The Savai‘i college’s success at the 15th Tusitala Short Story Competition echoes Archbishop Mosese Tui’s message that educational excellence is not confined to Apia.
Nine students entered the competition. All nine returned with prizes.
It was a remarkable achievement for Itu-o-Tane College at the 15th Samoa Observer Tusitala Short Story Competition and a proud moment for the school’s principal, Sale Faletolu, its teachers, students and families.
But the result also carries a wider message for Savai‘i.
For generations, many families have believed that children must attend one of the recognised schools in Apia to receive the best education and have the greatest chance of succeeding.
That belief was directly challenged by Archbishop Mosese Vitolio Tui during his Thanksgiving Mass following his episcopal ordination in August 2024.
Speaking about his own education, Archbishop Mosese recalled how he insisted on completing his schooling at Catholic schools in Savai‘i. At the time, it was common for families from Savai‘i, including families from his mother’s village of Safotu, to send their children to Apia for school.
“I hate it when they insisted in the belief that schools in Apia are better,” he said during his sermon.
He later found himself studying alongside students who had attended schools in Apia.
His point was not that Apia does not have excellent schools. It was that a student’s intelligence, potential and future should not be judged by the location or reputation of the school they attend.
The achievement of the Itu-o-Tane students now gives new weight to that message.
All nine of the college’s entrants received prizes in a competition that brought together young writers from schools across Upolu and Savai‘i.
This was not a sporting contest decided by physical strength or resources. It was a test of literacy, imagination, language and the ability of students to develop and communicate their own ideas.
The students had to create stories and present them through the written word. Their success reflects their individual talent, but it also reflects the teachers, families and school community that prepared and encouraged them.
One competition cannot be used to declare that every school in Savai‘i is equal to every leading school in Apia. Schools operate with different resources, facilities, teaching support and opportunities.
But Itu-o-Tane’s result proves that educational excellence can be produced in Savai‘i.
This is also not the first time students from the college have performed strongly in the Tusitala competition. In 2020, Itu-o-Tane students received several awards and commendations across the senior year levels, including first-place results in Year 9 English and Year 12 Samoan.
The latest achievement suggests that the success of Savai‘i students should not be treated as an exception or a surprise.
Instead of assuming that talented children must be sent away, Samoa should be asking what more can be done to strengthen the schools already serving their communities.
What additional support do Savai‘i teachers need? Are students receiving sufficient access to books, technology, writing programmes and academic opportunities? Are schools being promoted and supported with the same confidence given to established institutions in Apia?
The answer is not to weaken or criticise schools in Apia. Samoa should be proud of every school that provides its students with a high standard of education.
The greater goal should be to build equally strong opportunities throughout the country so that parents do not feel their children must leave Savai‘i to obtain a quality education.
A child should be able to attend a local school, remain close to family and community, and still be given every opportunity to compete with the best students anywhere in Samoa.
Itu-o-Tane’s nine prize winners have shown that this is possible.
Their achievement belongs first to the students who wrote the stories, the teachers who taught them and the families who supported them.
But it also stands as evidence of what Archbishop Mosese was trying to teach through his own experience.
Excellence does not belong exclusively to Apia.
Talent exists throughout Samoa. The responsibility of schools, communities and national leaders is to recognise it, nurture it and ensure that a student’s opportunities are not limited by the island on which they are educated.
Nine students entered. Nine students received prizes.
For Itu-o-Tane College and the schools of Savai‘i, that result tells a much bigger story.
