N.U.S. Bestows Gatoloaifaana With Honorary Doctorate Of Letters
Gatoloaifaana Tilianamua Afamasaga
Photo: Public Service Commission
Trail-blazing educator Gatoloaifaana Tilianamua Afamasaga has been conferred an honorary Doctorate of Letters (D. Litt.) by the National University of Samoa (N.U.S.) that recognises her service to Samoa in the education sector.
The honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university or other degree-awarding institution has waived all the usual requirements.
N.U.S. conferred the Honorary Doctorate of Letters on Gatoloaifaana in recognition of her distinguished career and trail-blazing service as an educator and in capacity building in education, according to a Tuesday, 13 December statement from the university.
She is a long serving high achieving educationalist dedicated to changing lives. This passion has extended her to drive and lead the Samoa Workers Congress and to champion the issue of child labour.
More recently, the government appointed Gatoloaifaana to be a commissioner at the Public Service Commission (P.S.C.).
A member of the Samoa Teachers’ Council, she continues to carry out consultancies in education and training, advocacy work in women leadership and championing the welfare of workers in the context of workers organizations today.
“Therefore, in recognition of her valuable and extensive contribution to education, women leadership, the welfare of workers, and the issue of child labour, the National University of Samoa is proud to confer upon Gatoloaifaana Tilianamua Afamasaga an Honorary Doctor of Letters,” said the university.
Gatoloaifaana was born on the 5 May 1947. She was educated at Samoa College, Hamilton Girls High School and Christchurch Teachers College where she gained a Diploma in Teaching in 1971. After teaching in Samoa for five years, Gatoloaifaana attended Macquarie University in Australia where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts (Diploma in Education) in 1978.
She came back to Samoa and taught at the Secondary Teachers College and in 1992 she went back to Macquarie University where she obtained her Master of Arts degree in Teacher Education in 1993. Earlier in her career as an educator, Ms. Afamasaga taught at Samoa College and Vaipouli College.
This was followed by service as a leader Secondary Teachers’ College and enabled amalgamation with the N.U.S. and established the Faculty of Education in July 1997. Gatoloaifaana became the founding Dean of the Faculty of Education from July 1997 to 2005).
By the time she left, there were four (4) programmes taught at F.O.E. Gatoloaifaana also led the N.U.S. Oloamanu Centre for Professional Development and Continuing Education from January 2006 to June 2012.
In her second year as Director, the Samoa in Country Training Program (I.C.T.P.) was transferred from New Zealand management to the Oloamanu Centre. This program had a $1.75 million annual budget for capacity building in the private, Non-Governmental Organisations (N.G.O.s) and public sub sectors.
Her work has gained her various memberships in many professional associations including: National Teachers Association where she was President 1995-2012; Council of Pacific Association of Teacher Educators (regional) where she was President (2003 - 2006), Vice President 2007-2012, and President again from 2012 to 2016.
Gatoloaifaana serves in the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (2006-present) and the Samoa Institute of Directors (2006-present).
She is a founding member of the Rethinking Education in the Pacific for Pacific People by Pacific People (R.E.I.P.P. for short) – a consortium of Pacific educators who continue to interrogate educational development in the Pacific for relevance, effectiveness and quality for Pacific people.
This has resulted in the Vaka Pasifiki School of Thought which has become an academic discipline studied by many Pacific scholars today.
Gatoloaifaana was awarded the honorary degree last Thursday at the N.U.S. graduation held at the Lepapaigalagala Campus.