Tonga has reached a historic milestone in higher education, with the country’s national qualifications authority evaluating what it says is the first degree programme submitted for recognition in Tonga to be written entirely in the Tongan language.
The Tonga National Qualifications and Accreditation Board (TNQAB) said its panel evaluation of the Tonga National University Bachelor of Tongan Language and Cultural Studies took place from Monday, August 31 to Saturday, September 5, 2026.
The evaluation represents the first time Tonga’s national quality-assurance standards have been applied to a degree programme presented entirely in Lea Faka-Tonga, according to TNQAB.
First of its kind
TNQAB described the programme as both “unique and nationally significant”, saying it was the first programme submitted for use and recognition in Tonga that had been written completely in Tongan.
The development represents an important step for the use of Lea Faka-Tonga not only as a subject of academic study, but as a language through which an entire university-level programme can be designed, presented and assessed against national higher-education standards.
“It is often said that a people’s culture lives within their language,” TNQAB said.
The Board said the programme presented evaluators with the significant task of determining how Tongan language, culture and academic quality are brought together within a university qualification.
Programme under detailed scrutiny
The accreditation process included an in-depth desk analysis and discussions examining the programme, its curriculum and supporting policies.
The evaluation also included a site visit to Tonga National University and its teaching sites.
The process is intended to assess the programme against Tonga’s applicable national quality-assurance requirements before its recognition.
Three-member panel
The three-member evaluation team was led by Dr Linita Manu‘atu, an Auckland-based Tongan academic and educator.
She was joined by local educators and community leaders Mrs Lasalle Halatuituia and Mr Kalafitoni Latu.
TNQAB Senior Qualifications Analyst Mrs Tupou Pasikala Fiu facilitated the evaluation.
TNQAB wished the panel success in what it described as “historic and important work”.
The significance of the assessment extends beyond the accreditation of an individual degree. If approved, the programme would mark a major development in the institutional use of Lea Faka-Tonga in higher education, demonstrating its application across the curriculum and academic quality-assurance process at bachelor’s-degree level.
