Prime Minister Hon ‘Akilisi Pohiva yesterday announced that a recent ban that restricts Government school girls from playing rugby is “not Government policy”. However, the Prime Minister did not state if he had uplifted the ban nor explain why he had allowed the ban to be imposed in the first place.

The Prime Minister's announcement was made in a statement issued by his office yesterday.

It stated “…the letter from the Ministry of Education and Training to Tonga High School purporting to ban girls from participating in rugby and boxing is not Tongan Government policy.”

“Sports is good for the health and the wellbeing of the people and this Government, like previous governments, actively encourages the participation of every Tongan student in all sports without discrimination”.

“It is the Government’s responsibility to provide opportunities for all the students to participate in all sports. It is however for the individual students and their parents to decide whether or not they should participate in a particular sport like rugby and boxing”.

The Prime Ministers message has provoked public speculation of a disconnected relationship between the Prime Minister and his fellow Cabinet Minister Penisimani Fifita, the Minister of Education and Training.