During the past decade the Government has signed a number of international conventions and declarations that formalise the Cook Islands commitment to equitable access to relevant, quality education for all its citizens.

The Cook Islands ratified the CRC on 6 June 1997, thereby making a commitment to the child’s right to education. Article 28 of CRC establishes that right. Education is recognised to be essential for all children. The article stresses the right must be achieved on the basis of equal opportunity". This in summary includes:

Making primary education compulsory and available free to all;

Promoting the different forms of secondary education and vocational education;

Making higher education accessible to all;

Making educational and vocational information readily available; and

Taking measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and reducing dropout rates.

The Cook Islands endorsed the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo in September 1994. As such, the Government pledged:

To achieve universal access to quality education, with particular priority being given to primary and technical education and job training, to combat illiteracy and to eliminate gender disparities in access to, retention in, and support for, education;

To promote non-formal education for young people, guaranteeing equal access for women and men to literacy centres; and

To introduce and improve the content of the curriculum so as to promote greater responsibility and awareness on the interrelationships between population and sustainable development; health issues, including reproductive health; and gender equity.

The Cook Islands acceded to the CEDAW in 1984. By doing so, the Government acknowledges the strategic objectives contained within CEDAW relating to the elimination of gender discrimination against girls and women. These include:

Ensuring equal access to education;

Eradicating illiteracy among women;

Improving women’s access to vocational training, science and technology and continuing education;

Developing non-discriminatory education and training;

Allocating sufficient resources to monitor the implementation of educational reforms.

The Cook Islands was a signatory to 1995 Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and thereby, pledged their commitment to the rights and goals relating to education that are contained in this declaration. In summary these are:

The right of all children to education;

That school discipline will be administered in a manner consistent with the child’s dignity;

To encourage the international cooperation in education especially to eliminate ignorance and illiteracy;

That the education of the child should be directed to developing the personality of the child, their talents and mental and physical abilities: developing respect for the child’s parents, cultural identity, language and values; preparing the child for responsible life in a free society and developing respect for the natural environment.

In 1998, 26 of the 36 schools in the Cook Islands catered for pre-school students. These comprised 20 government schools and 6 private schools. Two schools (both private) catered solely for pre-school students, 10 catered for pre-school and primary students, and 14 catered for pre-school, primary and secondary students. In 1998, 74 % of pre-school students were enrolled in Government schools. The majority of the students (57 %) lived on Rarotonga. Other than official schools, the only recognised early childhood programme is conducted at the Ngaei Tou Memorial Centre on Rarotonga. The centre is operated by the Disabled Persons Society and catered for 12 special needs pre-school students in 1996. A number of private Child Care centres operate on Rarotonga but no information is available on their programs or the number of children they cater for.

The Education Sector Action Plan aimed to achieve enrolment ratios of 90 % by 1996 and 100 % by 2001. However there is no indication of any progress towards achieving these goals. The 1997 gross enrolment ratio was 64.2 %. This is 7.8 % less than the 1991 gross enrolment ratio of 69.6 %. Total enrolment also decreased by 16% between 1996 and 1997 and no significant improvement has been recorded in subsequent years.

The significantly higher enrolment ratio of females (69.2) compared to males (59.4) is reflected in the Gender Parity Index of 1.2 . In all regions the gross enrolment ratio for females exceeds the ratio for males with only the Southern Group approaching parity. However the Southern Group parity is due to low ratios for both males and females rather than higher male enrolments.

The Northern Group, not only has the highest overall gross enrolment ratio (72.9), but also has the highest ratio for both females (82.1) and males (66.7). The Southern Group has the lowest ratios for males, females and overall.

The reasons for differences in regional and gender enrolment ratios are not known and will need to be investigated in order to restore parity for males and to increase the overall national enrolment ratios.

Preschool enrolment in the Cook Islands from 1993 to 1996 remained relatively constant at about 530 students. In 1996, the Cook Islands began to feel the impact of the economic crisis. One year later, the preschool enrolment had decreased by 83 students or 16%. The total decrease in the Cook Islands population during the same period is estimated at 8 %.

No reliable data is available on early childhood attendance by new entrants to primary Grade 1. In July 1999, the Ministry of Education sent a survey form to all schools in the Cook Islands requesting information on the number of Grade 1 new entrants, who had attended at least 200 hours of some form of organised early childhood development programme. At the time of writing, insufficient responses had been received to present any indicative figures.

The 1992 Education Sector Action Plan recommended the development of a new early childhood curriculum framework by 1993. This was achieved in 1998 with the publication of the "Draft Policy Framework for Early Childhood Education in the Cook Islands". This document established the new curriculum elements (subjects) for early childhood education in the Cook Islands and also established specific objectives and strategies to develop a more effective and efficient early childhood education sector. The draft policy advocated :

improving the quality of early childhood education teaching by preparing and implementing a curriculum statement for early childhood education in the Cook Islands and by developing and providing a variety of educational resources to support the new curriculum.

increasing the number of trained teachers by establishing a pre-service training course for early childhood teachers and providing in-service training assistance.

improving early childhood quality by the provision of better information about ongoing development of the early childhood sector.

improving the education of pre-school children by promoting awareness amongst parents and in communities of the parent’s role as the first educator of their children.

A target of the 1992 Education Sector Action Plan was the provision of training for 100 % of early childhood teachers. By 1998 all 31 early childhood teachers in the Cook Islands had received training relevant to the new policy framework.

A comprehensive program was initiated in 1997 as part of the Education Development Project. In April 1997, 14 participants were involved in a 2 day planning workshop and another 26 participants were involved in a National 4 day planning workshop. In October 1998, 38 participants attended a National workshop on Early Childhood Curriculum implementation. On-island training has been initiated with a workshop on Mangaia for 11 participants. The Ministry of Education employs an Early Childhood Education Adviser who continues to provide advice and training opportunities for Early Childhood teachers throughout the Cook Islands.

The Education Sector Action Plan recommended an increased percentage of the education budget be allocated to early childhood and primary school education. Recent data does not include expenditure on post secondary education therefore no direct comparison can be made between previous and current percentage shares. However a recent cost analysis indicates that expenditure per preschool student in 1997/1998 may be more than double that recorded between 1991 and 1995. However this conclusion is tentative due to probable differences in reporting methods.

(2) Calculated from total education expenditure from the "Cook Islands Annual Statistical Bulletin June 1999", Statistics Office, Ministry of Finance and Economic Management

(3) Ministry of Education's Directorate of Planning and Finance, August 1999

Government expenditure on early childhood education from 1991 to 1994 remained relatively constant at about $NZ 176, 000 or $NZ 340 per enrolled student. The methods used by the Ministry of Education prior to 1996 to determine actual expenditure by level is unclear. Changes to the budget process and the devolution of outer island schools to the Ministry of Outer Islands Development in the second half of the decade prevent the precise determination of expenditure by level of education. However a cost analysis conducted in December 1998 by the Ministry of Education’s Directorate of Planning and Finance estimated total government expenditure on preschool education in 1997/98 at $NZ 363, 696. This equates to 6.1 % of the total education budget (excluding post secondary education) and an average of $NZ 791 per preschool pupil.

The government has established schools on all permanently inhabited islands to provide education from Grade 1 to at least Grade 10 (Form 4). This education is "free" in that students are provided with free stationery and the payment of school fees is not compulsory. Private schools also provide basic education for students on Rarotonga and on 3 of the Southern Group islands. In 1998, there were 2, 711 primary school students (Grades 1 – 6) and 3, 955 basic education students (Grades 1 – 10).

The Apparent Intake Rate (AIR) in the Cook Islands is the number of Grade 1 new entrants divided by the number of 5 year old children in the country. The legal requirement for children aged from 5 to 15 to attend school implies that a fundamental goal of education in the Cook Islands is that all 5 year old children will be enrolled for primary school education. The Apparent Intake Rate of 104.0 % and an analysis of the Net Intake Rate confirm that virtually all 5 year old children are enrolled in the education system.

In the Cook Islands there are 3 intakes of Grade 1 students each year. These are usually in February, May and August. Four year old children are permitted to enrol if their birthday occurs soon after the month of enrolment. The enrolment data used for statistical purposes, including this report, is taken in March and therefore records Grade 1 enrolment from the February intake only. It is expected that the Grade 1 roll would increase with each successive intake during the year.

The 1997 Apparent (Gross) Intake Rate (AIR) for the Cook Islands was 104.0 % indicating that the total number of Grade 1 new entrants exceeded the official school entrance age (5 year old) population. The high AIR value is mainly due to a large number of 4 year old children being enrolled at Grade 1 level. Four year olds, in fact, make up 37 % of Grade 1 new entrant enrolments.

The relatively low AIR of 92.6 % in the Northern Group is due to the very low female AIR of 78.1 % . An analysis of the raw data shows that the low values are due to Grade 1 repetition and the small population exaggerating variations, rather than any significant problem with access to education. The total number of 5 year old females in this region was 32 of which 29 were enrolled in schools ( 2 in preschool and 27 in Grade 1). Only 3 female children are not enrolled in a school but due to the small population size the effect on ratio values is a significant 9 point reduction.

The Net Intake Rate (NIR) of 64.1 % simply indicates that about 64 % of 5 year olds are new entrants to Grade 1. A further 30% of 5 year olds are enrolled in Grade 1 as repeaters and about 7 % are enrolled in Grade 2. Therefore, virtually all 5 year olds in the Cook Islands are enrolled in schools.

It is a legal requirement for all children aged from 5 to 15 to attend school. The Gross Enrolment Ratio of 111.4 % for primary level and an analysis of the Net Enrolment Ratio confirm that virtually all 5 – 10 year old children are enrolled in the education system. In terms of basic education (G1 – 10), 98.6 % of 5 – 14 year old children are enrolled at school with less than 60 children (0.4 %) not complying with the legal requirement of school attendance.

In 1997 the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for Cook Islands primary schools was 111.4 % i.e. the Grade 1 – 6 roll exceeded the total population of 5 – 10 year old children by 11.4 %. Underage students (less than 5 years) and overage students (more than 10 years) account for the GER exceeding 100. The GER of 111.4 % is the sum of 5 – 10 year olds (98.3 %), underage students (6.8 %) and overage students (6.3 %).

All regions recorded GER values over 100 % for both males and females. The overall gender parity index of 1.0 indicates equal access to education for both sexes with the slightly lower female ratios in the Northern Group and Rarotonga generally balancing the higher female ratio in the Southern Group.

The gross enrolment ratio for basic education is 102.8 % with no significant difference between males and females.