The Ministry of Education and Training is concerned by falling enrolment in high school science, mathematics and commerce classes.
The Ministry is also concerned at the 10% drop in the pass rate for the Form Six certificate.
Announcing the 2019 results for the Tonga National Form Seven Certificate, the Ministry said enrolment trends showed a decreasing number of candidates opting for these subject areas.
The Ministry said these subjects were highly significant for universities abroad.
The Ministry was concerned about the trend and encouraged students to consider their subjects carefully.
A total of 11 schools in the kingdom (six in Tongatapu and five in the outer-islands) offered the certificate.
The number of students sitting for the certificate rose from 489 in 2018 to 656, the highest number so far.
The overall pass rate was 68%., based on results for English and the students’ best three subjects.
Tonga High was the best performing school, with an 89% pass rate.
The most improved school was Beulah College.
The pass rate for the Tonga Form Six Certificate dropped from 48% to 38%.
The Ministry also noted a similar decrease in the number of candidates’ opting for the Sciences and Computing was noted for Form six students.
A total of 23 schools (12 schools in Tongatapu and 11 from the outer-islands) offered the examinations.
As with the Form Seven certificate, a record number of students were registered, with numbers rising from 1248 in 2018 to 1377 in 2019.
Tonga High was the best performing school in the 2019 TFSC Examinations with a 61% pass rate. The most improved school was Tailulu College (Vava‘u) with a 56% pass rate, a 20% improvement from 2018.
The school with the most candidates enrolled in the TFSC was Liahona High School with a total of 192 candidates.
