5 primary schools closed due to drop in school rolls

Five primary schools have closed and many more could be forced to close due to the drop in school rolls.

This was confirmed by the Ministry of Education that said students from these schools have been transferred to schools closer to them.

According to the Ministry, some schools only have around 15 students which is the combined school roll from Year One to Year Eight.

Permanent Secretary for Education Iowane Tiko said the reason for the drop in school roll was because parents opted to send their children to well-resourced and equipped schools.

Tiko said government had brought the schools closer to these remote areas and it was their duty to ensure that the schools were filled to capacity.

He added these primary schools have now been converted to technical colleges to cater for dropouts who still wished to continue their education.