It has been out of sight out of mind for Savai’i with previous governments often accused of promoting development in Upolu at the expense of the bigger island and its population.

But that is about to change in the education sector with the National University of Samoa (N.U.S.) Administration announcing plans last Friday to upgrade the facilities on their Campus in Savai’i.

Last Friday’s 3 June 2022 edition of the Samoa Observer published an article (National University of Samoa reveals plans for Savai’i) on fundraising efforts being led by the N.U.S. Administration.

The N.U.S. President and Vice Chancellor, Aiono Prof. Alec Ekeroma, revealed the university’s broader expansion plans last Friday when he appealed for support for a fundraiser to buy a student bus.

"It is a holistic fundraiser. It is just a realisation of a bigger plan to build a better campus for Savai'i," he said. 

"The current campus in Savai'i is on the second level of the market, it is not appropriate for the students. 

"In fact, the cement is starting to crack, we felt that it is not safe. There are some engineers who are in our council so they are asking us to look for a better place for the students.

"We are looking at a campus not somewhere in the market area."

We welcome the push by the N.U.S. Administration to shift their focus to their Savai’i Campus in terms of investment and support. 

It is overdue and is a project that should be supported by the Government and the leadership on the big island.

In early July 2020 Aiono first revealed plans to expand the N.U.S. Campus in Salelologa Savai’i (N.U.S. plans Savai’i expansion), some 6–8 months after the Cabinet confirmed his appointment as the university’s President and Vice Chancellor.

Having been on Aiono’s radar over the last two years, we hope his vision will materialise now that Samoa has a new Government, with most of its Members of Parliament and Cabinet Ministers drawn from the big island.

They say the best time to strike is while the iron is hot so we hope the Vice Chancellor does not waste this opportunity. We think Aiono cannot find a better supporter and partner than the current Education Minister Seuula Ioane, himself a former teacher and school principal for many years, prior to entering politics.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent State of Emergency (S.O.E.) lockdowns that followed over the last 2-plus years – which impacted Samoa’s education sector and wreaked havoc with the Monday-Friday classes of thousands of Samoan children including those in college and university – justifies the need for critical Government investment to extend the N.U.S. Savai’i Campus.

We wouldn't be surprised to hear of university students abandoning their education altogether between 2020–2022; out of frustration at the cancelled lectures; inability to access or pay for devices (including internet) to access online classroom platforms; or failure by parents and or carers to pay their semester or annual tuition fees due to the loss of employment.

Investing in new facilities to expand the N.U.S. Savai’i Campus, which over the long-term could see new courses offered as well as the installation of more student amenities, could be the motivation that the university students on the big island need to pursue their lifelong academic dreams.

A July 2021 UNESCO global survey on the impact of COVID-19 on higher education estimates that over 220 million tertiary-level students worldwide were affected by the pandemic as well as highlighted cases where some nations took on the challenges and turned them into opportunities for their affected pupils through further investment and rapid digitalisation of learning modules.

Samoa too can go down that path and it can start in Savai’i as the head of the N.U.S. has envisaged, but with full Government support including financing.