BY SYLVANA TEKUMAHA
Concerns have been raised over Selwyn College accepting 140 form-6 students when its capacity is only 70-80 students.
Parents and guardians raised their concern to Island Sun this week after it was announced that 140 students which the Ministry of Education (MEHRD) had listed for Selwyn College have been accepted despite only being able to accommodate 70-80 form-6 students.
The Anglican Church of Melanesia (ACOM) Education Provider (EP) questioned MEHRD in a facebook post on Friday, Jan 17, why 140 form-6 students were listed for Selwyn college when the school can only accommodate 70-80 form 6 students.
“There appears to be a lapse in communication between MEHRD and ACOM EP regarding the total number of students officially placed in Year 12 (Form 6) at Selwyn College this year,” ACOM EP Education Secretary Desmond Waita said in the post.
“The approved and available school capacity for Form 6 is 70–80 students only, not 140 students as stated on the MEHRD Facebook page.”
However, early this week Mr Waita posted on the Selwyn College facebook page announcing that the ACOM EP has agreed to accept the 140 form-6 students. These posts have since been removed.
Waita has not responded to attempts by this paper for comments.
A teacher who requested anonymity told Island Sun on Wednesday this week that accepting 70-plus students above the school’s capacity for form-6 will cause a lot of rippling effects for the school and students.
“First is overcrowding at the dormitories and classrooms. The dining hall, assembly hall and chapel will also struggle to accommodate the extra numbers,” the teacher said.
He said the excessive number of students will strain available materials for learning such as science lab apparatuses and chemicals.
“Textbooks will have to be shared among the students which could lead to three students sharing a textbook and stationeries will not be enough,” he said.
He added that the school will have to budget extra for food rations, medicine supplies at the clinic could be overwhelmed, and extra work for teachers to adjust their teaching plans for 2026.
“I feel that the Anglican Church of Melanesia (ACOM) Education Provider is bending to pressure from politicians and church leaders and is sacrificing quality education which the school is well-known for,” he said.
