School drop out rate in Tonga concerning

Transcript

Non-government organisations and regional bodies are urgently trying to curb the alarming rate of secondary school drop outs in Tonga as it climbs to around an average of 1,000 a year since 2008.

This month the European Union contributed funds to an NGO in an effort to assist.

As Koro Vaka'uta reports, the situation could need more than just funds.

The educational leadership programme Takiama Ma'a Tonga recently released figures showing that 5,000 students had dropped out of secondary school between 2008 and 2013. In 2014 the Tongan Queen described the situation as becoming an epidemic of failure. Recognising the problem, this month the EU Ambassador Andrew Jacobs presented Takiama with a cheque for over 142,000 US dollars to assist in programmes to alleviate the issue.

ANDREW JACOBS: It's important that we work with the Tongan NGO and the authorities to try and stem this tide because it's a huge loss of potential.  It's a loss of potential for the students themselves, for their families and very importantly for Tongan society and the economy as a whole.  I am very pleased that we will be working in this key area related to children's rights and education.

Takiama Managing Director Mele Taumoepeau says the funds will be used to research how to make school interesting for students in an effort to keep them there. Ms Taumoepeau says there are a number of reasons for the high dropout rate.

MELE TAUMOEPEAU: Parents pulling kids out to take care of family needs and things like that.  There's also the issue of students becoming disinterested in what they're being offered in school and the school environment not being supported.  There's also the issue of parents not valuing education.  

But Vanessa Heleta who runs a development and empowerment organisation called the Talitha Project has a different theory. The project recently had to stop a full scholarship program because of a lack of participants. Ms Heleta says culturally Tongans are family orientated which spreads beyond nuclear relatives. She says this has fuelled a dependency and over-reliance on remittances which in turn affects attitudes to education.

VANESSA HELETA: There's a notion of belief that we all have to help each other so we have these problems that if I can't feed myself today it's okay because I can always ask my aunty or my cousin overseas to send me some money.

Ms Taumoepeau says while cultural factors and the like may take a while to be sorted, there are short term resolutions that can be actioned like policies around school leaving.

MELE TAUMOEPEAU: The number of teachers per school or number of students per classroom or such things or minimum equipment and facilities needed.  Things like that.

Ms says the school leaving age could be raised too if needed.