Student thuggery

THIS is an open letter to the board and management of Tusbab Secondary School in Madang town regarding the constant attack on vulnerable young students by the older male students.
Older male students in senior grades have constantly attacked younger students, especially grade 9 kids coming in from primary schools.
The older male students would often be high on drugs or drunk on Thursdays and Fridays and would walk into lower grades classes, point a knife or some weapon at the terrified students and demand for money and other personal belongings such as mobile phones and music players.
These incidents usually take place on Thursdays and Fridays between 9am and noon. The ‘gang’ members usually wait outside a classroom and send in their hitman once a teacher had left.
The teachers know it, but seem to be terrified to take action.
Many young students are traumatised constantly by this ongoing ordeal and the Tusbab board and management have done nothing to stop it.
Some parents have transferred their kids to other provinces as a result, thus denying their rights to be in school in a town where the parents live and work.
Earlier this year the media reported that one senior teacher was attacked by a male student after the teacher tried to deal with one of the above problems – of intoxicated students holding up younger kids and stealing their lunch money and other belongings.
I call on the parents to demand that the Tusbab board and management put an end to this problem and restore Tusbab to what it used to be – a very fine school.
Are we waiting for one of the children to be killed before action is taken?

Concerned resident
Madang town