20 Aug 2012

Tonga introduces security measures at high school

5:21 am on 20 August 2012

Tonga's Director of Education says the new security measures introduced at Tonga High School have been put in place to protect students.

A security guard has now been hired to monitor students entering and leaving school premises from midday to 2pm daily.

This follows concerns that some pupils at the college are acting inappropriately outside of school during their lunch break.

The Director of Education, Emily Moala Pouvalu, says that's not the only issue of concern at the college.

"There are also allegations that there are men who pick up the girls from school at lunchtime. So it's one of the precautionary measures that we try to put to see that students are safe while they are under the school from from 8:30am to 4pm."

Emily Moala Pouvalu says the security measures will be reviewed later in the year.

Meanwhile, local authorities are worried about the involvement of some students sending pornographic clips through mobile phones.

Ms Pouvalu says police have yet to release the names of the schools of these students.