GRIM OUTLOOK FOR SAMOAN SCHOOLS

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29866, 5 July 1962, Page 11

GRIM OUTLOOK FOR SAMOAN SCHOOLS

Only three Samoan pupils in every 100 receive a secondary school education. These Samoa College pupils marching in Independence celebrations on June 1 are the top products of Samoan education and are selected by highly competitive examinations from district and mission schools throughout Western Samoa. Now catering for 410 secondary school pupils, the college was built under a New Zealand grant nine years ago.

According to the Director of Education (Mr C. J. Williams). recently appointed from New Zealand, education in Western Samoa is in a bad way and the situation is steadily worsening. In a survey, Mr Williams said that, over the last few years, there has been little improvement in methods and standards of teaching; the rate of educational progress has been slowing down; and the goal of universal primary education is even further away than it was in 1959.

Among faults noted were far too many village schools with poor buildings, minimal facilities, and lack of even the simplest equipment. There were insufficient seconded or New Zealand-trained teachers. and without a large increase in the number of overseas trained staff there could be no significant or early improvement in the standard of local teachers he said.

Furthermore, in spite of an apparent keenness for education among the people, there

seemed to be no sense of urgency about educational advancement. Western Samoa could not afford to maintain a leisurely attitude or pace. Most of the progress, said Mr Williams, appeared to stem from the New Zealand aid programme (£BO,OOO a year spread over five years to 1964) but even this, appeared to be insufficient to permit of any substantial improvement in the system as a whole. “It seems clear that ... a considerable increase in both Government and private expenditure on education is required over the next few years" says the survey, “But already Government finances are sorely strained, can barely provide for the maintenance of essential services, and very little can be set aside for developmental purposes.” Mr Williams believes that any raising of standards for

education or other social services can only come about by the provision of substantial outside aid. “I doubt whether there is yet any general acceptance of the fact that educational advancement is an integral factor in any economic or social development programme and the educational planning and policy should be as closely related to such programmes as possible,” he said.

He recommended to help alleviate the situation that:— The Government should decide. as a matter of urgent policy, the extent to which it wished Western Samoa to develop towards a modern society, and the direction and rate at which such a move should proceed.

At the same time and logically forming part of such overall policy, there should be a review and reassessment of educational policy in order to give it a more realistic relationship to the overall needs of the country and to express educational aims in a more practical form.

To assist in educational planning, a specialist manpower survey be made of the country’s requirements for professional, skilled and semiskilled workers.

A five-year or 10-year plan be drawn up for educational as well as economic development based on the results of the preceding recommendations.

Note: As part of United Nations assistance, a United Nations educational expert is due in Samoa later this year to make a survey and recommendations on Samoa’s educational needs. He will also assist in any implementation of the recommendations made.