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Women last longer in education

Written by Cherelle Jackson
Monday, 12 May 2008
Today, the Australia Pacific Technical College officially opens at Toomatagi. It will provide yet another avenue for not just Samoans but Pacific Islanders alike to gain skills required to progress in their careers. It’s good however to see that more men are taking up the trades at tertiary level, thus indicating perhaps a shift in the gender tides in education. Education stats suggest that although more boys enroll in school, its women who last longer and go on to achieve higher in education as opposed to their male counterparts. Back in 2001 in an informal survey of school Duxes it was noted that more than 60% of Duxes that year were female. In 2007 from Primary School to Secondary and right up to Tertiary level, and Vocational Studies women were taking the lead. But how come? Are we less resilient to the pressures of life? Are Samoan women more disciplined? In the education figures from the Statistics Division it suggests a huge gender divide in academia, but it is males who dominate school enrollment lists, not females. In 2003 a total of 20,604 males enrolled into Primary School and 19,035 females, that’s a good 1569 less female enrollments. The same pattern of male enrolment dominance is carried through from 1991 up to 2003. Every single year since 1991 records more than a 1000 and sometimes more than 2000 males enroll in Primary Schools over females. The story changes with Secondary School enrolments, more females enrolled in 1994, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003 than males. Curious but not surprising in 2003 there were 565 more female enrolments over males. So why is it that more females survive the Primary education system and fewer males do? I can only venture to guess that our traditional family roles and values are a contributing factor. Could this be a reflection of the cultural connotation of the female being the pupil of the brothers eye, that he would sacrifice his seat in the classroom for her? Could it be that local families would invest more in the intellectual development of the daughter as she is “delicate” over her much enduring and strong brother? Could it be that we trust boys will have a better chance of survival with their physical capabilities as opposed to women? In rural families it seems it has been much easier for sons to drop out of school without explanation than the girls. It seems the boy always has that choice of moving up a notch in education or moving into the plantation. This oversight in our culture and somewhat ancient mentality has lead to the progress of young women. It has fostered a passion for learning and a yearn for higher education in women. It has brought academic prosperity to the female gender that will not only improve the status of women in Samoa, but also encourage males to catch up. This is great news as Samoa comes to celebrate National Womens Day today. Happy Women’s Day and keep it up girls. Comments (1) Subscribe to this comment's feed Man got to do what a man got to do... written by Jack, May 12, 2008 From experience, I had to leave school to help support my family. Our culture shifted the burden of supporting or providing for the family on men. Our sisters usually do house work and go to school. For me, nothing better than work hard for the money to support my family. Unfortunately now a days some men feels like staying home and waiting for a hand over from the government or others is the way to live instead of going to school or go to work. Write comment Name Email Title Comment

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