Figure 1.--Litogahira is a small community, I believe on Santa Isabel Island. The photo was taken at the Litogahira "District School" during the late-1940s or early-50s. The first Solomon schools were mission schools. This school was established by the Church of Melanesia. The boys chosen were the best pupils from the village schools. Parents at the time were less willing to send their girls away to school. The boys were required to wrap a cloth around their waists. At the time many Solomon boys didn't bother to wear clothing.

The Solomon Island east of New Guinea was one of the most isolated places on earth. Australia took responsibility for the islands during World War I. Ironically it was in the Solomons that the United States slugged it out with the Japanese, stopping their expansion during the Pacific War. The Solomons are now an independent country made up of about 1,000 different islands. At the time of World war II there were virtually no schools in the Islands. Missionaries had established a few schools. Since the War a public school has been developed. Australia has played a major role in that effort and New Zealand has also assisted. About 65 percent of the country's children attend school The adult literacy rates is about 75 percent. The country is very poor. Most of the population is involved in subsistence agriculture. The endemic poverty limits the funds that can be devoted to education. Many children drop out at an early age. Many schools in the country's developing education system were destroyed by a tsumami (2007). The Government planned to make the schools completely free of charge (2009).

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Created: 10:15 AM 1/28/2011
Last updated: 10:15 AM 1/28/2011