Transforming education in Samoa

Samoa has high rates of enrollment for primary and lower secondary education, but by upper secondary, one-fifth of the student population is out of school. Pre-primary has the lowest enrollment of all education levels at around 25%.

The government is working with GPE and other partners to ensure seamless, relevant and supported pathways based on strong early learning foundations.

Samoa’s Partnership Compact emphasizes building opportunities for all students to acquire the basic skills needed to progress throughout the education system and beyond.

A focus on early years foundations, includes a policy review of early childhood education and reinforced teacher training. Student progression and transitions will be supported with developmentally appropriate curriculum delivery, remedial education opportunities, better assessment of individual learning needs, and relevant vocational training pathways.

Strengthened collaboration among schools, families and communities is expected to further support students and learning.

Result story

Samoa: Supporting students and teachers through COVID-19

As COVID-19 disrupted learning in Samoa, education leaders responded by supporting students and teachers and making the system more resilient to future disruptions.

Key data

6%

out-of-school rate for children of lower-secondary school age

31%

of children start learning one year before entering primary school

14%

of government expenditure on education

Grants

(data as of December 13, 2024)

 
  • Type: Program implementation

    Years: 2021 - 2025

    Allocation: US$14,997,510

    Utilization: US$3,073,318

    Grant agent: ADB

Civil society engagement

As part of its investment in civil society advocacy and social accountability efforts, GPE’s Education Out Loud fund is supporting the Samoa Education Network (SEN) for the 2024-2026 period. This builds on previous support from the Civil Society Education Fund (CSEF).

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