Motufoua Secondary School

Motufoua Secondary School
Location
Map
Vaitupu

Tuvalu
Coordinates7°29′24″S 178°41′37″E / 7.49000°S 178.69361°E / -7.49000; 178.69361
Information
Typeboarding school
DenominationChurch of Tuvalu
Established1905
FounderMotufoua
HeadmasterFineaso Tehulu.[1]
Teaching staff55 (2012)[2]
GenderBoys, girls
Enrollment570 (2012)[2]

Motufoua Secondary School is a boarding school for children on Vaitupu atoll, Tuvalu.[3][4][5] As of 2000 it is the largest high school in Tuvalu.[6][7] As Tuvalu consists of nine islands, the students reside on Vaitupu during the school year and return to their home islands during the school vacations.[8]

The school received worldwide attention in March 2000, when a fire in a dormitory at the school killed 19 girls and an adult supervisor. It was later discovered that the fire was caused by a student using a candle to read during the night.[8][6] The school celebrated 100 years of education in 2005.[9][10]

  1. ^ "Tuvalu Campus Director visits students on remote Nukufetau and Vaitupu Islands in Tuvalu". The University of the South Pacific. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Education Statistical Report". Tuvalu Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Tuvalu: A Situational Analysis of Children, Women and Youth - Part 2: Services and Opportunities" (PDF). UNICEF Pacific Office, Fiji. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  4. ^ "Motufoua Secondary School (Location)". Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  5. ^ "Motufoua Secondary School". wikieducator.org. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  6. ^ a b Keith-Reid, Robert (10 March 2000). "Schoolgirls die in horror blaze". The Independent (London). Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  7. ^ "19 Die In Tuvalu Dormitory Blaze". CBS news (US). 10 March 2000. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  8. ^ a b Johnston, Martin (30 June 2000). "Student to blame for Tuvalu fire". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  9. ^ Laafai, Monise (October 2005). "Motufoua School, 100th Anniversary, 1905-2005". Monise Laafai. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  10. ^ "100 Tausaga Motufoua - 'Pepese Ia i le Pese'". Video on YouTube sung & performed by Fagogo Malipolipo. 14 February 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2012.