Education

The Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT), the Tonga Institute of Science and Technology (TIST), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade are behind the project, in which students were selected because they were starting to disengage from school.

During a budget review the College's acting president, Dr Rosevonne Pato, says a remedial programme had shown some success.

She says about 60 percent of the students who eventually graduate from the College have had some remedial assistance under what is called the CAP programme.

But Representative, Meauta Mageo, who is a former high school teacher, says the system is still failing the territory's children.

Twenty two positions are currently being advertised including five jobs for principals and eight jobs at the main secondary school Tereora College.

There are also seven other vacancies at primary and secondary schools in the country.

A Director of Human Resources with the government Terry Utaga says an example of the problem is the field of accounting where potential applicants for an accounting teacher job prefer to stick to higher paying jobs outside teaching.