Landowners shut gate of girls’ school in Western

 SOME landowners closed the gate of the all-girls Notre Dame Secondary School in the Mul-Baiyer district, Western highlands province on Monday.

The Grades 9-12 students, who fronted up at the school gate in the morning, were told to go home and wait until the land payment issue out between the school, the Catholic Church and the provincial government was sorted.

Some students, who had already gone into the classrooms when the villagers blocked the gate, were told get out and return home.

While the landowners of about 10 were doing this, roadside vendors told parents and students that these were the same people who did the same thing a few years back, holding the school and administration at ransom.

A betel nut seller told parents that the whole community respected the big educational institutions established by Catholic Church before the country’s Independence and helped people to change their lives spiritually  and get quality education.

One of the parents, Rex Kiap of Hagen Central, told The National after returning from the school that the students were supposed to register last week, but that was postponed to this week.

“We are one week behind registration and thinking that the registration will star today when we come across another problem,” he said. Kiap said that the students from Western Highlands attending the school are innocent and were not part of the alleged problem.