The standard of education in Tonga falls under the authority of Quality Assurance division of the Ministry of Education and the Tonga National Qualifications and Accreditation Board (TNQAB).

Secretariat of the Pacific Board of Education Assessment (SPBEA)

The USP has a longer history of dealing with quality assurance issues. It has its own formal Quality Strategy and Quality Assurance Framework. The USP has also benefited from its ties with international quality assurance agencies, including the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) and the New Zealand Universities Academic Audit Unit (NZUAAU).

The Transnational Qualifications Framework (TQF) for International Accreditation for the Virtual University for the Small States of the Commonwealth (TQF for VUSSC:Procedures and Guidelines) was formally launched in April 2010. It is heralded the introduction of probably the most international, collaborative system for capacity building, skills development and greater access to quality-assured qualifications. Since the VUSSC is not an accrediting or awarding body, the institutions that offer the courses must accredit them locally. The aim of a TQF should be to ensure that all the open educational resources that are being created collaboratively can be adapted into recognised courses that students can take for credit through the recognized institutions of the small states. The TQF is to act as a translation point for modules/units and qualifications between countries. An additional benefit of the TQF may be to discourage bogus providers, which are particularly active in trying to sell fake qualifications in the small states.

Historically Tongan educational achievements were impressive with high attendance rates for boys and girls and 98% literacy. However, Tonga and Vanuatu: Report of the Australian Parliamentary Delegation 2009 documents a gradual decline, partly to do with the standards of teaching and partly to do with resourcing. Public schools have been more affected than church run schools, which have better access to funds. The quality of education has dropped across all areas, but is particularly lacking in science, commerce and mathematics. The quality of teaching has fallen and the quality of training, including teacher training, through the University of the South Pacific (USP), has also declined. Secondary education is still very academically based. If a student is not going on to higher education they leave school early. There is little alternative technical training available. Some Tongan high school graduates need a bridging course to get into an Australian university, which is indicative of the poor standards being reached. To address the problem of decreasing educational standards, Tonga is recruiting more principals and senior teachers from New Zealand. AlthoughTonga is desperately in need of trade skills, the local aspirations are for higher level academic qualifications. Currently, there is no accreditation or certification in Tonga for trade skills.