The full story
Learning: the Ministry of Education's 2025 to 2030 plan, published in 2026, says literacy and numeracy remain below expected standards across primary and secondary levels. 1 Its 2022 baseline puts Year 4 pupils at the higher achievement levels at 5.1% of boys and 13.7% of girls in English, and 6.5% and 11.4% in mathematics, with most Year 4 pupils at the 'Developing' level. 1 These are achievement levels, not the share who can read a simple sentence. 1
Staying in school: the plan reports that one boy in two and one girl in four leave before completing Year 12. 1 The 2023 household survey found 72.9% of poor 12 to 18-year-olds enrolled against 84.7% of non-poor peers. 3 A ministry study published in 2026 found 41% of surveyed early leavers cited lack of financial support; it documented school committee registration charges of SAT$10 to SAT$40 a term for Year 12 and 13 pupils, plus transport costs. 2
Costs on families: the 2023 survey put average household education spending at SAT$305 a year and the national total at SAT$25,890,374. 10 In 2026 the Laʻauli government paid SAT$150 to every citizen as back-to-school assistance through district councils: 17,852 people by 11 March and 105,669 people, SAT$15,850,350, by 8 April 2026, under a SAT$32.25 million scheme funded through district grants. 45 No effect on dropout or learning is measured yet.
Inputs: the 2024/25 budget address reported primary teachers with higher-education qualifications rising from 44% in 2021 to 50% in 2023, and secondary teachers from 63% to 68%. 9 The ministry counted 2,533 teachers in 2025, down from 2,569 in 2024. 8 After the 2025 secondary examinations the prime minister ordered a review of the system; reports said 20 of 39 colleges had successful results and 19 needed assistance, with no comparable national pass rate published. 67
What is unknown: no achievement series since the 2022 baseline has been published, so whether learning improved or worsened under either FAST government is unclear. A repeat of the Year 4 assessment, a national pass rate for the 2025 and 2026 examinations, and Year 12 completion by sex would show it.