The Government in the Cook Islands says experts from New Zealand will be helping to determine the cause of two suspicious school fires.
The Cook Islands police are investigating the cause of the blazes at Nukutere College and Avatea School in Rarotonga on Monday.
The Finance Minister, Mark Brown is acting prime minister while prime minister Henry Puna is overseas.
Mr Brown says the government's priority is firstly to ensure classes return to normal as much as possible and will replace learning materials lost in the fires.
He says the government has taken on speculation that the fires were caused by arsonists.
"And our fire department have been working with their counter-parts in New Zealand and we will have some experts from New Zealand coming through to give us a clear determination on what is the cause of these fires. And if it's found that the cause of these fires as has been speculated has been deliberate, then the government will need to put in place a course of action to make sure that we apprehend those that are responsible."
Mark Brown says the cost of repairs could be in excess of a million dollars and says it is fortunate both schools were insured.
