It was heartwarming to watch a parents and teachers association move in just within over a week and ensure that the learning space for their children was appropriate and supported their education.

On Monday 6 March, a prominent boys school in Apia was provided with much needed furniture as the roll of students had increased and the amount of desks did not match the number of students. It was indeed amazing how fast the St. Joseph’s Parents and Teachers Association moved to provide equipment valued at $11,000.

Without these equipment, students would be sharing desk space. As minute as this problem sounds, it is not. The environment for the students to learn is not conducive and therefore hinders proper education. Last month, students at Satapuala Primary were helped by a school in Australia with 400 sets of desk and chairs. Prior to this students were sitting on the floor.

If a prominent school like St. Joseph can be faced with this issue, what about the smaller schools in rural Samoa. Is the learning environment conducive enough for Samoan children?

The Government has a big task in front of them when it comes to education and this is something members of parliament should be looking at as well, considering they have constituency funds now. Development plans should include improving learning facilities, providing all equipment necessary and the establishment of early childhood development centres or kindergartens.

Only 26 per cent of Samoan children are in pre-schools and that is according to the Government.

Education is a human right. And, like other human rights, it cannot be taken for granted. Across the world, 59 million children and 65 million adolescents are out of school. More than 120 million children do not complete primary education.

Behind these figures there are children and youth being denied not only a right, but opportunities: a fair chance to get a decent job, to escape poverty, to support their families, and to develop their communities. This is also a snapshot of Samoa.

Government should now seriously consider making education free. If this has not been realised then people who are supposed to be doing their work are sleeping. Like many other financial burdens imposed on a Samoan family, paying of school fees is one of them along with the family and church commitments.

The common understanding is that to ignore family and church contributions brings about great disrespect and shame on the family but not to send a child to school is accepted. This should never be the case.

There are two ways how education needs can be provided, the first is through the constituency grants and the members of parliament can start by paying school fees for all those families whose collective household income is below the poverty line. Then move on to making education free for all primary school aged children irrelative of their economic background. Private schools can still operate and charge fees and whoever can afford this, can send their children to such schools.

Or the Government can do this task on themselves. The Government can spend more on education and make all primary school education free and then move to secondary schools. While the Government may look at this as an added expense, this is in fact an investment in making a better Samoa which would have a more educated workforce, this in turn will reduce poverty, help towards nation building and produce better leaders.

The Government will need to provide grants to schools required for capital works and paying of auxiliary staff.

The importance of knowledge and learning has been recognised since the beginning of time.  Plato wrote: “If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life.”

But it was really the Nobel winning economists that put the argument of education as investment. T.W. Schultz argued that investment in education explains growth and Gary Becker gave us the Human Capital Theory.

In a nutshell, the Human Capital Theory posits that investing in education has a payoff in terms of higher wages.  Moreover, the theory and empirical estimates are backed up by current science, as explained by James Heckman.

Neurogenesis tells us that learning can continue into advanced ages. The relative costs and benefits to investments in older persons compared to younger persons differs. Investments in more able workers at any age generate higher returns than investments in less able workers, and ability is formed at early ages.

Overall, research has shown that another year of schooling raises earnings by 10 percent a year.  This is typically more than any other investment an individual could make.

Parliament has started sitting and hopefully one of the members of parliament brings up this topic and there should be a serious consideration given towards making education free for children.