Motufoua Secondary School is a boarding school for children on

Vaitupu Vaitupu is the largest atoll of the nation of Tuvalu. It is located at 7.48 degrees south and 178.83 degrees east. There are 1,061 people (2017 Census) living on with the main village being Asau. Geography The island, which covers approxima ...

atoll,

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northeast ...

. it is the largest high school in Tuvalu. As Tuvalu consists of nine islands, the students reside on Vaitupu during the school year and return to their home islands during the school vacations. The school received worldwide attention in March 2000, when a fire in a dormitory at the school killed 19 girls and an adult supervisor. It was later discovered that the fire was caused by a student using a candle to read during the night. The school celebrated 100 years of education in 2005.

Establishment

The

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational miss ...

(LMS) established a primary school at Motufoua on Vaitupu in 1905. The purpose was to prepare young men for entry into the LMS seminary in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

. This school evolved into the Motufoua Secondary School. The activities of the LMS were taken over by the

Church of Tuvalu The Congregational Christian Church of Tuvalu ( Tuvaluan: ''Te Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu'', EKT), commonly the Church of Tuvalu, is a Christian Church which is the state church of Tuvalu, although this status merely entitles it to "the privilege o ...

. From 1905 to 1963 Motufoua only admitted students from Church of Tuvalu schools. In 1963 the Church of Tuvalu and the administration of the

Gilbert and Ellice Islands The Gilbert and Ellice Islands (GEIC as a colony) in the Pacific Ocean were part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. They were a protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a colony until 1 January 1976. The history of the colony w ...

colony began to co-operate in providing education and students were enrolled from government schools. In 1970 a secondary school for girls was opened at Motufoua. In 1974, the Ellice Islanders voted for separate British dependency status as

, separating from the Gilbert Islands, which became

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

. The following year the Tuvaluan students who attended school on

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

Eventually administration of Motufoua became the sole responsibility of the Department of Education of Tuvalu.

Principals

Reverend Sir

Filoimea Telito Sir Filoimea Telito (19 March 1945 – 11 July 2011) was a political and religious figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu. He was born on Vaitupu where he attended Elisefou (New Ellice) primary school. He later attended King George V School (Gi ...

, GCMG, MBE started out as a teacher at Motufoua. After completing theological studies, he returned to Motufoua to serve as pastor. Later he became principal of Motufoua, and from April 2005 to March 2010 he was the

Governor-General of Tuvalu The governor-general of Tuvalu is the vice-regal representative of the Tuvaluan monarch, currently King Charles III, in the country of Tuvalu. The monarch is the head of state of Tuvalu, with the governor-general performing the monarch's duti ...

. The current principal is Mr. Fineaso Tehulu. The previous principals include: * Siautele Lito; * Mosese G. Halofaki, an expatriate from the Republic of the Fiji Islands.

Government school

Motufoua Secondary School is operated by the government of Tuvalu, while retaining a connection with the

through the use of the Motufoua School Church and with a chaplain as a member of the school staff. The students attend services at the Motufoua School Church.

Fire

The fire on 9 March 2000 was a traumatic event at the school and for Tuvalu. It raised questions about fire safety equipment and training and security practices in the dormitories. A memorial service was held the following year in memory of the eighteen school girls and their matron who tragically lost their lives. Tuvaluan leaders as well as parents of the victims attended the memorial service. The

Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau The Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau (now trading as Tuvalu Post Limited) is the government body in Tuvalu that issues new postage stamp, stamps and first day covers, which are available for purchase by stamp collectors around the world. The Bureau is loc ...

commemorated the event. Opetaia Foa’i from the band

Te Vaka Te Vaka (English: ''The Canoe'') is an Oceanic music group that performs original contemporary Pacific music or "South Pacific Fusion". The group was founded in 1995 by singer and songwriter Opetaia Foa'i in New Zealand. They have toured the wor ...

wrote the song "Loimata E Maligi" (lit. Let The Tears Fall Down) in memory of the 19 girls who died when a fire broke out in the school in March 2000. In 2016, the song was rewritten as "An Innocent Warrior" for the

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios uni ...

animated film '' Moana''.

Academics

The school offers the following subjects: English, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Agriculture Science, History, Geography, Accounting, Economics, Design Technology, Woodwork, Home Economics, Computer Science, and Commercial Studies. The pupil-teacher ratio for secondary education is 25:1 (2001/02). Motufoua offers Forms 3‐6, with the students studying for the Fiji Junior Certificate (FJC) at Year 10, Tuvaluan Certificate at Year 11, and the Pacific Senior Secondary Certificate at Year 12, which is set by the Fiji-based exam board SPBEA. Sixth form students who pass their Pacific Secondary School Certificate (PSSC) go on to the Augmented Foundation Programme, funded by the government of Tuvalu. This program is required for tertiary education programmes outside of Tuvalu and is available at the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public university, public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and ...

(USP) Extension Centre in

Funafuti Funafuti is the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people (2017 census), and so it has more people than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with approximately 60% of the population. It consists of a narrow sweep of la ...

. In 2009 a vocational stream at Year 12 was introduced at Motufoua. The vocational stream provides training for students who do not intend to go on to tertiary education.

Education in the 21st century

Motufoua Secondary School has a central role in the development of Tuvalu. The education strategy, as described in the national strategy plan for 2021-2030, is to provide for quality education for sustainable living. The issues to be addressed include preparing school leavers to cope when entering university, providing appropriate e-learning opportunities through the internet, and developing a framework for the strengthening of the

Tuvaluan language Tuvaluan (), often called Tuvalu, is a Polynesian language closely related to the Ellicean group spoken in Tuvalu. It is more or less distantly related to all other Polynesian languages, such as Hawaiian, Māori, Tahitian, Samoan, Tokelauan ...

. The school staff include Tuvaluan teachers and teachers from other countries. The school vision is that "Culture, faith and education are the foundation" with the education mission being "to provide an excellent, relevant and accessible secondary education and training on the strong base of practical application of knowledge and skills. We have a special responsibility of maintaining Culture and tradition. We derive our strength from being the only Government Secondary School." Motufoua has limited library facilities and the school has limited numbers of computers. In 2011 the school offered a course in computer studies for the first time. In 2012 it offered the Certificate IV in Information Technology through a franchise program from

Fiji National University Fiji National University is a public university in Fiji that was formally constituted on 15 February 2010 by the Fiji National University Act 2009. By 2019, student numbers at the University had grown to almost 27,000. While each of the colle ...

. In 2012, Atufenua Maui and educators from Japan worked on the implementation of an e-learning pilot system for Motufoua Secondary School that applies the Modular Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (

Moodle Moodle is a free and open-source learning management system written in PHP and distributed under the GNU General Public License. Moodle is used for blended learning, distance education, flipped classroom and other online learning projects in sch ...

). The e-learning system is intended to benefit students and to provide computer skills to students who will enter tertiary education outside Tuvalu.

Environmental sustainability

In 2010 what was described as the largest diesel-solar photovoltaic (PV) hybrid electricity system in the South Pacific was installed at the school. This electricity system results in the school having a solar system during the day and a diesel generator at night. This hybrid system is part of government policy to increase the use of

renewable energy sources Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

. Before the installment of the system the school relied upon a diesel powered generator, which needed to be turned off at the night. The new system saves thousands of dollars in diesel costs and provides a 24-hour supply of energy, with up to 200 kWh per day.

Development funded by Japan

Japan has assisted with the development of Motufoua Secondary School. In 1996 Japanese assistance overcame problems associated with shortage of facilities including building classrooms, dormitories, special classrooms, dining hall and kitchen. In 2011 Japan provided assistance through its Grant Aid scheme to build 12 new classrooms, dormitories for students, and a gymnasium. In addition, the buildings previously funded by Japan were renovated. The new facilities funded by Japan include a multi-purpose hall, tennis, volleyball and basketball courts, and procurement of library, medical, administration, kitchen, and computer equipment.

References

{{reflist, 2 Vaitupu Schools in Tuvalu 1905 establishments in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Educational institutions established in 1905