AUSTRALIAN ANGLICAN SCHOOLS NETWORK 15TH CONFERENCE SHORE SCHOOL, SYDNEY 15-17 SEPTEMBER 2006 SALT AND LIGHT TO A NATION: THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH OF MELANESIA SCHOOLS IN SOLOMON ISLANDS Paper presented by Moffat Wasuka, Education Secretary, Church of Melanesia (Solomon Islands) Introduction Ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed an honour for me to be invited to present a paper in this distinguished conference. Before I present my paper, may I take this opportunity to thank the organizers of the conference for inviting me and four school principals from the Church of Melanesia (COM) to participate in the conference. I wish also to extend my sincere thanks to our host schools for kindly making our participation possible. The conference theme: Salt and Light to a nation – sends a powerful signal to all of us, whether we consider it in the context of individual Christians or in the context of our school communities. After all we are supposed to be the propagators of Christian teaching and values, hence salt to the earth and light to the world. This paper, as the title suggests shares some thoughts on the role of COM schools in Solomon Islands. Two roles will be highlighted: First the emphasis on education in developing the whole person. And second, the unifying force of church schools in nation building in Solomon Islands. In order to appreciate the significance of the mission of the Anglican Church in Solomon Islands, or Melanesia for that matter, a brief background of Solomon Islands and COM will be helpful for those who are not familiar with this part of the world. I believe many of you know quite a lot about Solomon Islands through its recent crises. Background Solomon Islands is among the larger island states in the Pacific region in terms of land area. It has over 800 inhabited islands, scattered over a wide area of the Pacific Ocean, stretching from Choiseul in the northwest to Tikopia and Anuta in the southeast.

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The latest population estimates placed the Solomon Islands population around 500,000 people. Of this 33 per cent are Anglicans, the majority of whom live in the central and eastern parts of the Solomons archipelago, which extends from Isabel in a southeast direction through Makira and then to Temotu Province. Access to schooling in Solomon Islands is low with 25 per cent of school age children still unable to attend primary school, and a much higher proportion not able to complete secondary schooling. The number of students progressing through secondary school decreases as students move up the system, with exit points at the end of primary (year 6), form 3 and form 5. Ministry of Education statistics for 2005 show that 881 students had enrolled in form 6 while only 189 were in form 7.1 The main reason for fewer students progressing through to senior secondary school is lack of school places. 2005 was the first year when the government scored some success in managing to place 90 per cent of the children who had completed primary 6 in “some sort of secondary school”. 2 While the government and churches are doing all they can to address the problem of access and quality in education, the sad thing is that, it is Anglican children because of the large numerical population base that always lose out. At the present time COM has only six schools, all co-educational, three of which have both primary and secondary departments. There are five skills training centres or rural training centres (RTC), as they are known. Linguistic experts tell us that there are about 80 distinctive indigenous languages spoken in Solomon Islands. Within the boundaries of each major language there are also numerous dialects. One language therefore cannot take one very far outside their own ethnic group. However, with the evolution of pijin as a lingua franca, and the introduction of English through schooling, many of the language barriers are gradually being overcome. Culturally Solomon Islands have a myriad of cultures and customs. In this regard there is a tendency for members of different cultural groups to hold strong affinity to their own tribal group with whom they share a region, the same culture and customs. Such tendency is still very strong among Solomon Islanders today though our country has now been independent for twenty-eight years. 1 MEHRD Statistics 2005 2 Solomon Islands Secondary Entrance Report 2005

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Even educated Anglicans have been criticized for being parochial in outlook. In his address to the 2006 diocesan synod the Archbishop and the Diocesan Bishop of Central Melanesia, Sir Ellison Pogo, had this to say to the synod delegates, “…all of us who work, serve, worship and have come to make Honiara city our home, do not have the spirit of ownership of this diocese. Most, if not all, still affiliate very strongly to our home island dioceses.” 3 Holistic approach to education: An historical perspective It was from this rather fragmented background – geographically, politically, culturally and religiously - that Bishop George Augustus Selwyn and his pioneer missionaries founded the Melanesian Mission, which subsequently became the Church of Melanesia as we know it today. Bishop Selwyn saw education as an important vehicle by which the light of the gospel of Christ would be spread among the many heathen islands of Melanesia. For Bishop Selwyn, education was not complete unless it involved the development of the whole person. He therefore articulated three pillars: true religion, sound learning and useful industry on which education in Melanesia is to be founded. With the background of Solomon Islands just described, you can see why Bishop Selwyn had considered it important that education should not only focus on the intellectual aspects of the person but also on the spiritual as well as physical. So in school, students were given opportunities to acquire knowledge and skills, and at the same time participated in religious activities that instilled in them Christian values and reinforced their identity with the Anglican Faith and traditions. By the very nature of the schools, and the form of schooling then, students had to work on farms to produce their food and cook their meals; they built and maintained their houses and classrooms, “a sort of semimonastic education system”4 as described by Durrell Whiteman. Later when the students left school, they returned home with new knowledge and skills. But more importantly, they carried the gospel back to their own people in the village and in this way the gospel continued to spread from village to village and from island to island. An article in the Melanesian Messenger made an interesting statement on this simple method of evangelism, “In those days mission and education were inseparable; one always complemented the other. It was through numerous mission schools in the islands that the gospel spread quickly and widely.” 5 3 Archbishop Sir Ellison Pogo, Diocesan Synod, DOCM , March 2006 4 Whiteman D. quoted by Anderson Saefoa in A Historical Critique of the Church Melanesia’s involvement in Education, June 1998

5 The Melanesian Messenger issue 13, May 2005

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COM Schools today The education scene in Solomon Islands today, even in a church school, is very different from what it was fifty or hundred years ago. All church schools now receive grants from the state and in return they are required to teach the national curricular, and to comply with the standards set by the government. Let me bring us back to the theme of this conference – salt and light to a nation. Our focus on this theme in this conference is indeed timely. To me it is a call on all our schools to reassess their place in the world that is rapidly becoming swamped by secularism and greed for material wealth and success. Therefore one is tempted to ask some questions, “Are students from church schools, any different from those who attend secular state schools?” Do they display in their daily lives characteristics that are distinctively Anglican? These are crucial questions. I suppose there are no correct answers to these questions, except the way each church school responds to the needs of its students. In Melanesia, our schools continue to uphold the three-fold principles enunciated by Bishop Selwyn 157 years ago. The school chapel activities remain the centre of all school life. Here the morning and evening prayers are held, and the weekly Holy Communion services are celebrated. Other sacraments, e.g. baptism, confirmation and marriages are celebrated as and when the needs arise. St. Nicholas School which does not have a chapel of its own organizes regular services in the Provincial Cathedral for the students and parents. In each school the chaplain and his assistant oversee the pastoral and liturgical programmes of the school. While COM schools have an open policy on recruitment of teachers, each school maintains core staff, including the head, who are Anglicans. This ensures that the religious fabric of the school is maintained and church activities are supported by people who are familiar with Anglican faith and ethos. Besides a rigorous academic programme, students and staff are given opportunities to take part in the chapel services. Participation in such services strengthens Christian values and helps students to develop leadership skills, and take up responsibilities. The ultimate goal is that when students leave the school, they should be different, vastly different from what they were when they entered the school, not only academically but socially and spiritually 4

also. We expect them to be good Christians who promote unity, peace, justice and equality, and who have the desire to make a positive change to where they work and in the community they live. If being elected to important national positions is an indicator of a person’s character and a recognition of his or her contributions to a nation, then COM schools have good reason to rejoice for having produced several of such men, among whom are three governor generals, two bishops. In the same context, achievements of two women are worth noting also. The first is Hilda Kari who played a big role in the recent peace restoration process, the only women ever elected to the national parliament, and who is currently a strong advocator of women’s issues in the country. The other was the late Lily Ogatina who was elected to the Legislative Council as the country was preparing for independence. In addition, the manner in which many Anglicans – bishops, priests, religious communities and ordinary men and women – responded to the recent ethnic tension in our country, in trying to neutralize the spread of hostilities, was indeed a remarkable display of faith and fortitude. Religious education taught as an academic subject will impart useful knowledge but its impact on the spiritual life of the person might only be minimal. It is for this reason that COM schools try to make religion a practical part of school life, and at the same time students are encouraged to support the mission of the church beyond the school. For instance, while in school the students are encouraged to become associate members of the different religious communities serving in the Church of Melanesia. In this way students develop early a desire and commitment to support in prayer and with money, a religious community of their choice, whether it be the Melanesian Brotherhood, Community of the Sisters of the Church, Community of the Sisters of Melanesia or the Society of St. Francis. Since 2002, annual induction services have been held in the Provincial Cathedral in Honiara when students pass through the capital on the way to their various schools. This annual event has always been a spectacle and is the one occasion in each year when parents and students from different schools meet together to give thanks to God before they begin the school year. Of recent development too, is the ACOMSIC Sports and Cultural Festival. (ACOMSIC is an acronym for Association of Church of Melanesia Schools and

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Communities.) The festival is held every two years for students from all COM schools to compete in sports and share in cultural activities. The festival was formed during the ethnic tension with the aim of helping speed up the peace restoration process and strengthens the basis for lasting peace in the country. A report on the first festival held in 2003 states the following. “Bringing students of different ethnic backgrounds from the various COM schools together to compete in sports and intermingle in cultural activities seemed an ideal way young people could be encouraged to work towards the restoration of peace in the country”. 6 Another feature of our schools is that they are small, compared with schools in Australia and in other parts of the world. Small schools help principals to know their teachers and students at the personal level which helps a lot in personal relationships with student and teachers. What do Anglican schools in Solomon Islands do for non-Anglican students? This is an important question. Non-Anglican students are common part of the student body in our schools. Generally we ask them to join the services with Anglicans as a matter of boarding school regulations but are not forced to become Anglicans. We believe that students should experience the way we do things while they are with us in our schools. Anglican Church schools offer an alternative education to that in state schools, one proven to be working and producing the kinds of citizens and leaders needed in the country. For this reason we encourage all the students who choose to come to our schools to take part in school activities organized by the school. Now and again however, there are surprises when one or two students “turn” Anglicans by the time they leave school. The first Melanesian Archbishop, Norman Palmer is one example of such students during his time. Unifying role of COM schools Another important role of church schools in Solomon Islands, and here I am not saying just Anglican schools, is to promote unity among students of different islands, cultures and religious beliefs. Our secondary schools do not have specific catchment areas. Rather they are open to all students from the country, regardless of their geographical location, culture or denominational affiliation. 6 ACOMSIC Report 2003

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The unifying role of Anglican schools is well expressed in the Selwyn College School Song which the school sings in its assemblies. Here are the words from the first verse: From islands girded by the restless seas, From near and far of diverse tongues and race, By our one faith united now are we, A band of comrades gathered in this place 7 These beautiful words have always been of great inspiration to the successive generations of students who have passed through the college, especially All Hollows Boys School, Pawa for which the song was originally composed. The song has now been adopted by other COM schools as a church of Melanesia Schools Anthem. Students spend an average of five years in our secondary schools. Given the somewhat secluded boarding school conditions in which they have to live in for at least ten months each year, students usually go through a major and rapid transformation process into the school culture. The boarding environment also provides a unique opportunity for students and staff from the different islands to live together in a closely knit community where students are encouraged to accept and respect the differences they bring with them to the school, show love and concern for one another, and establish friendships that should continue to flourish long after they have left school. Conclusion Solomon Islands is made up of many scattered islands with distinctively different languages and cultures and customs. Anglican schools in Solomon Islands have a special place in this developing nation. They offer an alternative education that focuses on the whole person; education that strives for unity and peace; and education that is founded on Christian values of faith, hope and love. “And with this same faith, hope and love, may we in future days reflect by word and deed. To make our people happy brave and free. To make our land the Kingdom for the Lord.”7 7 Selwyn College School Song

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RFEFERENCES ACOMSIC Sports and Cultural Festival Report 2003 Archbishop Ellison Pogo, DOCM Synod March 2006 Ministry of Education & Human Resource Development Statistics 2005 Saefoa Anderson, A Historical Critique of the Church of Melanesia’s involvement in Education, June 1998 Solomon Islands Secondary Entrance Examination Report 2005 Selwyn College School Song The Melanesian Messenger May 2005 POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. How do we ensure that Anglican Schools maintain a school life that is distinctively Anglican yet are able to accommodate the needs of nonAnglican students? 2. Do what extent should Anglican Schools teach a curriculum based on Anglican Faith and Doctrine?

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