Bugandi Secondary loses classrooms, office in fire

MORE than 2,400 pupils of one of the oldest schools in Lae, Morobe, were sent home yesterday after a building housing four classrooms and an office went up in flames.
The Bugandi Secondary School lost the classroom at around 2am on Monday, and the cause of the fire is yet to be established.
Principle Tony Gau said students were sent home to allow authorities such as the fire service, police and PNG Power Ltd to verify the cause of the fire.
Students were expected to return to classes today.
“The four classrooms were for two grade 10 classes and two for grade 11, and the office was for the head of agriculture,” Gau said.
“The building is worth around K300,000, including school materials and tools.”
“A total of 241 students are affected, about 100 students are in grade 11 and the rest are in grade 10 .”
The building was first completed in 2008.
The school’s head of agriculture Mathew Boi said textbooks, teachers’ guide, computers and office equipment, including 50 spades and 32 bush knives, were destroyed, along with desk and chairs in the four classrooms.
“All my work and documents I have compiled over 20 years were all lost in the fire,” he said.
Gau said the school was lucky to have built a four-in-one double classroom at a cost of around K400,000.
The new infrastructure was next to the burnt building and would be used by the students from today.