QVS on Rabuka, Vosarogo's Radar

Allegations of bullying at one of the top boy's schools in the country have reared its ugly head again.

This is part of a claim of illicit drug use and peddling among stu­dents and abuse leaked on Facebook at the weekend.

While the QVS management has remained silent, old scholars Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and the Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources, Filimoni Vosarogo, are leading the call for probe and ac­tion against the claims.

The allegations surfaced after a hand-written letter posted on Fa­cebook contained claims of some senior students' forcing junior counterparts, especially orderlies (kitchen hands) to steal food, and for the letter author to participate in illegal activities, especially in 'standing guard' when senior stu­dents use or peddle illicit drugs, monetary thefts and some subject­ed to physical abuse.

"I believe the Minister for Educa­tion is aware and he will come to Cabinet with what he has done with the school about the disciplinary process," Mr Rabuka said.

He has instructed the Ministry of Education to look into the discipli­nary process, especially when cor­poral punishment is not tolerated.

Mr Vosarogo has also called for an open dialogue and "hard talks" among QVS stakeholders to resolve the problem.

"I am positive about that. It needs movers and shakers to get that done and QVS will reclaim its place in producing quality boarding envi­ronment that will produce quality leaders," Mr Vosarogo said.

It's not the first time the school has come under spotlight for alle­gations of bullying. T

he weekend's claims had stirred calls from social media users ques­tioning the school policy against such behaviours, if it exists.

Mr Vosarogo said the problems had to be nipped in the bud now because the school "standard" had dropped. "I think somewhere in the late 1990s to early and mid-2000, the standard at QVS dropped. A new de­fault culture has set in because no one was deliberate enough to for­tify an existing culture or see that it has started dropping."

School principal Timoci Vosailagi would not comment when contact­ed yesterday: QVS Parents and Teachers As­sociation president Nemani Tuif­agalele has expressed his concerns about the issue.

He awaits the results of investiga­tion by the Ministry of Education.

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