Mid-Year Sector Review 2025 (Joint Sector Review) Highlights Tonga’s Education Priorities and Progress

The two-day review, made possible through the ongoing partnership between Save the Children Australia  (SCA) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), as part of its on-going support to sector  coordination and capacity building, was officially opened with Hon. Minister of MET, Hon. Dr.  ‘Uhilamoelangi Fasi. 

In his keynote, Hon. Dr. Fasi reaffirmed Government’s commitment to ensuring inclusive, empowering,  and sustainable human development, with a strong emphasis on gender equality and equity of access to  quality education.  

MET CEO, Mr. ‘Isikeli Oko, talked about Tonga’s progress to the Sustainable Development Goal 4  (SDG4) – Quality Education where he highlighted national resilience initiatives such as the Building the  Climate Resilience of Children and Communities through the Education Sector (BRACE) project that will be looking  at improving classrooms and school infrastructure and Tonga’s School Resilience and Safety Programme  (TSRSP) focused on strengthening disaster risk reduction and readiness.  

Mr. Oko also updated participants on the Tonga Accelerated Resilience Programme (TARP) that focuses  on enhancing learning platforms such as Hama eLearning, Tonga’s new Education Framework 2025 to 

2035 and revised policies, such as the Government School Grants Policy and Minimum Service  Standards, set to launch soon as well expanded programs in Early Childhood Education (ECE), Inclusive  Education and Middle Schooling.  

Donor partners and non-governmental stakeholders were also part of the day’s proceedings, with many  highlighting their activities and plans, aligned to MET’s corporate plan. Tertiary and university institutions  also shared updates on their programs and contributions to national education goals.  

Day 2 shifted into intensive in-house training for the CEO, Senior Management Team (SMT), and senior  staff of MET, focused on budgeting, procurement, and aid management, meeting and setting Key  Performance Indicators (KPIs) and aligning MET’s KPIs with the contributions reported by non government stakeholders on Day 1.  

The Review provided a valuable platform for dialogue, accountability, and shared commitment towards  building a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable education system in Tonga.