school brawls

The Ministry of Education and police have joined forces to run a character-building camp with students from four colleges attending.

RNZI reports there have been a number of public brawls between students of different schools, the most recent stopped traffic in the middle of Nuku'alofa's CBD this month.

Programme coordinator Feleti Fonua said principals selected 28 young men to attend the pilot program where they take part in religious, physical and team building exercises.

Individuals have been bloodied, maimed, hospitalized, and public outcry is deafening. But the media, school administrators, church leaders, parents, and spectators are treating it as a public spectacle. 

The operation comes after a number of videos were uploaded to social media of fighting between students from various schools.

One video shows a student emerging from a brawl with his face covered in blood.

In the most recent violence, videos were uploaded to Facebook last week which show fighting between students wearing Tonga College and Liahona High School’s school uniforms while some did not.

Local media reports said Police tried in vain to stop a brawl between college students last weekend.