A GROUP of thugs believed to be from nearby villages entered Ruavatu Provincial Secondary School in North East Guadalcanal over the weekend, disrupted the school’s program and assaulted one of the female students.
It was reported the group entered the school premises and physically harmed innocent students whom were enjoying their last few days at school.
Later these thugs forcefully took a female student and raped her in the nearby bushes.
The incident has prompted Guadalcanal Provincial government to decide on the fate of in the coming days.
It was claimed the thugs were from the surrounding villages.
The action described as inhuman and criminal, has left many students traumatized and police had to intervene following retaliatory actions by students.
The situation was so tense that the Rapid Response Team (RRT) was also called upon to calm what could have led to physical clashes, it was reported.
Guadalcanal Provincial Deputy Premier (acting), Rolland Seleso, who visited the school to calm the tension and also help to repatriate students, condemned the barbaric action of the villagers in the strongest term.
Seleso said the incident at the school is inhuman and display the lack of respect to students by villagers who supposed to be the good host of the Province’s premier educational institution.
“People who have indecently assaulted and raped the female student have no place in our communities and they are rightly belonging to the confines of our penitentiary institution,” Seleso strongly stated.
“I urge people from the communities surrounding Ruavatu School to cooperate with the police so that the law enforcement authority makes the due arrest at the earliest,” Seleso added.
“On this note too, I’d like to applaud the Guadalcanal Police for promptly arriving at the school and overseeing the safety of the school children,” the acting deputy premier stated.
“I also applaud my education minister and the chief education officer for attending to the students at this time of tension,” Seleso added.
Last night an evacuation process continued as students from other parts of Guadalcanal are being repatriated to the city for their safety.
Female students in particular, most of whom are traumatized by what had happened to their other school mate were the first to be evacuated.
Guadalcanal Police and the RRT personnel were monitoring the evacuation of the students.
It is understood that an emergency meeting was convened yesterday by the GP executive to discuss the status of situation at the school and the immediate action that the province need to undertake to rectify the situation.
Form three, five and six will sit their exams starting this week. And with the incident, most of them will have to seek alternatives to sit for their exams in other schools.
