Students

The announcement was made by Moana Pasifika in a statement ahead of the game last Friday.

According to the statement, this initiative is part of their celebration of its inaugural game on Samoan soil and their commitment of engaging with local communities to provide opportunities for young people to experience the thrill of professional rugby. 

Moana Pasifika went down to the Queensland Reds 40-28.

Photo Moana Pasifika/Facebook   Caption: Moana Pasifika players visited students of Vaiola College  

Director General, Leausa Dr Take Naseri said teachers are aware that students will not be allowed into the classroom if they are not fully vaccinated.

Leausa said that parents should heed the announcement by the Ministry to vaccinate their children.

As of last Friday, more than 17-thousand-six-hundred children from 12 to 17 years old have received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

To date more than 84-thousand of Samoa's eligible population have been fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca, while more than 100,000 have received their first dosage.

In a statement, the high commission said it wants to try and minimize any negative impact of the lockdown on their students’ studies and their overall wellbeing.

A total of 84 Samoan students are registered at the two main universities – University of the South Pacific and Fiji National University.

Fiji has seen a resurgence in COVID-19 cases after 364 days since the last case was recorded in the community on 18 April 2020.

Fiji confirmed its first community case this year as a result of a breach in protocol at a Nadi quarantine facility.

High Commissioner Ali’ioaiga Feturi Elisaia hosted Samoan students to a reception at the weekend.

The reception was also the first official ‘Feiloaiga’ between the students and the High Commissioner since he presented his credentials to the President of Fiji on 5 March, 2021.

The High Commissioner, a University of the South Pacific alumnus, in his remarks, reminded the students that educational opportunities are rare to come by – hence the need to utilise them optimally to build a solid foundation for a future career.

To assist the Education sector, a team of SITA members developed an E-learning platform intended for children, to enable continued learning while staying at home.

SITA said it is pleased to announce that Avele College through their principal Afioga Matafeo Reupena Matafeo, has agreed to pilot the platform.

There are other schools already in the pipeline to come on board when other digital preparations from their end are completed.

Friday, 24 April 2020 marked another milestone by SITA for the launching of its E-learning platform to start with Avele College.

The grants are the brainchild of two kind Samaritans living in St. George Utah, USA.

Faalogo Situtuila Sissy Vuki and her husband Tupuola Sione Heleti Vuki have garnered support from families, friends, business partners and St. George general community to raise US$10,000 dollars in scholarship funds and school materials for Samoan first responders’ children that are students.

The armed 17-year-old was arrested after the shooting, which happened at the Alexis de Tocqueville school in the town of Grasse, about 40 kilometres from the southern city of Nice.

Fiji Times reports the first year students are sponsored by the Australian government through AusAid.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Victoria Faletutulu said the orientation program helped them a lot because most of them were first time travelers abroad.

"Back home, we don't have many choices to choose from after leaving high school and the foundation program offered at the Samoa National University," Ms Faletutulu said.

"To be here in USP, we're lucky because there is a wide variety of programs to choose from."

The scholarships worth more than $12,000 tala have been provided by Australian-based Samoan businesswoman, Ivona Tuaimau-Latu.

Tuaimau-Latu runs a company called PELE Resolutions Facilitators that develops and facilitates mental health recovery projects.

“I was born and raised in Samoa until I was 16, and fortunately I was able to move to New Zealand and then later to Australia. Every time I go to Samoa its heart wrenching for me to see these poor kids selling products late into the night,” Tuaimau-Latu said.

Reliable sources at the University of Goroka campus told Loop PNG that the fight broke among the faction of Chimbu/Goroka students and the Western Highlands/Enga students.

The source who wanted to remain unanimous because of safety reasons said the disagreement between the students started on Saturday where students attending their inservice training agreed to resume classes today but this did not go down well with other students.

Currently, the main gate at the campus is closed as people are gathering at the gates.