Issues at the school attributed partly to the absence of a PTA

The Director of Education Mrs Birtha Togahai has confirmed that the Niue High School PTA or school committee is inactive.

Mrs Togahai was responding to further questions from BCN news regarding their press statement received last week.

BCN news understands that the PTA committee has been inactive for almost ten years and is attributed partly to the parents resorting to post their concerns and frustrations on social media.

Concerns over the absence of the PTA is also partly attributed to the increasing issues facing the school and student welfare. One source who contacted BCN said that the increasing issues at the school including student welfare are due to the absence of the PTA and that this committee should be revived.

The concerns raised recently over the alleged bullying of a 13 year old student by a teacher, was denied by the Director. She told BCN news in an email that the student was told to go to the principal’s office.

“The student was asked to go to the Principal’s office, what the student does after they leave the classroom and not going to see the Principal is beyond the School’s control”

The role of the PTA or the school committee is traditionally seen as the conduit between the parents, the community, the school and education department.

Yesterday, the principal of Niue High School Charles Ioane sent out the school newsletter which included the school’s concerns about the continuing problem of truancy.

“Truancy continues to be a problem with some students absent the entire term so far.  We will review over the holidays and a recommendation may be that we ask your child to repeat a level in 2021 if they have missed out on a lot of work.  We need your help on this matter.  We can only do what we can and you should be aware if your child is a truant!”

BCN News also understands that the progress of the review of the Education Act has not been completed, an exercise that has taken more than 10 years and still not completed despite the Minister’s wishes for this review to be completed by the end of this year.