Violence in school prompts Police visit

Police officers have visited the Channel College to talk to students on the consequences of bullying, just days after five students were expelled.

The visit on Monday follows the expulsion of five students last week, after a video emerged on social media showing female students bullying a colleague, who has since not returned to classes after she was assaulted. 

Chanel College principal, Father Sipiliano Fakaosi, confirmed the visit by the Police in an interview with the Samoa Observer and added that the officers gave advice to the student body on the consequences of their actions.

The visit by the Police also coincides with surfacing of another video on Facebook, however, Fr. Fakaosi made it clear that the second video circulated this week was of an incident that occurred last year. 

He said he will not make a decision on the students identified in the video because he is not sure if they have already been dealt with by the previous principal. 

“I have already called in those students in that second video and talked to them about the video,” he said. “They said they have moved on from that incident and no longer have any problems with each other. The students have been warned that the school does not tolerate such behaviour and are well aware of that with the expulsion of the (five) students from last week.”  

Furthermore, the Principal said any acts of violence perpetrated by the students are not taught in classrooms but are brought into the school from their homes. 

He reiterated that the school does not have a culture of violence and they are addressing the issue by disciplining violent students.