Wesley College is in Paerata, south of Auckland. (File photo) Photo: RNZ / Shannon Haunui-Thompson
One of the country's oldest schools is taking legal action against the Ministry of Education to keep its dorms open until the end of Term 4.
Wesley College, in Paerata south of Auckland, is set to close its hostel at the end of the year due to ongoing safety issues.
But last week, the ministry suspended the school's licence to house boarders from Friday.
Those taking NCEA exams and international students would be allowed to stay in the dorms until the end of the term.
In a social media post on Thursday morning, the college said it was taking the matter to court.
"Wesley College Trust Board last night lodged an appeal with the Auckland District Court challenging the Ministry of Education's Suspension Notice requiring closure of some hostels it operates at Wesley College by the end of this week.
"The legal action relates solely to the abrupt closure directive which affects Year 9 and Year 10 students. As the school community was advised earlier this term, we planned to close the hostels at the end of Term 4 in an orderly and well-supported way."
The school said the immediate closure directive was "unnecessarily disruptive" for Year 9 and 10 students, who were in the middle of their own exams.
It said it took student safety seriously and believed its dorms met all requirements to stay open until the end of the school year.
It also said it had added extra resource to hostel operations including:
- One staff member for every 15 students overnight.
- One staff member for every 10 students during the day.
- A minimum of two staff on duty in each dormitory at all times, regardless of student numbers.
The Ministry of Education said it acknowledged Wesley College has started legal proceedings.
"We understand that the appeal specifically challenges the requirement for Year 9 and 10 boarders to leave the hostel immediately," operations and integrity leader Sean Teddy said.
"To clarify, the College has not contested the Ministry's overall decision to suspend the licence, nor the rationale behind it.
"The decision was based on serious concerns about student safety and the culture within the hostel environment."
The ministry said it had already modified the suspension to reduce student disruption by allowing international borders and those doing NCEA assessments to stay under "enhanced safeguards".
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