Motufoua Secondary School
| Motufoua Secondary School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
|
Vaitupu Tuvalu |
|
| Coordinates | 7°29′24″S 178°41′37″E / 7.49000°S 178.69361°ECoordinates: 7°29′24″S 178°41′37″E / 7.49000°S 178.69361°E |
| Information | |
| Type | boarding school |
| Denomination | Church of Tuvalu |
| Established | 1905 |
| Founder | Motufoua |
| Headmaster | Siautele Lito |
| Gender | boys and girls school |
Motufoua Secondary School is boarding school for children on Vaitupu atoll. As Tuvalu consists of 9 islands the students reside on Vaitupu during the school year and return to their home islands during the school vacations. Vaitupu received worldwide attention in March 2000, when a fire in a dormitory at the school killed 18 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. In 2009 the student roll at Motufoua Secondary School was 550.
The London Missionary Society (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. This school evolved into the Motufoua Secondary School.
The activities of the LMS were taken over by the Church of Tuvalu. 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 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 Tuvalu, separating from the Gilbert Islands, which became Kiribati. The following year the Tuvaluan students that attended school on Tarawa were transferred to Motufoua. From 1975 the Church of Tuvalu and the government jointly administered the School. Eventually administration of Motufoua became the sole responsibility of the Department of Education of Tuvalu.
Reverend Sir Filoimea Telito, 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, then in April 2005 he was appointed to be the Governor-General of Tuvalu.
The current Principal is Siautele Lito. The previous Principal was Mosese G. Halofaki an expatriate from the Republic of the Fiji Islands.
Motufoua Secondary School is now operated by the government of Tuvalu, while still retaining a connection with the Church of Tuvalu through the use of the Motufoua School Church and with a chaplain as a member of the staff of the School. The students attend church services at the Motufoua School Church.
...
Wikipedia