By JAMES APA GUMUNO
STUDENTS attending the Hagen Secondary School in Mt Hagen have not been attending classes since early this year pending the outcome of a court ruling on the position of the school principal.
A concerned parent said they paid K1,200 as school fees and did not want to see their children hanging around when they were supposed to be in their classrooms.
Another parent said more than 1,100 students doing Grade 9 to12 were badly affected as a result of the court action taken by the school board of management and former principal against the provincial education board (PEB) over the appointment of a new principal.
He said the students have nothing to do with the appointment of the principal but are suffering instead because of the actions of some people.
He said other schools in the province are into their fifth week of school but the Hagen Secondary School has not yet started its school year.
“The very people who are supposed to be controlling the school are fighting in court over who should be the principal and as a result there is no control over the teachers,” he said .
If the problem continued, most parents would ask for a refund of their school fees and transfer their children to other schools in or outside of the province, he added.
He said the PEB and the school board of management should explain to both the parents and students why classes have not resumed.
“The parents cannot allow people to fight over a position and allow their innocent children to suffer,” he said. Radio reports said yesterday the school would resume on Monday, after issues with teachers have been sorted out. The reports said catch-up classes would be held to make up for the five weeks that had been lost.