By Martha Taumata Faavae
The challenges to classroom learning with serious disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic to schools was a striking contrast for 2020 school year in the country.
The pandemic state of emergency restrictions and the close of classroom learning forced the teaching to be done through radio, television and online Internet links.
Teachers also organised home lessons for students to continue their learning.
For the Itu O Tane School in Savaii the principal and teachers were forced to go out to the families to hand deliver lessons for the students.
“We don’t have many families with cars in Savaii and it made it difficult for the students to come to school to collect their home lessons,” school principal Mr. Sale Faletolu said when asked by Newsline Samoa.
Principal Faletolu admitted there were several problems the teachers encountered with the learning arrangement mainly to do with the parents response.
He said the parents had mixed response, with many who were caught out by teachers when they called home to deliver new school lessons and collect on the earlier work for students to do.
“Many of the parents appear to give priority to home chores for the students rather than allow them to sit and learn from school lesson scheduled for them on television.
“Teachers also discovered from the students assigned home lessons that none were done.
“What that told us is that the students were not learning at home with more than 70 per cent ended up not doing any school work, unless they came to the classrooms.”
The Itu o Tane School has a school roll of 280 students taught by 22 teachers and they had to adapt to new teaching channels to work around the pandemic restrictions during 2020.
Principal Faletolu is able to boast at the success of the study camp the school set up for their students sitting major end of year national exams for the SSC and SSLC.
“We’ve tried study camps before but the costs was a struggle so we canceled it until I took over as school principal and with the support of the parents we revived it again.
“It was a lot of sacrifice for teachers and parents but we persisted and we were rewarded with the results.”
For the 30 students who sat the SSLC exam, 17 qualified for the National University of Samoa foundation programme while 6 were eligible for vocational studies.
The Itu of Tane School experience contrasted sharply with St. Mary’s College at Vaimoso because of the support the Upolu based, all girls school enjoyed.
School Principal Ms Lepetiaina Sia Fitu, said the school enjoyed overwhelming support from the St. Mary’s Old Pupils Association, company sponsorship and parents.
“Of our 69 students who sat the Year 13 School leaving exam, 64 qualified for the NUS foundation and 5 for vocational studies,” said the St. Mary’s Principal.
“During the 8 weeks our classrooms were closed we really concentrated on our online Internet teaching and it worked for us with good response from students.
“For oral learning we used television for Year 12 and 13 whereas for the younger students in year 9-11 we used the ‘pick and go’ system.
“Parents would collect home lessons for their kids from school and return them within a set time limit.”
Principal Fitu said that by September they had already completed their set syllabus for the year.
She said the focus this year 2021 is to work together with the Ministry of Education under new school class arrangements to do away with Year 11 learning.
The whole school is also hooked up to the Internet so they can respond effectively to any other additional restrictions under the pandemic state of emergency lockdown.
St. Mary’s has a school roll of 400 an increase from the usual 350 students with the added intake of students from private schools for the new school year 2021.