Education
In Tonga, it is compulsory for children to be in school from ages 4 to 18. The formal education system has four stages: Early childhood (2 years), Primary (six years), Secondary (seven years) and post-secondary (six months to three years depending on type of training. Secondary education covers years 7 to 13 (students aged 13 to 17).
The table below displays some of the key indicators for Education based on the 2016 and 2021 Population and Housing Censuses for Tonga.
Education |
2016 | 2021 | ||||
Total | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | |
School enrolment rate of 6-15 years olds (% of population of same age) | 98% | 98% | 98% | 98% | 98% | 99% |
Proportion of population aged 15 years and over (%) with: | ||||||
Secondary education | 73% | 73% | 73% | 67% | 66% | 68% |
Secondary qualification (as highest grade completed) | 4% | 4% | 5% | 7% | 6% | 7% |
Tertiary education | 10% | 9% | 11% | 7% | 10% | 5% |
Tertiary qualification (as highest level completed) | 11% | 10% | 12% | 8% | 10% | 6% |
Gender parity index, Primary (GPI) | 0.9 | 0.9 | ||||
Gender parity index, Secondary (GPI) | 1.0 | 1.1 |
Status of schools in Tonga 2018 – 2021
Enrollment for each grade in 2021 by Age and by Sex
The table below shows the percentage enrolled by age for each grade and for males and females based on the Tonga 2021 Population and Housing Census.
Age | Total | Attending | Percent Attending | Sex ratio | ||||||
Total | Males | Females | Total | Males | Females | Total | Males | Females | ||
3 | 439 | 199 | 240 | 389 | 176 | 213 | 88.6% | 88.4% | 88.8% | 82.6% |
4 | 1,155 | 596 | 559 | 1,087 | 559 | 528 | 94.1% | 93.8% | 94.5% | 105.9% |
5 | 1,956 | 988 | 968 | 1,904 | 958 | 946 | 97.3% | 97.0% | 97.7% | 101.3% |
6 | 2,526 | 1,336 | 1,190 | 2,505 | 1,320 | 1,185 | 99.2% | 98.8% | 99.6% | 111.4% |
7 | 2,543 | 1,349 | 1,194 | 2,515 | 1,334 | 1,181 | 98.9% | 98.9% | 98.9% | 113.0% |
8 | 2,457 | 1,267 | 1,190 | 2,440 | 1,258 | 1,182 | 99.3% | 99.3% | 99.3% | 106.4% |
9 | 2,457 | 1,246 | 1,211 | 2,436 | 1,231 | 1,205 | 99.1% | 98.8% | 99.5% | 102.2% |
10 | 2,390 | 1,242 | 1,148 | 2,373 | 1,233 | 1,140 | 99.3% | 99.3% | 99.3% | 108.2% |
11 | 2,625 | 1,426 | 1,199 | 2,604 | 1,413 | 1,191 | 99.2% | 99.1% | 99.3% | 118.6% |
12 | 2,259 | 1,224 | 1,035 | 2,229 | 1,204 | 1,025 | 98.7% | 98.4% | 99.0% | 117.5% |
13 | 2,291 | 1,147 | 1,144 | 2,254 | 1,119 | 1,135 | 98.4% | 97.6% | 99.2% | 98.6% |
14 | 2,261 | 1,144 | 1,117 | 2,192 | 1,097 | 1,095 | 96.9% | 95.9% | 98.0% | 100.2% |
15 | 2,300 | 1,198 | 1,102 | 2,156 | 1,093 | 1,063 | 93.7% | 91.2% | 96.5% | 102.8% |
16 | 2,190 | 1,108 | 1,082 | 1,936 | 920 | 1,016 | 88.4% | 83.0% | 93.9% | 90.6% |
17 | 2,223 | 1,112 | 1,111 | 1,787 | 813 | 974 | 80.4% | 73.1% | 87.7% | 83.5% |
18 | 2,195 | 1,099 | 1,096 | 1,501 | 682 | 819 | 68.4% | 62.1% | 74.7% | 83.3% |
19 | 1,985 | 981 | 1,004 | 1,039 | 458 | 581 | 52.3% | 46.7% | 57.9% | 78.8% |
20 | 1,784 | 897 | 887 | 676 | 294 | 382 | 37.9% | 32.8% | 43.1% | 77.0% |
21 | 1,721 | 847 | 874 | 485 | 231 | 254 | 28.2% | 27.3% | 29.1% | 90.9% |
22 | 1,474 | 685 | 789 | 335 | 143 | 192 | 22.7% | 20.9% | 24.3% | 74.5% |
Source: Tonga 2021 Population and Housing Volume 2 Analytical Report, Tonga Statistics Department
Primary and Secondary School students enrolled and number of Teachers by gender 2018 - 2020
Education System | 2018 – 2020 | ||
Primary Education | Male | Female | Total |
Number of Students | |||
Government | 7,533 | 6,477 | 14,010 |
Non-Government | 1,538 | 1,508 | 3,046 |
Sub – Total | 9,071 | 7,985 | 17,056 |
Number of Teachers | |||
Government | 152 | 484 | 636 |
Non-Government | 17 | 126 | 143 |
Sub – Total | 169 | 610 | 779 |
Pupils/Teacher ratio | 22:1 | ||
Secondary Education | |||
Number of Students | |||
Government | 2,474 | 2,250 | 4,724 |
Non-Government | 4,521 | 5,256 | 9,777 |
Sub – Total | 6,995 | 7,506 | 14,501 |
Numbber of Teachers | |||
Government | 130 | 237 | 367 |
Non-Government | 272 | 418 | 690 |
Sub – Total | 402 | 655 | 1,057 |
Pupils/Teacher ratio | 14:1 |
All Government and Mission Primary School Enrolments by Age, and by Level as of March 2020
AGE | Total | Class 1 | Class 2 | Class 3 | Class 4 | Class 5 | Class 6 | Inclusive | Total |
5 | 2,558 | 2,971 | 2,971 | ||||||
6 | 2,712 | 2,792 | ,2,792 | ||||||
7 | 2,672 | 2,713 | 2,713 | ||||||
8 | 2,588 | 2,738 | 2,738 | ||||||
9 | 2,791 | 2,725 | 2,725 | ||||||
10 | 2,369 | 3,097 | 3,097 | ||||||
11 | 744 | ||||||||
12 | 118 | ||||||||
13 | 10 | ||||||||
20 | 20 | ||||||||
TOTAL | 17,056 | 2,971 | 2,792 | 2,713 | 2,738 | 2,725 | 3,097 | 20 | 17,056 |
All Government and Non-Government Secondary School Enrolment by Age, by Gender and by Level as of 2018 - 2020
Age | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | ||||||
Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | |
10 | 84 | 112 | 196 | 110 | 115 | 225 | 78 | 104 | 182 |
11 | 672 | 710 | 1382 | 751 | 842 | 1593 | 768 | 847 | 1615 |
12 | 1157 | 1146 | 2303 | 1130 | 1120 | 2250 | 1104 | 1098 | 2202 |
13 | 1106 | 1079 | 2185 | 1222 | 1166 | 2388 | 1106 | 1100 | 2206 |
14 | 1108 | 1139 | 2247 | 1157 | 1132 | 2289 | 1075 | 1101 | 2176 |
15 | 952 | 1026 | 1978 | 975 | 1127 | 2102 | 972 | 1030 | 2002 |
16 | 799 | 943 | 1742 | 842 | 964 | 1806 | 809 | 999 | 1808 |
17 | 468 | 652 | 1120 | 617 | 733 | 1350 | 578 | 716 | 1294 |
18 | 256 | 329 | 585 | 292 | 351 | 643 | 287 | 350 | 637 |
19 | 86 | 97 | 183 | 89 | 147 | 236 | 95 | 104 | 199 |
20 | 14 | 25 | 39 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 15 | 21 | 36 |
21 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
22 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
23 | 74 | 37 | 111 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Not Stated | 192 | 260 | 452 | 271 | 117 | 388 | 103 | 33 | 136 |
Total | 6973 | 7563 | 14536 | 7478 | 7846 | 15324 | 6995 | 7506 | 14501 |
There are no available reports for Education at the moment.
Contact Person: Mele Sikimeti Manitisa