A 33-year-old teacher, Ulimasao Fiapito Livigisitone Peseta at Vailuutai Primary School welcomed the initiative to train teachers and help students improve under the Soofau training programme.

This training aims at breaking barriers between the educational system and the students by identifying the barriers holding back the students from their studies.

In an interview with the Samoa Observer, Ms. Livigisitone explained that with the shortage of teachers and the classroom scenarios have become difficult.

"It was a very fruitful training for us teachers, we were learning about barriers between the teachers and the students. Barriers that iare behind the reason why the results drop low for the students," she said.

"We tried doing that or finding out about those barriers from students and we couldn't so now they're trying that same technique with the teachers to see if they can be able to identify those barriers.

"We had heaps of trainings and activities and it's also a great opportunity for us teachers to encourage us for the better and we were encouraged to reach the best that we can and be able to get selected for the Applied Scholastic International in America."

The Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) last week continued to conduct training for teachers as part of the Memorandum of Understanding between MEC and the Applied Scholastic International (ASI) Institute of Higher Education in Missouri. 

There were 10 MEC staff who attended a two-week course at ASI and upon their return, a new design of the training programme was developed and implemented. 

The new design is called the "Soofau" (connecting the fibres). The analogy used accentuated the importance of continuing and sustaining quality education; whether it is training and professional development for the teachers, or the teaching and learning processes in the classroom quality education must be strengthened and implemented. 

Using the Soofau as the vehicle driving the study tools for educators and teaching a new approach, the student centred approach is strengthened and the methods of self-determination, and independent study were encouraged 

The Soofau program started on the last week of April in Upolu and completed on the first week of May in Savaii. 

The last two weeks of the Soofau programme reached 400 primary and secondary teachers from the seven clusters selected for the training. 

While MEC continues the Soofau program to other clusters another cohort of teachers and staff will have the opportunity to travel to ASI for the same course. The main goal is to equip teachers with appropriate and relevant tools to improve the teaching and learning processes in classrooms.