<div class="title"><a href="http://www.forumsec.org.fj/pages.cfm/newsroom/press-statements/2010/outcomes-of-8th-forum-education-ministers-meeting.html">Outcomes of the 8th Forum Education Ministers' Meeting</a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>8TH PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM EDUCATION MINISTERS’ MEETING</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>PORT MORESBY, PAPUA NEW GUINEA</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>13 – 14 OCTOBER 2010</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>PRESS RELEASE (99/10)<br>
14th October 2010</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>OUTCOMES OF FORUM EDUCATION MINISTERS’ MEETING</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p>The 8th meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum Ministers of Education
was held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 13 – 14 October 2010 to
consider issues related to the implementation and enhancement of the
Pacific Education Development Framework (PEDF) and to deliberate on the
theme: “Sustaining Education in the Pacific through Regionalism”.</p>
<p><br>
Ministers of Education from the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM),
Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Papua
New Guinea together with representatives from Australia, the Cook
Islands, Marshall, Nauru, New Zealand and Palau attended the meeting.
PNG’s Minister of Education, Hon. James Marape chaired the two-day
meeting.</p>
<p><br>
Representatives of Council of Regional Organisations for the Pacific
including the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), South Pacific
Board for Educational Assessment (SPBEA), University of the South
Pacific (USP), Australia Aid for International Development (AusAID), the
New Zealand Development Group (formerly NZAid), the United Nations
Education, Social and Culture Organisation (UNESCO), United Nations
International Children and Education Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), Oceania National Olympic Committee (ONOC)
and the Asian Development Bank attended the meeting.</p>
<p><br>
The Education Ministers expressed deep appreciation for the announcement
by the Government of Papua Guinea during the occasion of their meeting
the 20 scholarships each year for the next five years for students and
youth from the region and PNG to study at Papua New Guinea educational
institutions.<br>
</p>
<p>The Ministers acknowledged the pivotal role education plays in the
development of countries in the region and urged governments to allocate
the necessary level of resources to the sector. They also urged
regional institutions, development partners and other educational
deliverers in the region to work together with member governments on
implementation of the Pacific Education Development Framework (PEDF)
endorsed at their meeting in Tonga last year. The Framework’s
underpinning philosophy is to nurture, develop and prepare all children
in the region to be able to live life to the full, participating
effectively in national development, maintaining their traditional and
cultural identities and be able to live sustainably within the impacts
of globalization.</p>
<p><br>
The Education Ministers endorsed the proposed strategy for implementing
the PEDF which strongly emphasises giving priority to country level
activities. The intention is for greater support to be provided to
countries through direct intervention by donors and development
partners, or by way of regional programmes through collaboration amongst
regional and international organizations and partner agencies,
operating within the region.</p>
<p><br>
Under the PEDF Implementation Strategy endorsed by the Ministers, three
stages of activities will be undertaken in support of national efforts
in implementing the Framework including a Baseline Survey to obtain
accurate and valid information on the needs and status of education
systems in the Forum island countries. A baseline survey questionnaire
has already been sent to FICs in June of this year and all countries are
expected to return their questionnaires by the end of this year.</p>
<p><br>
The second stage of the PEDF implementation strategy is for FICs to
integrate the priorities of the Framework into the work programmes of
the countries through the inclusion and alignment of the PEDF objectives
into national strategic development plans of FICs.</p>
<p><br>
The third stage of the implementation strategy at the country level is
that as the FICs progress in their efforts towards meeting educational
goals, supported by external assistance through the strategies of the
PEDF, it is imperative that countries maintain the relevance and
linkages of what they are doing in relation to their overall national
education priorities.</p>
<p><br>
On the regional level, the PEDF implementation strategy stipulates that a
small number of projects focusing on meeting major challenges in
education will be implemented by existing educational institutions and
organisations in the region. It is anticipated that with the development
and implementation of these regional programmes, they will add value to
the efforts of FICs and enable them to benefit substantially.</p>
<p><br>
The Forum Education Ministers called for a strengthening of the
coordination of efforts of regional and international agencies that are
participating in the implementation of the PEDF. Their programmes must
be aligned to the national priorities of FICs in education and must add
value and complement national efforts.</p>
<p><br>
The Ministers endorsed a monitoring and evaluation framework for the
implementation of PEDF to track the progress and achievements of the
initiatives under the Framework. They agreed that the Pacific Islands
Forum Secretariat will need to enhance its oversight and coordination
role in coordinating the efforts and programmes of regional,
international and development partners in the area of education.</p>
<p><br>
The Forum Education Ministers urge all regional organizations, aid
donors, development partners and multilateral agencies delivering
educational services in the Pacific region to engage with the FICs in
the implementation of the PEDF implementation strategy.</p>
<p><br>
The 9th Forum Education Ministers’ Meeting will be held in Vanuatu in May 2012.<br>
</p>
<p>ENDS.<br>
</p>
<p>For media enquiries, contact Mr Johnson Honimae, the Forum
Secretariat’s Public Affairs Officer on phone 675 73746587 or email:
<a href="mailto:johnsonh@forumsec.org.fj">johnsonh@forumsec.org.fj</a> or <a href="mailto:johnson.honimae@gmail.com">johnson.honimae@gmail.com</a></p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse;">-- <br>
Michael Hutak<br>Director, Oceania<br>One Laptop per Child<br><a href="http://www.laptop.org/" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 204);" target="_blank">www.laptop.org</a><br><a href="http://olpcoceania.blogspot.com/" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 204);" target="_blank">http://olpcoceania.blogspot.com</a><br>
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