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Voicing Pacific’s education progress on the international stage

The Pacific Community (SPC) presented the Pacific’s education progress in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 indicators at the 22nd Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) held in London. 

SPC’s Educational Quality and Assessment Programme’s Deputy Director, Seci Waqabaca, highlighted that the CCEM platform provides Pacific nations with the opportunity to contribute to and benefit from discussions on education policies and strategies. 

“This essentially helps in aligning their national education systems with global standards and innovations,” said Waqabaca. 

Traditionally, CCEM is held every three years and serves as a critical forum for close collaboration on the Commonwealth's education and learning agenda within the sustainable development priorities. 

This year’s CCEM was held on 16 and 17  May, with the theme, 'Driving Resilience, Equity, and Skills for an Inclusive Future', which aligns with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting's overarching theme, ‘One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Commonwealth’. 

The two-day meeting convened Ministers of Education of Commonwealth Member States to also discuss ways education could equip each nation to address pertinent challenges, build resilience, and promote sustainable development. 

“It also provides an opportunity for Pacific Island countries to gain access to educational resources, research, and expertise from across the Commonwealth. This can be invaluable in addressing local educational challenges and improving the quality of education,” said Waqabaca. 

In his presentation, Waqabaca highlighted the progress that the Pacific Island countries have achieved through the 2021 Pacific Island Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PILNA). 

To help provide context to the Commonwealth delegates present in London, Waqabaca compared the 2018 and 2021 PILNA results by explaining that “the 2018 findings showed 56% of Pacific primary students were proficient in literacy, and 74% were proficient in numeracy while 2021 results recorded 61% and 74% in reading and numeracy respectively.” 

The 2021 PILNA report also highlighted an increase in trained teachers compared to the 2018 report, stating that 78% of Pacific primary teachers and 71 % of secondary teachers were trained.  

Waqabaca’s presentation at the Commonwealth also included the Pacific’s resilient efforts to strengthen the quality of education across the blue Pacific continent. This included the interventions identified through PILNA on ways to improve the region’s literacy and numeracy levels of primary school students in the region. 

In his presentation, Waqabaca explained some proposed ways forward that would help the region achieve the SDG 4 targets- to strive to provide children and youth with a nurturing environment for the full realisation of their rights and capabilities. 

SPC will continue to support the Pacific in education matters and be the region’s voice to the international community.