Minister for Education, Aseri Radrodro says the extent of the bullying as highlighted by the Principal however will need to be verified by the Ministry and serious questions will need to be asked about the background of these so called bullies and why they remain in the school system unaddressed.
Forcefully opening the wooden chest boxes of junior students of Queen Victoria School to steal belongings, physical assault during the night, burning of their feet with toilet paper while they sleep, or demands for money, ranging from $10 to $15 per night, are some of the activities revealed by the School Principal in a circular regarding the unwarranted demand for food in the school dining hall.
The Principal says this appears to have been going for some time after 2007, though further investigation is needed to determine the exact starting year.
Timoci Vosailagi says this practice has reportedly continued daily.
He says the problem centres on an established pattern of senior students, known as "kingpins," coercing junior students, or orderlies, to provide them with meals from the dining hall.
These kingpins have allegedly demanded that three meals a day be delivered to them in the hostel, bypassing the normal dining hall procedures.
Failure to comply with these demands subjects the orderlies to punishment including physical assault.
It is alleged each morning during breakfast, orderlies from Rewa House are directed by the kingpins to steal 12 loaves of bread and take them to senior boys who do not attend meals in the dining hall.
This pattern repeats during lunch on Wednesdays when sandwiches are served, as well as at other meal times involving chicken, sausages, and beef. On these occasions, the orderlies remove portions of meat from the dining hall and hide it to deliver to the hostel for the kingpins.
This group of senior students, often referred to as "gangsters”, also use the orderlies to store prohibited items like marijuana, premix, and cigarettes and collect them after lights off at around 11.30pm.
The orderlies are made to act as lookouts or watch dogs while the seniors engage in substance abuse activities.
The case came to light after Rewa House orderlies were repeatedly caught stealing bread each morning, leading to an investigation.
Five orderlies submitted a report that exposed the full extent of these activities, detailing not only the food thefts but also the larger system of coercion and threats to the safety of junior students in the hostel.
The report highlighted the concerning impact this situation has had on the well-being of junior students and raised serious questions about their safety in the hostel.
A chart was also shared to show the structure of how the system works in the hostel at QVS.
It is said that all the students at QVS and former students from 2007 to date understand the structure but are hesitant to share the experience they go through in the hostel life with the tormenting and traumatizing system.
Thursday 28/11/2024
Minister for Education, Aseri Radrodro confirms they will need to initiate an urgent investigation that will need to involve independent officials from the Ministry and they possibly may request the assistance of the Office of the DPP given the nature of the allegations that have surfaced against some students of Queen Victoria School.
A circular has emerged of the QVS Principal talking about the Operation of Unwarranted Demand of Food from Orderlies.
It says senior QVS students known as ‘kingpins’ demand food from junior students and if refused are assaulted and bullied.
There are also allegations of smuggling of drugs like marijuana into school property.
When fijivillage News approached Radrodro, he said the investigations will also include teachers' roles and their movements etc.
He says they will not take this matter lightly and he will personally report to the Prime Minister as well on these disturbing occurrences.
He is noting the report by the Principal that these issues have been ongoing since 2007.
Radrodro says he has noted or viewed some pictures of students alleged to have been injured by the bullies.
He stresses that must be addressed, it is unacceptable and is a current problem that must be addressed now and immediately stopped.
Radrodro reveals he has been made aware of these issues occurring on occasion when they are raised to the Ministry by parents and guardians .
The Minister says the extent of the bullying as highlighted by the Principal however will need to be verified by the Ministry and serious questions will need to be asked about the background of these so called bullies and why they remain in the school system unaddressed.
Radrodro says the report is very distressing and depressing and certainly indicates deep rooted problems that is threatening the lives of students especially those at the receiving end of the bullying .
He says the issue of students forced to steal and lie for senior students and to participate by keeping illicit drugs for them, are no longer issues that can be addressed by the Ministry alone and needs the involvement of the law enforcement agencies.
He adds what is occurring at QVS is disturbing for him as an old scholar and former parent and must be strongly condemned in the harshest terms.
Radrodro says no QVS student raised at QVS should be a thug or have a character that depicts that of a thug.
He says it is important that students are made aware of the implications of their actions.
He says if the concerned students have left school - they must be reported to the local law enforcement agencies especially if they have physically harmed any junior student.
Radrodro says the law is the same for everyone and there must be zero tolerance in the school system in Fiji towards violence.
He says if unreported, the issues can escalate and result in possible murder which needs to be curtailed now.
The Minister says if they are returning students, and after investigations they are indeed found to be guilty, they have no place at any boarding facility.
He says they need to remain the responsibility of their parents and guardians.
Radrodro adds QVS is certainly not a place for breeding criminals.
He says they raise gentlemen there and have done so since the years gone by raising many reputable leaders of the Fijian community and society.
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