on Sunday.

The student who was flown out was expelled last week following an incident two weeks ago when he confronted the administration following a decision by the school for male students to pay K50 to replace light bulbs at the male dormitory that were allegedly damaged by five students who were expelled in term two.

The school administration had said the decision to expel him was effected last week.

Deputy president of Central Gazelle LLG Robert Tiniu and John Wargul, former PNC chairman, ex student and community leader, and other leaders were at the school grounds on Saturday.

Mr Wargul said the current situation at the school was due to the expulsion of students and other issues, adding that there must be proper investigations by the disciplinary committee before students are expelled.

He said the community did not want the school to be closed because the community takes pride in the school following its major renovation and he thanked the current administration for leading the maintenance work.

He urged the Department of Education to resolve the matter as soon as possible as the grade 12 Higher School Certificate (HSC) national examinations are a couple of weeks away.

The community and parents of the remaining students are concerned that the repercussions of the recent negative events may cause the students to loose concentration on their studies as they become emotionally disturbed with the arrest of their fellow students.