Good Samaritan offers to build St. Pauls Academy Tafa’igata new school building

By Lagi Keresoma/

Apia, SAMOA – 5 March 2026: St. Pauls Academy, currently using the old church and former female prisoners’ cells of the old Tafaigata prison as classrooms, has a Good Samaritan who has offered to help build a new school building for over 100 primary students.

Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Schmidt confirmed the government has given the project the go ahead along with a new school building for Alataua West on Savaii Island where land has been cleared but need a school building.

The Prime Minister and the Minister Education, Aiono Professor Alec Ekeroma visited the St. Pauls Academy on Tuesday after the School Principal and School Committee urged the Prime Minister to visit given the condition of the school facilities.

The Prime Minister, Minister of Education, teachers, students and members of the District School Committee on the PM’s visit on Tuesday this week.

Touched by what he saw and found at the existing school; the Prime Minister said the old prison facility is inappropriate as an educational learning facility.

The old Tafaigata prison facilities and grounds were opened for the school by the HRPP administration in 2020 despite criticisms and negative feedback from some educators due to the place being used to hold criminals.

A student crosses the school grounds with the old prison cells in the background.

The school catered for the growing population around Nuu, Falelauniu and Tafa’igata residential area.

Early in the week, the school principal and management met with Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Schmidt and requested that he needed to visit the school which he did on Tuesday with the Minister of Education and Culture, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Lands & Environment and the Chairperson for the Sagaga 1 District Council.

St Pauls students assembling infront of the old prisoners church currently used as classrooms.

Laauli said the school now uses the old women prison wards and part of the old church as classrooms.

The students’ playgrounds are surround by the old concrete cells with rusty hefty iron locks and security iron bars and some cells with visible scribblings including offensive language left by the prisoners who once occupied those cells.

Laauli said the place is inappropriate and that the young students should never have been exposed to where criminals were held and some even died there.

The rusty iron gates of the old prison behind the children’s playground.

The Prime Minister would not reveal the identity of the “Good Samaritan” only referring to the person as American, who quickly showed interest to help when the schools’ urgent needs became known.

Laauli said the Government is now working on a concept plan to build a new and safer building for the school and demolish the old prison facility.

Work for Alataua West School in the pipeline
He also confirmed that a new school building for Alataua West on the western side of Savaii Island will also be built as endorsed by Cabinet yesterday.

He said the land for the school has already been excavated and cleared.

The main concern raised by Alataua West is the distance the children travel daily to attend the Asau College.

Now work on both the St Pauls Academy at Tafaigata and the Alataua West College will start soon as Cabinet has already endorsed.