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SDG 4 Quality Education
Despite limited national budgets, remote, isolated and disbursed populations the provision of quality education in the Pacific has improved, with most PICTs close to achieving gender parity in primary enrolment. The majority of PICTs have consistently shown above 80 percent net enrolment rates with any exceptions trending in the 70-77 percentile, demonstrating improvement since 2014. The focus has now shifted to quality and relevance; learning pathways inclusive of lifelong learning; early childhood care and education (ECCE); and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET)/Post-secondary education and training.
Education data is not consistently available at secondary level, however, the latest available data at lower secondary levels has a gross enrolment rate (GER) in the range of 63-113 with a median of 98 across the region. These rates drop considerably at senior secondary level. Across the region, national education systems have increased the number of years of education, with basic education now set at the level of at least 8 years of ECCE/primary education.
The quality and relevance of education needs to improve, to address the growing number of out of- school children and adolescents, and to support the transition of young people from school to work. Based on the latest available data from 15 PICTs, the percentage of out of school children at the primary level ranges from 0-37 percent, the range at lower secondary increases to 0 – 62 percent of all school age children. The Gender Parity Index (GPI) in both cases suggests that more girls are affected. However, by the lower secondary level the range is closer to parity and the participation of young men in education starts to be of concern in specific countries. Pacific governments are giving greater attention to issues of quality, where results such as literacy and numeracy have not made the expected gains for all. There is a renewed focus on lifelong learning and both ECCE and post-secondary education and training are being incorporated into education systems. It is also recognised that changes in the approach to learning will require changes in teaching methods and deeper understanding of pedagogy by teachers.
COVID-19 as well as natural hazards called upon the importance of increasing resilience in education systems through transition to distance and blended learning utilizing multimedia. It is understood that changes in approaches to learning will require changes to approaches in teaching and the use of appropriate pedagogy is a focus. The quality issue is paramount in the discussion on the policy area of teachers. Over half of the countries in the Pacific region have developed and/or reviewed teacher professional standards in the last decade. The challenge comes in the implementation of such systems and how they are used for the continuous development of the profession.
The agenda for education in the Pacific is changing to recognize the increasing need to develop non-cognitive skills in young people to respond to changing communities, labour markets and the broader impacts of climate change on the region. Building both transformative and soft skills amongst young Pacific people identified within both SDG4.7 and as the SAMOA pathway. It is a significant challenge for many countries in its definition, integration into learning programmes, at all levels, and assessment. Further work is required on curriculum review, including TVET and post-secondary curricula along with ensuring the relevant teaching approaches to both the Pacific student and the curriculum content are developed and supported. Education for Sustainable Development in the Pacific, whilst being cognizant of its base in Climate Change as well as Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience, is underpinned in understanding and approach from a cultural and traditional knowledge lens.
Very little data is available on TVET and post-secondary education and training in the region. Tracking of learners across education will increase in its importance as participation increases so that forecasts can be made with some certainty and the requisite resourcing identified. It is important to track learners as well as ensure the coherence of TVET programmes and employability.
