Samoa College: Its Development and Role in Samoan Education 1953-1965

Abstract

Since the opening of Samoa College in 1953, secondary education in Western Samoa has risen to a standard equal to that found in New Zealand secondary schools. The people and Government of Western Samoa recognise the full importance of an education higher than that gained in the primary schools. As Samoa College is the only full government secondary school a study of secondary education is, in the main, a study of Samoa College. There are three broad aims in this paper: to follow through the establishment of Samoa College and point out the place of other secondary schools, especially those of the various missions; to describe the selection, teaching and placement of pupils who attend Samoa College; and to clarify the problems facing the further development of secondary education in Western Samoa.