In Tuvalu there are 8 years of primary school starting at the age of 6, and 4 years of secondary school. After completing year 10, students take the Fijian Junior Certificate examination. Those who pass continue to upper secondary education and take the Tuvaluan School Certificate in year 11 and the Pacific Senior Certificate in year 12. If successful, students can enroll into tertiary education (ADB 2004a).
In recent years, general education in Tuvalu has experienced quality decline and the Department of Education operates under major financial and technical constraints, with a very limited number of staff (ADB 2004).
Primary education is largely offered through the government with 9 government primary schools plus one privately owned primary school. Secondary education is offered in Tuvalu through the state-owned Motufoua Secondary School located on Vaitupu with a total of 446 students in 2004, and the privately owned Fetuvalu Secondary School located on Funafuti and operated by the Tuvalu Christian Church. Fetuvalu had been closed for almost five years and re-opened in 2003 with an enrolment of 183 in 2004. Fetuvalu offers the Cambridge syllabus and schools enrolments are rapidly increasing. Motufoua has been offering the Fiji Junior Certificate (FJC) at year 10, Tuvaluan Certificate at Year 11 and the Pacific Senior Secondary Certificate at Year 12 (UNESCO 2008).
With the new requirement for entrance examination to secondary school there is an emerging problem with push outs from the system. At secondary level, the net enrolment rate was approximately 63%, however the enrolment rates in year 11 and 12 were only about 30% where the drop-out rates of boys was higher than for girls (UNESCO 2008).
If quality of education is adequately measured by examination scores, it is clear that there has been a decline in quality in recent years. The curriculum is mainly borrowed from the Fijian Junior Certificate Programme and the regional syllabus prepared by the South Pacific Board for Education Assessment, hence it is not sufficiently adapted to the specific needs of Tuvaluan children, consequently making learning difficult (ADB 2004a). Noteworthy is that the advantage of small class size, one of the factors conventionally correlating to quality, does not appear to have made a difference (ADB 2004b).
Currently, the Government policy is to let failing students repeat year 8 once before dropping out. At the secondary level, half of the 30% of students who enroll in year 12 drop out because they fail the final exam, the causes of which being unclear (ADB 2004a).
General education falls under the management of the Department of Education. However, the Department operates under major financial and technical constraints, with a limited number of staff that are not sufficient to provide adequate curriculum development, teacher supervision, monitoring, and planning. Other than limited capacity of the Department of Education, geographic distance, poor communication between Funafuti and the outer islands are other obstacles to effective management of the general education sub-sector (ADB 2004a).
Recognizing the role and value of education to build capacities and enhance capabilities of individual Tuvaluans, the Tuvalu National Strategy for Sustainable Development 2005-2015 has identified the following key objectives in regards to general education: (i) Curriculum and Assessment Improvement, (ii) Increased student participation by ensuring access and equity for students with special needs, (iii) Improved quality and efficiency of management, (iv) Human Resource Development, (v) Strengthened community partnerships and develop a culture of working together (DoE 2005).
