Tonga Cabinet has never agreed to purchase a multi million dollar computer software from me and Piveni. ^Featured

This information is misleading and intends to misguide the public into thinking that I have used my influence as the Prime Minister’s son, for my own personal benefit. It further infers that the Tonga Cabinet has acted in a manner that is corrupt, fraudulent and not in the interest of the nation. The fact that Matangi Tonga Online continues to publish Mokofisi’s letter is evident that they have acted against the very democracy that this government seeks to promote - the right to speak and publish freely your opinion  without hindrance to personal agendas and favouritism. It is even more obvious when they choose not to publish my letter of rebuttal.

In his most recent letter to the Matangi Tonga Online, Sione Mokofisi infers that I am “guilty by association.” As such, allow me to make the following clarifications.

I am currently employed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) in Fiji under their program called EQAP (Educational Quality and Assessment Programme). EQAP was previously known as the SPBEA (South Pacific Board for Educational Assessment). I have worked for EQAP/SPBEA since February 2006 and I am currently the Head of the Assessment Section. The debate on the scaling or standardization of student’s exam results in the region is nothing new. This has been an ongoing issue of criticism in the Fiji media and public since 2007.

It is my responsibility to seek an educational solution that will offer an alternative option to the scaling and standardization into the region’s education  system. At this time, Piveni Piukala  was  still  employed  by  the  SPBEA  as  the  Head  of  the  ICT  (Information  and Communication Technology) Program. Together we worked towards finding a solution to the problem that existed.

It was also evident that the quality of education in the region was on the decline. I was inspired by my direct supervisor during the time Mr Lemalu Sanerivi and with his guidance I therefore presented in 2010 to the Board of SPBEA the anomalies contained in the current system of scaling and offered my findings which I call the SPFSC outcomes based approach (SPBEA Board Issues Paper #7, 2010). A complete version of the finding and concept was presented to the annual conference of the International Association for Educational Assessment that was held in Singapore in 2014. You can find my concept paper published in their website.

During this time, I occasionally sought Piveni’s assistance into developing a computer software that would encompass my solution for easy access. This was due to the fact that since Piveni’s departure from SPBEA in 2009, we have had no qualified computer expert with Piveni’s qualification in artificial intelligence to do the work.

In 2011 Piveni had developed the required software and I presented it to the Board of the SPBEA as a trial for my outcome based assessment approach (SPFSC Board Update Paper, 2011). Piveni developed the new trial software at no cost to the SPBEA. This new approach was being trailed in 2011, for one subject only in the regional Form 7 exams. In 2012 it extended to 4 subjects and in 2013 the new approach has been applied to all subjects in SPFSC Form 7 regional examination.

Although this new approach has been applied to SPFSC Form 7 level only, I am confident that it will be just as useful if applied across the board to all levels of assessment and education in the region.

In 2014, I presented an updated version of my approach and is published at the VAKA PASIFIKA Conference in Tonga. I have credited every person I sought advice from including Dr. Visesio Pongi, Mr Peter Davies, Mr Lemalu Sanerivi and Piveni Piukala. However, the work itself is my own independent findings.

Piveni Piukala started working for the SPBEA as an ICT Consultant in 2005, when Dr. Visesio Pongi was still Director. His main responsibility was being a software developer and one of the software he developed was called the Stallion software which was a system’s approach prepared by Dr. Visesio Pongi. He then worked as a full time employee of the SPBEA from 2007 – 2009 as a software developer and looked after our ICT program. Piveni was also hired in 2012 as a consultant to develop a new software on Risk Management also designed by Dr. Visesio Pongi.

In December 2012 to June 2014 Piveni was again hired as a consultant by SPBEA to develop the software that would eventually embrace my findings (the SPFSC outcome based approach). There is still alot of work before this software is considered complete. To date, Piveni is one of the highly qualified artificial intelligence software expert that has developed computer software that addresses the local context of individual countries.

SPBEA (EQAP) is working with the educational system of Tuvalu by first taking into context the local curriculum. The same can be said for Samoa where Piveni is also working as an ICT consultant for the Samoan Government. I am hopeful that the outcomes based approach is up and running for some countries in the region by 2016. One of my responsibilities as an SPBEA  (EQAP)  assessment  specialist  is  to  provide  support  and  alternative  assessment options for  the  countries,  and therefore  promote  this new outcome based  assessment approach in the region. It is an educational solution - not a computer software product.

Each country in the region is welcome to decide on who they wish to employ or hire as an ICT consultant to develop their software system to be in compliance with their local context. This software system must be able to embrace the system of intelligence and common sense that any assessment approach introduces, with the local context of each education system and needs analysis. This is the expertise and intelligence offered by Piveni.

To conclude, I believe without doubt that the intentions of Sione Mokofisi and Matangi Tonga Online, is to invent dirt on my father as Prime Minister and was done with bad and malicious intent. There is no other alternative for me, but to take legal proceedings.

Faka’apa’apa atu

Siaosi 'O Vailahi Pohiva

For further information please contact Siaosi Pohiva on email;  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone (679) 8096245