Young students at the Leauva’a Primary School moves into newly built classrooms when school starts, after the official opening last Friday.
The Leauva’a village council, villagers, School Committee, students, staff and principal of Leauva’a Primary School celebrated the handing-over of a new reconstructed school building on Friday (4 September) held at the school compound.
The new school building was funded under grant from the Government of Japan as part of development assistance within communities and educational sector, which benefits villages, schools, hospitals, and NGOs, across Samoa.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Samoa, H.E. Mr. TERASAWA Genichi represented his government at the handover ceremony attended by Hon. Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Fatialofa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi, Hon. Minister of Education, Sports and Culture, Loau Solamalemalo Keneti Sio, Cabinet Ministers and CEO of Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture, Afamasaga Dr. Karoline Afamasaga.
Japan’s assistance was formalized in March last year, with a grant amount of USD 95,736 (approximately SAT246,805.88) provided under its Grant Assistance for Grass-Roots Human Security Projects (GGP) to fund reconstruction of 8 new classrooms, a staff room and a library.
Support towards education has always been placed highly on Japan’s priority list as believed that education is the base for developing a child’s capability and also a nation’s capacity.
Thus, the assistance through this project indicates Japan’s commitment to the improvement of educational facilities to provide equal learning opportunities and dispatching experts for capacity development of teachers particularly in the fields of science and mathematics. The two academic subjects are essential for higher education including university and studying abroad.
It is anticipated that the project will empower the school with the best of resources to achieve academic excellence and will greatly assist in the improvement of literacy in the community as well as accommodating the school’s growing roll.
Japan’s GGP was introduced in 1991 to respond directly to the basic human needs at the grass-roots level with 196 projects successfully completed at a total value approximately USD 16m (SAT 40m).