March 12th, 2015
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Tonga Soroban National Competition
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The final round of the 5th Tonga Soroban National Competition for Primary Students of the Kingdom of Tonga was held on Thursday, March 12, 2015 at Queen Salote Memorial Hall. The guest of honor was the Honourable Samuela ‘Akilisi Pohiva, Prime Minister of Tonga and who is also the Minister for Education and Training. Present at the event were His Excellency Dr. Kazuchika Hamuro the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Kingdom of Tonga and Mr. Masao Fujii, Director General of International Soroban Diffusion Foundation (ISDF) from Japan.
His Excellency Dr. Hamuro, in his welcoming address, expressed his appreciation to the Ministry of Education and Training for acknowledging the importance of soroban as an effective tool for improving mathematical skills. “In modern Japan, soroban is nationally recognized not only as a way to improve the mathematical skills of children and young people, but also to foster their self-confidence, concentration, memory retention and development of right hemispheres of brains,” added Ambassador Hamuro.
The highlight of the competition is the fully funded study trip to Japan awarded to the winner of the Class 5 written category. This year’s winner was Viliami Tu’ipulotu from Ngele’ia GPS of Tongatapu, Central District. Tu’ipulotu will participate in Annual Soroban Camp in Oze, Gunma Prefecture in Japan from 17th to 20th August 2015, which is organized by ISDF.
From each outer islands of ‘Eua, Vava’u and Ha’apai, nine students participated in the final competition, the top three students in the written category of classes 4 & 5, and three students who passed Soroban Level Test, Level 7. While the top 30% students of the written category of classes 4 & 5 from the district competitions in Tongatapu represented each district.
Soroban education has been one of the concrete and long-standing foundations between Japan and Tonga since the 1970’s. It is now a compulsory element of Mathematics subject from Class 3 to Class 5 in all the Government Primary Schools in the Kingdom of Tonga. Other highlights of the recognition of soroban education in Tonga includes the presentation of the Decoration of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays in 2010 to Mrs. Una Tupou, in honor of her contribution to soroban education in Tonga. Furthermore, 3,286 soroban were donated in 2009, by ISDF under JICA’s program called the “Smile for All in the World,” and the 901 soroban donated by the Okinawa Employer’s Association of Japan in 2013 to the Ministry of Education and Training.
JICA volunteers have been constantly dispatched to support soroban education throughout the Kingdom of Tonga. Tonga’s Soroban Competition is one of the cultural and educational events co-hosted annually by the Embassy of Japan and the Ministry of Education and Training of the Kingdom of Tonga. -
