Progress towards EFA goals and targets (1990-1999): cont

e] Gross enrolment ratio – Class 1-6: Gender

Table 13

Looking at gross enrolment rates for males and females, in 1998 the gross enrolment rate for females is slightly higher that that for males. Previously, in 1996 and 1997, the rates for females were lower than those for males. It would appear that females have improved access to basic education in comparison with males.

f] Gross enrolment ratio – Class 1-8: Gender

Table 14

The gross enrolment ratio for Classes 1 to 8 show that females rate significantly higher than males. This possibly shows that the females have a better retention rate that the males up to Class 8 and Form 2.

a] Net primary enrolment ratio: Class 1-6

Table 15

b] Net primary enrolment ratio: Class 1-8

Table 16

Tables 15 and 16 illustrate the net drop in enrolment rate between the year 6 and 8, possibly linked to the examination system.

1] As a percentage of GDP

There is no data to illustrate this indicator

2] Per pupil, as a percentage of GNP per capita

There is no data to illustrate this indicator

Table 17

The total commitment of the Government of Fiji to basic education is well illustrated in the above table.

The academic qualification required to enter primary teacher-training college is Form 7. Most of those who do not have the required qualification are those who have entered teacher training while the qualification for entry was lower, Form 5 or Form 6

Table 18

According to national standards and ministry policies only those with primary teacher-training certificates from a recognised teacher training college are allowed to teach in primary schools in Fiji.

Table 19

There is no available data to illustrate this indicator

This indicator looks at the ideal number of pupil years required to yield a number of graduates from a given pupil cohort in primary education as a percentage of the number of pupil years spent to produce the same number of graduates.

Table 20

An evident trend is that girls have continued to show better figures in terms of performance in

The figures under review and questions will need to be asked as to the reasons for this trend.

There is no available data to illustrate this indicator

7.1 The independent system of education practised in Fiji today has evolved significantly from the external colonial system on which it was originally based. Although recognising the foundation of schooling established by our foreign partners the people of the Fiji Islands have, over the years, strived to develop a system of education and a curriculum which is responsive to local needs and which is indelibly stamped with its own local content and context.

7.2 In 1969 the Fiji commissioned Education Report outlined a set of proposed directions for education in Fiji to support the country in its first steps as an independent nation. Reflecting the knowledge, understanding and needs of education at that time the commission provided an invaluable analysis of the most pressing requirements in education and provided impetus to a series of significant reforms and innovation. Teacher training was improved and extended, a locally based curriculum was developed and introduced and a reliance on overseas examinations replaced with an internal system which can hold its own in selection for further education and training, both within the country and abroad.

7.3 Alongside the recommendations of the Education Commission our system of education was also responding to the emerging needs of Fiji as an independent nation. Significant financial resources of government were directed towards the improvement of access to education for all citizens of Fiji, increasing contributions to the basic educational costs for students at both primary and secondary level and a substantial increase in the number of schools to ensure basic educational coverage for all.

7.4 In direct response to community demand we have seen expansion in both early childhood education and secondary school provision. Notable too is the increasing demand for, and provision, of senior secondary education and an increasing emphasis on vocational studies in addition to preparation for higher education.

7.5 Although much has already been achieved the challenges of the next century demand that we continue to respond to changing educational and community needs and seek further development of our system of education.

7.6 Education Fiji 2020 recognises the considerable achievements of the past and seeks to build upon them. It also recognises the importance of keeping pace with the accelerating rate of social and technological change and adapting to the needs of the future. It seeks to build upon the existing strengths of our education system and poses some significant changes. In meeting these changes Fiji will all have to be responsive to new needs, flexible when addressing problems and achieve excellence throughout

7.7 A major feature of the education system in Fiji is community ownership and management of schools. Often in the face of economic hardship and adversity, communities cooperate to provide significant human, physical and financial resources to the education of young people.

7.8 A strength of this system of school ownership has been and continues to be the capacity for schools to be responsive to the local community and environment. It also engenders parental commitment and partnership in education at all levels and demonstrates to young people the exceptional value which is placed upon teaching and learning in the lives of all our citizens.

8.1 The Role of the Ministry Of Education and Technology

The role of the Ministry of Education and technology is to provide the curriculum frameworks, policy guidelines and directions and qualified teaching personnel which will support all schools in the delivery of quality of education for students. The Ministry is also charged with responsibility for ensuring that standards in education are met and maintained and that human, physical and financial resources are appropriately directed.

8.2 The Role of School Management and Administration

Operating within the requirements of the Education Act and the School’s Constitution, School Management and administration support and assist schools in their educational delivery. They have a primary responsibility to ensure the well functioning of financial and physical resources and determine development directions in relation to these resources.

8.3 Educational Principles

Student learning is at the heart of everything we do. All teaching, learning and care are underpinned by the commitment to the following principles:

• A recognition of the need for and importance of partnerships in all elements of

All educational provision in Fiji is based upon a core of intrinsic and enduring values. These are:

• Honesty, fairness and respect for truth and justice

9.1 Fiji must enter the new millenium with an education system which will do justice to students, society and ourselves. Worldwide and rapid changes in all areas of our lives, social, demographic, economic, political and environmental require a forward thinking and progressive response from the education sector.

9.2 Education lies at the cross-road between the past and the future. Its role is not only to prepare young people for change but to help determine the changes which will occur.

9.3 There is world-wide recognition and acknowledgment that the nature and provision of education is fundamental to:

• human advancement

• social cohesion

• economic development

• public policy

• sustainable competitiveness

• environmental sustainability and

• the construction of world peace

It is our responsibility to ensure that the system of education addresses each of these fundamentals.

9.4 As adults, students will need to resolve complex problems and address compelling issues. This will include improving and enhancing the quality of our Fiji island lifestyle in a way which conserves our bountiful environment and which creates a just and equitable society for all Fiji Islanders. Equally, they will need to be informed and active citizens of both Fiji and the world.

9.5 In education, we have a particular responsibility to prepare students for the challenges of the future and to address these challenges in our curriculum, school organization and activities at all levels. This will only be possible through long-term planning and action with the community and other agencies to redefine and refocus educational purposes and goals.

9.6 The changes and challenges which follow have been identified as key issues which are crucial to planning in Fiji education for the coming millenium. They are changes and challenges both local and global which are having an unprecedented impact on all aspects of community lives.

9.7 The Changes Impacting on Education

• Increasing urban drift and expansion
• A diminishing rural population, particularly in the more isolated rural areas where services and infrastructure are limited.
• Substantial emigration of skilled labour, including educators.
• A current youthful profile to the population but low fertility rates and the prospect of increased decline.

• A commitment to national unity, social cohesion and political stability.
• Recognition of the multicultural nature of society and the beginning of new relationships between the different ethnic communities based on shared values, social justice and the protection of everyone’s interests and rights.
• Recognition and acknowledgment of women’s contribution to the labour market and to civic and social life.

• Increasing inequities in the distribution of wealth and access to resources and infrastructure.

• Changes in the nature of communities as a result of increasing urbanization and greater mobility including the roles of men and women and traditional family structures.

• An increasingly global operating environment and a recognition of the need to be competitive both locally and globally in the provision of products and services.
• A decline in the markets for traditional export products and the need to establish new industries which meet the demands of changing global markets.
• Rapid changes in the nature of work and its environment requiring greater flexibility, adaptability, positive attitudes and teamwork and a culture of continuous learning.
• Structural changes in the formal sector of the labour market with a decline in demand for unskilled labour and the requirement for higher levels of education for entry, skills training and the capacity for lifelong learning.
• Recognition of the potential for growth in the informal sector of the labour market and for self employment and enterprise initiatives which can help to sustain lifestyles and living standards.
• Increasing demands for participation in paid employment to establish and maintain improved living standards.

• Recognition that the environment our natural resources are not finite and that strategic action is necessary to ensure their conservation.

• Concern both locally and globally for the preservation, protection and improvement of the natural environment.

• Quantum advances in science and telecommunications which are transforming the way we live, work and socialize.
• The need for increasingly higher levels of technological competence in all areas.

• The potential for alternate energy sources utilizing natural resources such as the sun, the sea and the wind which could extend learning opportunities in isolated communities.
• The creation of a global community of learners and new ways of participating in learning.

• Increasing demand for and participation in education at all levels; from Pre-school to Post compulsory and Tertiary Education.
• Increasing community expectation that education will provide a means of social and economic advancement and concern to ensure that the curriculum is relevant and responsive to this need.
• The requirement for education to address civic and social concerns and to promote human values.
• Recognition of the role of education to support nation building and support human resource development.
• Concerns for equity and access in the provision of human, physical and financial resources.
• The requirement for improved efficiency and greater accountability for resources and outcomes in all areas of the public sector.

It can be seen that considerable progress has been made over the decade. More students are in aschools at all levels, more communities are participating in the support of their children’s education and more funding is being provided for schooling. Primary education, in particular, has made remarkable progress and the specific efforts to develop early childhood education [funding, teacher training, parental assistance,] are another feature of the decade. In general, however, all levels and types of education have been expanded over the last 10-15 years.

10.1 The Fiji Cabinet in September 1993 noted the concern that the ‘current level of per capita grant to primary schools is so grossly inadequate, that many schools have resorted to levying extra charges on pupils, and that this has led to many children from needy families opting out of school’.

10.2 Cabinet further noted that the current scheme ‘greatly disadvantages island and remote rural area schools’.

10.3 Cabinet endorsed the proposed grant structure and also approved the increase in rate and the funds sought to implement the scheme to provide basic education to everyone in keeping with the World Declaration on Education for All by the year 2000.

10.4 Tuition fee free primary education was introduced for the first time in 1973, where government paid a grant of $F12.00 per pupil enrolled in Class 1. Thereafter, an additional class came into the scheme and it progressed until the 1973 group reached Class 6. In other words, by 1978 all primary school children from Classes 1 to 6 received fee-free education.

10.5 After a lapse of two years, government in 1981 extended the provision to include Class 7 and Class 8 pupils the year after, which meant that in 1982 all primary school children in Classes 1 to 8 received fee free education and this has continued ever since.

10.6 The community acknowledges with gratitude this policy which has benefited so many and assisted parents, but it is been apparent that with he spiraling costs of providing good education, the $F12.00 per child per year is insufficient to cater for basic needs. Hence Cabinet’s revision of the policy in September 1993 mentioned earlier which saw fee free grants to schools as follows :

• a fixed amount of $F3,500.00 for schools with less than 50 pupils

• a fixed amount of $F4,000.00 for schools with 50 – 99 pupils

• a fixed amount of $F4,500.00 for schools with 100 – 149 pupils

• a fixed amount of $F30.00 per child per year for schools with 150 or more pupils

Ministry spending under the scheme amounted to $F5.2 million in 1994.

10.7 The Compulsory Education Regulation as specified in the Education Act Chapter 262, Section 28 (2) came into force on 20^th January 1997.The Compulsory Education Order stipulates that all children of compulsory school age within Fiji shall have compulsory education.

10.8 ‘Compulsory school attendance’ requires that school attendance at Class 1 shall be compulsory for all children turning six years old by 30 June of any year. Children shall be required to remain at school until they have completed Class 8 or Form 2 level education, or at the end of the year the child turns fifteen years of age.

10.9 Under the Compulsory Education Regulations, it shall be the duty of the parent(s) or guardian(s) of every child of compulsory school age to ensure that he or she receives suitable and relevant education by regular attendance at a school unless one of the following prevents the said child from doing so :

1. there is no school within walking distance of the child’s place of residence
2. the parent(s) or guardian(s) make(s) other arrangements deemed by the Minister for Education to be suitable and efficient for the education of the child
3. the child has completed the required levels of primary education
4. the child is prevented from attending school through sickness or other unavoidable cause(s)

10.10 It is anticipated that it will take four years to fully implement Compulsory Education in all nine Fiji Education districts, where the scheduled implementation phasing has been planned to be as follows :

1997: Ra Education District

1998: Eastern Education District

1999: Nausori Education District

2000: Suva Education District

10.11 Funding for Compulsory Education has been directed mainly towards the improvement of boarding facilities and general classroom maintenance. For reasons of geographical isolation in the rural areas and daily travel considerations for some children, boarding is seen as a possible if not the best solution to difficulties of access to schools in the affected areas.

10.12 Through Compulsory Education, schools (and children) in the above mentioned areas have benefited markedly with improvements to classroom and hostel facilities which we believe will in some way assist in child retention in schools so as to fulfill the objectives as set out in the Regulation.

10.13 On school staff training and development, strategies outlined as Key Result Area 4 in the Ministry’s 1999 Corporate Plan include :

• upgrade Lautoka Teachers’ College’s primary teacher training capacity

• identify training needs

• assess annual teacher training intake

• formulate and implement staff development plans

• review teacher training curricula

• conduct short in-service courses

• document all in-service courses planned for year 2000

• advise scholarship boards

• advise Ministry of Finance of training funding requirements

10.14 Key Result Area 6 on the revision of primary school texts, strategies include work group drafting and school trials/revision. Texts have been revised, printed and distributed to schools.

10.15 On access to quality education with the objective being high levels of literacy acquisition, strategies include :

• implementation of government policy on tuition fee assistance and compulsory education as earlier discussed

• implementation of special projects to raise literacy levels e.g. Basic Education and Literacy Support (BELS) and Basic Education Management and Teacher Upgrading Project (BEMTUP)

• improve pre-school participation and readiness for primary education via rural pre-school support and NZODA pre-school project

10.16 On research and review (Key Result Area 7), to meet the objective of responsiveness to changing demands, strategies include the strengthening of research capacity and periodic review and development of curricula. On systems development, the objective is continual development and review of systems to ensure efficiency and that opportunities are maximized to benefit students; and the strategies implemented to achieve these include :

• review examination procedures for Fiji Intermediate and Fiji Eighth Year (Class 8) Examinations

• review of Lautoka Teachers’ College (Fiji’s government primary teacher training institute)

• board of teacher registration establishment

• extension of compulsory education to Forms 3 & 4 (years 14 and 15)

• schools’ review improvement