The Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture’s Annual Conference for 2019 ended yesterday.

Guided by the theme: “Measure what you Value and Value what you Measure,” the conference at Pesega brought together teachers, Principals and School Inspectors from Upolu, Savaii, Apolima and Manono.

They listened to a number of presentations designed to help with their work. 

They also exchanged ideas on ways to improve the education system in Samoa.

And of course it wasn’t all doom and gloom. The participants also shared success stories to motivate each other as another school year looms.

The conference was officially opened by the Minister of Education, Sports and Culture, Loau Keneti Sio.

At the closing yesterday, veteran teacher/Principal and now Sagaga District Inspector, Lafaitele Aiga Esera, said the conference is a critical time for participants.

 “The whole purpose of this meeting is to discuss ideas for the improvement of the education system in Samoa,” she said. 

“It is very important that all the educators of Samoa participate in this annual conference because it feeds their mind and helps them know more.”

Lafaitele also highlighted another critical element of the conference, saying teachers need to understand the Government’s vision in terms of education.

 “Teachers ought to know the plans and the policies being put in place by the Government,” she said. “These policies are important because they are designed to improve education and help with how we do our work.”

Overall, Lafaitele said the three-day conference was extremely useful.

 “The most important thing is to look at what’s wrong and how to improve on it. We need to understand the weaknesses from the previous years and to see how to improve the way forward.”