Regional: Strengthening Education in the Pacific Region

Education / Education sector development - Education sector development - social protection initiatives - Pre-primary and primary - Pre-primary and primary - social protection initiatives - Secondary - Secondary - social protection initiatives - Technical and vocational education and training - Tertiary

While Pacific DMCs have made significant progress toward universal access to primary education, student learning outcomes remain poor. Results of the 2015 Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PILNA) show modest improvements, but greater effort is needed to strengthen learning as a foundational capacity that prepares young people for further education and work.

Moreover, quality of education remains a challenge despite an emphasis on quality improvement strategies in many DMCs. A number of constraints identified as impacting on quality include: economic, geographical and political constraints; coordination constraints; capacity and accountability constraints on teachers and education managers; data constraints; social constraints, including issues of gender inequality; and constraints relating to language of instruction. Several factors are thought to have contributed to progress including commitment by governments to development goals, partnerships at all levels, including those between DMCs and development partners, regional cooperation through high level forum and regional institutions, increasing demand for a qualified workforce; integrated national education planning and budgeting; school-based improvement initiatives; curriculum reform; and national polices for early childhood.

Pacific DMCs are all challenged by their remoteness, dispersion, and small economies vulnerable to climate change risks and shocks. Strengthened regional mechanisms that encourage Pacific regional institutions coordination and collaboration at the planning and implementation level are key to ensuring that limited financial resources are efficiently and effectively deployed. At the 2017 ADB Annual General Meeting, Pacific governors requested more Pacific-based solutions, underlining the importance of south-south learning and utilization of Pacific institutions and consultants.

Regionalism is critical, and the PACREF supports this well. The PacREF that was approved at the Forum Education Ministers Meeting in May 2018 provides the shared priorities for education and training in the region for the next 4 years, while also responding appropriately to global and regional demands. The four key policy areas identified are: (i) High quality, relevant programs are provided for all levels of education, (ii) Learners' needs are met through a broad range of programs and delivery modalities, (iii) Learners at all levels of education achieve their full potential, from early childhood education to skills development; and (iv) The teaching profession is supported and empowered through opportunities for continuous development, shared understanding and accountability. The PACREF was developed over two years by a small working group of the Pacific Heads of Education Systems, chaired by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, and funded by ADB with Global Partnership for Education financing. It will be governed to ensure continued Pacific country ownership. Development partners will pool and coordinate funding under the framework supporting a group of identified regional institutions in a coordinated delivery of agreed priority regional goods and services under the framework.

Lastly, access to quality and relevant education content that is contextually appropriate to the Pacific region has been a large challenge. Inroads have been made in this area with a few development partners, including ADB, trialing e-learning resources, and the potential usefulness of a regional platform to better promote ODFL have become clear.

Inclusive and equitable quality education ensured and lifelong learning opportunities for all promoted (Sustainable Development Goal 4)

Regional capacity to improve education outcomes in the Pacific enhanced

The PacREF facilitation unit (PFU) has assumed the role of coordinating key regional and international education agencies. Four key policy areas for regional education improvements were identified and an implementation plan developed and agreed by all PDMCs. Development of e-learning resources for STEM subjects was identified as a regional priority.

PACREF implementation supported

Regional repository and learning management platform for ODFL established

Small assessments, studies, and exchanges to expand knowledge development and program development supported.

Following the approval of the Education Sector Program Implementation Grant from the Global Partnership for Education, the PFU together with the four implementing agencies, the University of the South Pacific, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community through its Education Quality Assessment Programme, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, and UNICEF, have been steadily gaining momentum in the conducting activities towards the development of the regional goods under the four policy areas.

Following the inception meeting with the Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts (MEHA) in Q3 of 2021, an ICT Systems Design Engineer was mobilized and an in- country consultation was fielded recently together with the Chief Technical Advisor to commence the systems design.

The concept development and approval of TA 9807-PNG: Improved Technical Vocation Education and Training for Employment, has been supported. Additional priority regional studies have been identified: (i) education financing in selected Pacific countries, (ii) enabling equitable access to education, and (iii) learning loss and recovery from the impact of COVID-19.