Wellington Girls' College students take closure protest to Parliament

There were placards reading ‘education is a right not a risk’, ‘don’t gamble with our safety’, and one saying that the makeshift setup is a ‘new Ministry of Education-approved classroom’.

A whiteboard has written on it ‘MOE can you pass this listening comprehension test?’

It comes after a tense meeting with school parents and staff on Tuesday evening.

Wellington Girls College student leaders have accused the Ministry of Education of being a hazard to the school community.

In a letter, the student executive described the ministry as a hazard, because for four years students and staff were in danger, occupying a building the MOE knew to be earthquake-prone.

“The Ministry of Education knew for four years that Wellington Girls’ College’s building, Brook, on Pipitea St, was potentially high-risk – four years where students sat in high-risk classrooms, four years where teachers marked assessments in high-risk offices, four years where, to our understanding, we were safe in the buildings we were in.”

Recent seismic reports found the affected block met just 15% of new build standards.

Principal Julia Davidson has accused the ministry of not having a useful response.

“For these years, a space that housed 360 students and 20 teachers at one time was destined to potentially fail in the event of an earthquake.

“It is unacceptable that action was not taken earlier, and the students of Wellington Girls’ College ask what will the Ministry do to amend this? What will it do to ensure this never happens again?” the students wrote in the letter also addressed to Education Minister Erica Stanford and other education officials.

Wellington Girls College has been closed this week, while staff organise rosters for year groups to learn from home after 13 classrooms in Brook block were closed.

More than half the school had already been demolished because of seismic risk and was operating out of relocatable classrooms on the sports field.

The students said forcing them to work from home would harm their studies.

“The suddenness of this situation means students who entered Year 9 in 2022 or later will have no understanding of how to work from home efficiently at high school – teachers are forced to create digital lesson plans on the spot – and assessments have to be paused or altered.

“Students who should be working on assessments are instead writing in frustration to a ministry that does not seem to care about them.”

They said they could not operate if they were riddled with fear that school walls would come crashing down, and their anxiety would continue for as long as the ministry refused to act.

“Our students already lack a field, a hall, bathrooms close to classrooms, a place to gather altogether in an emergency evacuation, and any sense of guardianship from the Ministry of Education.”

The letter from the student executive concluded: “Students write this letter from public libraries, bedrooms, parents’ offices, kitchens, and wherever else there is warmth and wi-fi.

“They should not have to search for a place to learn, there should be a designated location where they are comfortable and welcome – and that location should be an adequate school.”

The students said the effects of the poor and life-threatening procedure of the Ministry of Education would be lasting, no matter what measures were taken now.

“Had an earthquake occurred of high magnitude in the last four years, while students were in the Brook Building, it would be too late now.

“This must not happen again, and the Ministry must fix its procedure.”

RNZ has asked the Ministry for its response to the letter.