The Government of Tuvalu through the Department of Education has given priority and is convinced that human resource development, especially through education and training, has a key role to play in the future prosperity of the nation. The broad mission of the human resource development strategy (including education and training) is to enable future economic growth, to ensure efficient and effective delivery of education and training services, and to provide for long term sustainability.

Early Childhood care in Tuvalu has always been something that all families in Tuvalu do. Caring for younger members of the family has always been, and still is, the major role of older members of the family or the community in general (aunts and grandparents). Tuvalu through its educational programs has reinforced and emphasized the importance of their roles and contributions in caring for their children. Awareness programs for parents have been reinforced through the Basic Education Life Skills (BELS), especially its Community Support component, where parents are made more aware of their particular roles at home.

Government’s overall policy is to provide equal access to education and training to all Tuvaluans, including women and those in the remote islands of the country.

Children from three to five years including handicapped, have equal access to a program of pre-school education which will, in time, be linked to the Primary sector. Participation in this program will be on a voluntary basis. It is important to note here that we do not have groups of children who are, for the purpose of this document, classified by terms as ‘disadvantaged or poor’.

Funding to pre-schools has been part of the Government’s contribution to give its assistance paying salaries of teachers, as well as giving proper educational guidance related to curriculum and teachers’ training. The responsibility for the overhead running of the schools still lies with parents and the community.

Our short and medium goal is to construct school buildings for all pre-schools and provide 100% of well-qualified teachers teaching in schools.

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to increase financial assistance to all pre-schools.

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to expand its pre-school enrolment scheme to include a greater percentage of 3-5 year olds.

 Primary Education

The broad goal of the Government of Tuvalu, under its Education for Life program, was to create an open education system of quality education which provides all Tuvaluans with equal access to the knowledge, skills and values which are necessary to achieve a higher degree of productivity and self-reliance within the framework of Tuvalu culture and tradition. This goal has been implemented since early the 1990’s. A minimum of ten years compulsory education has been provided for all Tuvaluans between the ages of 6 and 15. This corresponds to the completion of school from classes 1 to 10, eight years at primary and the two first years at secondary. The short and medium term aim is the full participation in the first four years of secondary education, classes 7 to 10, plus selective, but expanded, access to senior secondary schooling, classes 11 to 13 (Form 7 or class 13).

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to improve the quality of education to assist all students to gain a better education towards becoming useful members of the community.

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to continue to strengthen and increase the administration of the education system.

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to continue to make community involvement in education a priority.

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to continue improvements to school buildings and facilities.

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to further improve teacher-training opportunities.

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to improve educational provision for people with special needs.

Under Tuvalu’s Education for Life Program’s the goal is to provide ten years of education for all Tuvaluans, explained in (ii) above. Students are given a general education in these ten years. In the meantime, only 30% to 40% of those at Year 10 managed to progress upward to Year 11 after sitting a National Examination at that stage (Year 10). Our short and medium term goal is to increase the number of students passing the National Year 10 Examination between the range of 60% to 70%.

The Government of Tuvalu will ensure that Tuvaluan students receive the highest level of learning possible in English, Tuvaluan, basic maths and basic science.

The Government of Tuvalu will establish a national testing program for all primary schools.

Apart from formal education where individuals acquire knowledge and skills in order to improve their life style, Government have also provided learning through in-country workshops, both on a national scale as well as local scale – island based. Radio programs are another means of sharing skills and knowledge. Here the Government departments disseminate knowledge to the public from within their own circle.

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to maximize the benefits of learning by ensuring that the people of Tuvalu have access to the mass media.

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to assist educators to receive training in the use of the mass media.

The Government of Tuvalu will cooperate with other agencies to create workshops and seminars in the areas of Health (for example, HIV/AIDs, Family Planning, Nutrition etc), Environmental/Coastal control and other areas of importance and concern to the public of Tuvalu.

What remains to be done at this stage is for the government to ensure the continuity of the EFA/EFL program. A select committee under the Ministry of Education should be formed and it should comprise of a representative from all Government ministries, non-governmental organisations and the private sector. The committee should meet occasionally to assess the on going activities of the EFA/EFL program and to see that the activities that are implemented contribute to the goals of the program. The committee should be responsible to the Minister of Education and all reports from this committee should be channeled to the minister for approval.

1.1 Just before the EFA Declaration was adopted by the World Conference for All in 1990, a similar program almost identical in nature, known as Education for Life (EFL), had already been implemented on 10 October 1988, in Tuvalu. However, when the new program, EFA, was brought into Tuvalu, both programs merged explicitly well together and therefore implementation of goals and objectives worked side by side. However, despite this coincidence, Tuvalu Ministry of Education was just on the verge of getting ready to start working in the direction that had been spelt out in the EFL white paper.

The EFL goals and objectives were decided by a National Task Force, which comprised of representatives from all government ministries, churches and other non-governmental organisations. The goals and objectives were discussed in cabinet and therefore full endorsement of EFL white paper was granted.

1.2 The broad goal of the EFL programme is to: "Restructure the education system to align it more closely with the aspirations and overall needs of the country, while drawing from and supporting essential elements of the Tuvalu culture".

1.3 The main thrust of EFL programme is to provide compulsory quality education necessary for the development, achievement, and sustenance of Tuvalu’s overall objectives. The programme puts special emphasis on equal access to education by all Tuvaluans, and the encouragement of parental and community participation and support for education infrastructure and activities – wherever possible through the development of appropriate functions and educational responsibilities and ownership.

1.4 Tuvalu has chosen to abide with the EFL Programme based on their strongest belief and understanding that the children are the greatest natural resource of a nation and that education is the heart of all development. It becomes the basis of raising awareness and heightening the nation’s will for developing the necessary knowledge and skills in the context of local environment and cultural heritage to make rational decisions in shaping the future.

1.5 The objectives of Education For Life and Education For All have close concurrence and they are important to Tuvalu. All children in Tuvalu receive Primary education but there is concern about the quality and relevance of Primary education in everyday life of the children.

1.7 The second major objective is to restructure and build the education system to respond to the challenges of economy and sustainable human development. We believe that the world is undergoing profound scientific and technological revolutions. Education therefore must prepare the citizen of today to live and work in the world of tomorrow. These rapid changes may have good and even drastic consequences to the lives of human beings but education can cultivate a culture of peace and tolerance in which differences and diversities are viewed as a source of richness and strength but not a threat to one’s own values and being. Hence education is a long- term investment in facilitating needed social and cultural transformations.

1.8 Education for Life and national EFA broad goal and objectives are considered top priority of the Government of Tuvalu. The two programmes EFL and EFA are considered best suited to respond to the critical needs of Tuvalu in the field of sustainable human development. They require substantive resource input both capital and technical. The fulfilment of EFL/EFA objectives is vital to the nation’s future economic and human resources progress. EFL/EFA is a tough challenge for Tuvalu but the spirit of consideration, co-operation and solidarity rendered by external Government agencies and organisations in addition to the firm commitment of the people for its implementation will be the hope for achieving great success.

2.1 In order to strengthen the administration of Tuvalu education system, we have now in place the following positions: the Secretary of the Ministry, Acting Secretary, the Director of Education, three Senior Education Officers one for Curriculum, one for Assessment and Examinations and one for School Supervisor. We also have in place one Education Officer and one Clerical Officer. Out of these posts, the school supervisor’s post had been vacant for quite a while but it was in 1997 that appointment was made to fill this vacant position.

At the end of primary education, all students are required by law to go into the Junior Secondary School to complete their basic education. Before the implementation of the EFA programme in 1990, there was very high competition for placement at the National Secondary School. Most children did not complete their basic education up to Form 4 level. Now all children who have reached Form 2 in Primary Schools continue to Form 3 and 4 in the Secondary School to complete their basic education. At the end of Form 4, students sit for an examination at the end of the year and those who pass proceed on to Senior Secondary Education whilst the rest who fail are given another chance to repeat Form 4.

Adult Education is one area that needs urgent co-ordination with regards its implemented activities. Education of adults has been in the form of unstructured non-formal education. The main actors comprise Government Departments and Non-Government organisations. The activities are delivered through organised training workshops and seminars both on the capital and on the outer islands. Emphasis has been put on self-reliance, linking learning with occupational training and with scientific and technological literacy related to health and nutrition.

Literacy has come to be recognised as an essential tool for bringing about basic changes in the society. In Tuvalu, illiteracy is not a problem but functional literacy is a major concern.

Under EFL/EFA government will strengthen adult education network. This will be achieved through the establishment of adult education centres on all the islands and will be provided with adult learning resources. The Tuvalu Education Technical Centre will be an important part of this network and will provide opportunities for mature age men and women in Funafuti and on the outer islands to learn useful trades as required for the betterment of their lives in rural areas.

Non-government organisations in Tuvalu manage special education for the disabled. The country has sent a teacher to be trained to cater for children with special needs and it will continue to do so in future. The Red Cross is presently the main actor for the provision of quality education to children with disabilities and also provides suitable training for the rehabilitation of the disabled. On the other hand, Government is committed to provide financial assistance to strengthen efforts made to this effect by non-governmental organisations.

There are very few disabled children in the whole of Tuvalu. The Red Cross has been mandated for the education of these students. On every island, there is a Red Cross Association that carries out the work required for one or two students who belong to this category. Government will continue to support the Red Cross in its training activities particularly the training of the handicapped.

There are more initiatives for the education of women and girls than men that are taking place in rural areas. An innovative project for rural women is on the way. The project objectives are to contribute to improve the quality of life of rural women, their families and the community in which they live by means of an all- round empowerment that will make it possible to raise their educational, health and nutritional standards. This will relate to their ability to play their full role in production and community advancement generally.

One of the issues raised by the EFL initiative is to support the pre-schools, particularly with its staffing. Before 1998, the contribution of government to pre-schools was a small grant of a lump sum totalling to $A12,600. This contribution was to assist them meet, among other things, the payment of pre-school teachers’ salaries and cover costs of USP courses in pre-school teaching that their untrained pre-school teachers were likely to pursue. The distribution of this grant had been $A1000 to each of the island owned pre-schools and less for the others depending on a pre- decided formulae used by the ministry concerned.

Under the new arrangement beginning from 1 January 1998, the Ministry of Education and Culture will:

In Tuvalu, education is compulsory for all children aged 6 - 15 years. Children commence in year 1 at Primary Schools and work through to the end of Year 8 at which time they proceed on to the National Secondary School. Prior to this, there used to be two secondary schools, one was owned and operated by the Tuvalu Christian Church (EKT) and the other by Government. In 1998, the Church handed over the EKT School to Government. Because of the very high costs involved in running both schools independently, the two schools had been merged into one big secondary school for the whole nation.

Primary education starts from the age of 6 to 13. In other words, all children in Tuvalu aged 6 -13 are provided with primary education. Primary school education is free and under government’s new arrangement, students who fail their end of year examinations at years 9,10 and onwards to Year 13 of secondary education are given one chance to repeat without being pushed out of the system. This means that at the end of free and compulsory education, students are allowed to repeat if they fail to reach the minimum-passing Grade but students’ school fees are, of course, the responsibilities of parents concerned.

100% of the school age population in Tuvalu have access to basic education. To ensure that all students attend school, the ministry of education is charged with the responsibility to monitor and enforce the regulations laid down in the education ordinance in respect of pupils’ attendance.

It is believed that the level of children’s educational attainment in basic education is low. Evidence of this was discussed in the National Seminar on Literacy and Education Directions when reference was made to the results of Pacific Islands Literacy Level Skills (PILLS) tests conducted in 1994 as part of the UNDP Basic Education Literacy and Life Skills (BELLS) program. The tests measured the children ‘at risk’ of not making satisfactory progress, that is, those unable to demonstrate minimum competencies in languages and numeracy. The results indicated unacceptably low levels of literacy and numeracy attainment, with Class 6 results revealing some 80 percent of students ‘at risk’ in both Tuvaluan and English language reading and writing while more than 40 percent were ‘at risk’ in numeracy.

Entry into secondary from primary schools is compulsory. This is to give children equal opportunity to continue their education up to Junior Secondary level. The low levels of attainment in Tuvalu and English languages with the new entrants still exist. However, remedial programs have been offered to address this problem. Remedial classes programs, however, will remain on going until such time that literacy in Tuvalu and English languages improve. With improvement literacy programs now being operational in Primary schools, we believe that by the Year 2000, a high level of literacy in all schools will be achieved.

Each school is subject to inspection two or three times a year. The school supervisor will monitor and report on educational standards in relation to the set objectives prescribed in the official curriculum. The implementation of this policy is handicapped by its dependence on the weather and availability of ocean transportation to outer and remote islands. Right now we have only one person who is responsible for the overall inspection of schools. However, efforts have been made to form a team of School Supervisors. The team will consist of three officers. Government has agreed the formation of this team in principle and it will become operational as from August 1999.

Apart from the School Supervisor’s report for each school, various examinations have now been put in place, results of which are being used to verify and monitor quality or standard of education in the country.

The Tuvalu school curriculum has undergone several stages of development since independence. The curriculum has been driven by external examinations that have often determined the occupational destination of Tuvalu students. During the 1980s, the Fiji Junior Certificate examination held at the end of Year 10 (Form 4) determined progress to upper secondary School education in Fiji. Likewise FJC examination results are also taken as the major criteria for promotion to our National Form 5. A recent review by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has questioned the appropriateness of this external programme. The government has increasingly recognised the need for school programmes that are culturally relevant whilst maintaining international integrity. Tuvalu Australia Educational School Project (TAESP) has addressed these concerns and has put in place a coherent curriculum structure that draws upon the most appropriate instructional materials from Tuvalu, Fiji, and the region including Australia. The scope and sequence charts developed within TAESP have the potential to underpin either Year 1-8 or Year 1-10 national curriculum framework. The Minister of Education and Culture and the Secretary of Education have formally endorsed this undertaking. TAESP is a national programme that aims to address three major areas of concern namely education management and administration, curriculum development and teacher education. TAESP is primarily an executing arm of EFL/EFA aims and objectives.

In the area of education management and administration, two personnel from the Department of Education had so far benefited from short-term in-service training attachment of six to eight weeks duration to education institutions in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. Existing as a result of strengthening the concerns expressed above are:

Curriculum development for primary schools is still an on going task that has to be completed. Already syllabuses for Health Education, Science and Business Studies together with teaching materials have been prepared for classes 1-8 and are now being implemented in all Primary Schools. English and Mathematics syllabuses have been started and they will be used in schools in August 1999. The remaining syllabuses and instructional materials for these two subjects will be distributed in December/January to schools ready for implementation at the beginning of the first term in the Year 2000.

All primary school teachers have benefited from short term in-country training that have been provided under the TAESP. Teachers were trained to improve their ability in teaching methodology as well as in the broad-based competency and skills required by primary school teachers to teach all subjects with confidence. In addition, there exists a small group known as the Reference Group. This handful of teachers has been trained as key curriculum developers and they will become very useful resources in curriculum development for the future.

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to expand its pre-school enrolment scheme to include a greater percentage of 3-5 year olds.

The broad goal of the Government of Tuvalu, under its Education for Life program, was to create an open education system of quality education which provides all Tuvaluans with equal access to the knowledge, skills and values which are necessary to achieve a higher degree of productivity and self-reliance within the framework of Tuvalu culture and tradition. This goal has been implemented since early the 1990’s. A minimum of ten years compulsory education has been provided for all Tuvaluans between the ages of 6 and 15. This corresponds to the completion of school from classes 1 to 10, eight years at primary and the two first years at secondary. The short and medium term aim is the full participation in the first four years of secondary education, classes 7 to 10, plus selective, but expanded, access to senior secondary schooling, classes 11 to 13 (Form 7 or class 13).

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to improve the quality of education to assist all students to gain a better education towards becoming useful members of the community.

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to continue to strengthen and increase the administration of the education system.

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to continue to make community involvement in education a priority.

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to continue improvements to school buildings and facilities.

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to further improve teacher-training opportunities.

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to improve educational provision for people with special needs.

Under Tuvalu’s Education for Life Program’s the goal is to provide ten years of education for all Tuvaluans, explained in (ii) above. Students are given a general education in these ten years. In the meantime, only 30% to 40% of those at Year 10 managed to progress upward to Year 11 after sitting a National Examination at that stage (Year 10). Our short and medium term goal is to increase the number of students passing the National Year 10 Examination between the range of 60% to 70%.

The Government of Tuvalu will ensure that Tuvaluan students receive the highest level of learning possible in English, Tuvaluan, basic maths and basic science.

The Government of Tuvalu will establish a national testing program for all primary schools.

Apart from formal education where individuals acquire knowledge and skills in order to improve their life style, Government have also provided learning through in-country workshops, both on a national scale as well as local scale – island based. Radio programs are another means of sharing skills and knowledge. Here the Government departments disseminate knowledge to the public from within their own circle.

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to maximize the benefits of learning by ensuring that the people of Tuvalu have access to the mass media.

The Government of Tuvalu hopes to assist educators to receive training in the use of the mass media.

The Government of Tuvalu will cooperate with other agencies to create workshops and seminars in the areas of Health (for example, HIV/AIDs, Family Planning, Nutrition etc), Environmental/Coastal control and other areas of importance and concern to the public of Tuvalu.

What remains to be done at this stage is for the government to ensure the continuity of the EFA/EFL program. A select committee under the Ministry of Education should be formed and it should comprise of a representative from all Government ministries, non-governmental organisations and the private sector. The committee should meet occasionally to assess the on going activities of the EFA/EFL program and to see that the activities that are implemented contribute to the goals of the program. The committee should be responsible to the Minister of Education and all reports from this committee should be channeled to the minister for approval.

1.1 Just before the EFA Declaration was adopted by the World Conference for All in 1990, a similar program almost identical in nature, known as Education for Life (EFL), had already been implemented on 10 October 1988, in Tuvalu. However, when the new program, EFA, was brought into Tuvalu, both programs merged explicitly well together and therefore implementation of goals and objectives worked side by side. However, despite this coincidence, Tuvalu Ministry of Education was just on the verge of getting ready to start working in the direction that had been spelt out in the EFL white paper.

The EFL goals and objectives were decided by a National Task Force, which comprised of representatives from all government ministries, churches and other non-governmental organisations. The goals and objectives were discussed in cabinet and therefore full endorsement of EFL white paper was granted.

1.2 The broad goal of the EFL programme is to: "Restructure the education system to align it more closely with the aspirations and overall needs of the country, while drawing from and supporting essential elements of the Tuvalu culture".

1.3 The main thrust of EFL programme is to provide compulsory quality education necessary for the development, achievement, and sustenance of Tuvalu’s overall objectives. The programme puts special emphasis on equal access to education by all Tuvaluans, and the encouragement of parental and community participation and support for education infrastructure and activities – wherever possible through the development of appropriate functions and educational responsibilities and ownership.

1.4 Tuvalu has chosen to abide with the EFL Programme based on their strongest belief and understanding that the children are the greatest natural resource of a nation and that education is the heart of all development. It becomes the basis of raising awareness and heightening the nation’s will for developing the necessary knowledge and skills in the context of local environment and cultural heritage to make rational decisions in shaping the future.

1.5 The objectives of Education For Life and Education For All have close concurrence and they are important to Tuvalu. All children in Tuvalu receive Primary education but there is concern about the quality and relevance of Primary education in everyday life of the children.

1.7 The second major objective is to restructure and build the education system to respond to the challenges of economy and sustainable human development. We believe that the world is undergoing profound scientific and technological revolutions. Education therefore must prepare the citizen of today to live and work in the world of tomorrow. These rapid changes may have good and even drastic consequences to the lives of human beings but education can cultivate a culture of peace and tolerance in which differences and diversities are viewed as a source of richness and strength but not a threat to one’s own values and being. Hence education is a long- term investment in facilitating needed social and cultural transformations.

1.8 Education for Life and national EFA broad goal and objectives are considered top priority of the Government of Tuvalu. The two programmes EFL and EFA are considered best suited to respond to the critical needs of Tuvalu in the field of sustainable human development. They require substantive resource input both capital and technical. The fulfilment of EFL/EFA objectives is vital to the nation’s future economic and human resources progress. EFL/EFA is a tough challenge for Tuvalu but the spirit of consideration, co-operation and solidarity rendered by external Government agencies and organisations in addition to the firm commitment of the people for its implementation will be the hope for achieving great success.

2.1 In order to strengthen the administration of Tuvalu education system, we have now in place the following positions: the Secretary of the Ministry, Acting Secretary, the Director of Education, three Senior Education Officers one for Curriculum, one for Assessment and Examinations and one for School Supervisor. We also have in place one Education Officer and one Clerical Officer. Out of these posts, the school supervisor’s post had been vacant for quite a while but it was in 1997 that appointment was made to fill this vacant position.

At the end of primary education, all students are required by law to go into the Junior Secondary School to complete their basic education. Before the implementation of the EFA programme in 1990, there was very high competition for placement at the National Secondary School. Most children did not complete their basic education up to Form 4 level. Now all children who have reached Form 2 in Primary Schools continue to Form 3 and 4 in the Secondary School to complete their basic education. At the end of Form 4, students sit for an examination at the end of the year and those who pass proceed on to Senior Secondary Education whilst the rest who fail are given another chance to repeat Form 4.

Adult Education is one area that needs urgent co-ordination with regards its implemented activities. Education of adults has been in the form of unstructured non-formal education. The main actors comprise Government Departments and Non-Government organisations. The activities are delivered through organised training workshops and seminars both on the capital and on the outer islands. Emphasis has been put on self-reliance, linking learning with occupational training and with scientific and technological literacy related to health and nutrition.

Literacy has come to be recognised as an essential tool for bringing about basic changes in the society. In Tuvalu, illiteracy is not a problem but functional literacy is a major concern.

Under EFL/EFA government will strengthen adult education network. This will be achieved through the establishment of adult education centres on all the islands and will be provided with adult learning resources. The Tuvalu Education Technical Centre will be an important part of this network and will provide opportunities for mature age men and women in Funafuti and on the outer islands to learn useful trades as required for the betterment of their lives in rural areas.

Non-government organisations in Tuvalu manage special education for the disabled. The country has sent a teacher to be trained to cater for children with special needs and it will continue to do so in future. The Red Cross is presently the main actor for the provision of quality education to children with disabilities and also provides suitable training for the rehabilitation of the disabled. On the other hand, Government is committed to provide financial assistance to strengthen efforts made to this effect by non-governmental organisations.

There are very few disabled children in the whole of Tuvalu. The Red Cross has been mandated for the education of these students. On every island, there is a Red Cross Association that carries out the work required for one or two students who belong to this category. Government will continue to support the Red Cross in its training activities particularly the training of the handicapped.

There are more initiatives for the education of women and girls than men that are taking place in rural areas. An innovative project for rural women is on the way. The project objectives are to contribute to improve the quality of life of rural women, their families and the community in which they live by means of an all- round empowerment that will make it possible to raise their educational, health and nutritional standards. This will relate to their ability to play their full role in production and community advancement generally.

One of the issues raised by the EFL initiative is to support the pre-schools, particularly with its staffing. Before 1998, the contribution of government to pre-schools was a small grant of a lump sum totalling to $A12,600. This contribution was to assist them meet, among other things, the payment of pre-school teachers’ salaries and cover costs of USP courses in pre-school teaching that their untrained pre-school teachers were likely to pursue. The distribution of this grant had been $A1000 to each of the island owned pre-schools and less for the others depending on a pre- decided formulae used by the ministry concerned.

Under the new arrangement beginning from 1 January 1998, the Ministry of Education and Culture will:

In Tuvalu, education is compulsory for all children aged 6 - 15 years. Children commence in year 1 at Primary Schools and work through to the end of Year 8 at which time they proceed on to the National Secondary School. Prior to this, there used to be two secondary schools, one was owned and operated by the Tuvalu Christian Church (EKT) and the other by Government. In 1998, the Church handed over the EKT School to Government. Because of the very high costs involved in running both schools independently, the two schools had been merged into one big secondary school for the whole nation.

Primary education starts from the age of 6 to 13. In other words, all children in Tuvalu aged 6 -13 are provided with primary education. Primary school education is free and under government’s new arrangement, students who fail their end of year examinations at years 9,10 and onwards to Year 13 of secondary education are given one chance to repeat without being pushed out of the system. This means that at the end of free and compulsory education, students are allowed to repeat if they fail to reach the minimum-passing Grade but students’ school fees are, of course, the responsibilities of parents concerned.

100% of the school age population in Tuvalu have access to basic education. To ensure that all students attend school, the ministry of education is charged with the responsibility to monitor and enforce the regulations laid down in the education ordinance in respect of pupils’ attendance.

It is believed that the level of children’s educational attainment in basic education is low. Evidence of this was discussed in the National Seminar on Literacy and Education Directions when reference was made to the results of Pacific Islands Literacy Level Skills (PILLS) tests conducted in 1994 as part of the UNDP Basic Education Literacy and Life Skills (BELLS) program. The tests measured the children ‘at risk’ of not making satisfactory progress, that is, those unable to demonstrate minimum competencies in languages and numeracy. The results indicated unacceptably low levels of literacy and numeracy attainment, with Class 6 results revealing some 80 percent of students ‘at risk’ in both Tuvaluan and English language reading and writing while more than 40 percent were ‘at risk’ in numeracy.

Entry into secondary from primary schools is compulsory. This is to give children equal opportunity to continue their education up to Junior Secondary level. The low levels of attainment in Tuvalu and English languages with the new entrants still exist. However, remedial programs have been offered to address this problem. Remedial classes programs, however, will remain on going until such time that literacy in Tuvalu and English languages improve. With improvement literacy programs now being operational in Primary schools, we believe that by the Year 2000, a high level of literacy in all schools will be achieved.

Each school is subject to inspection two or three times a year. The school supervisor will monitor and report on educational standards in relation to the set objectives prescribed in the official curriculum. The implementation of this policy is handicapped by its dependence on the weather and availability of ocean transportation to outer and remote islands. Right now we have only one person who is responsible for the overall inspection of schools. However, efforts have been made to form a team of School Supervisors. The team will consist of three officers. Government has agreed the formation of this team in principle and it will become operational as from August 1999.

Apart from the School Supervisor’s report for each school, various examinations have now been put in place, results of which are being used to verify and monitor quality or standard of education in the country.

The Tuvalu school curriculum has undergone several stages of development since independence. The curriculum has been driven by external examinations that have often determined the occupational destination of Tuvalu students. During the 1980s, the Fiji Junior Certificate examination held at the end of Year 10 (Form 4) determined progress to upper secondary School education in Fiji. Likewise FJC examination results are also taken as the major criteria for promotion to our National Form 5. A recent review by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has questioned the appropriateness of this external programme. The government has increasingly recognised the need for school programmes that are culturally relevant whilst maintaining international integrity. Tuvalu Australia Educational School Project (TAESP) has addressed these concerns and has put in place a coherent curriculum structure that draws upon the most appropriate instructional materials from Tuvalu, Fiji, and the region including Australia. The scope and sequence charts developed within TAESP have the potential to underpin either Year 1-8 or Year 1-10 national curriculum framework. The Minister of Education and Culture and the Secretary of Education have formally endorsed this undertaking. TAESP is a national programme that aims to address three major areas of concern namely education management and administration, curriculum development and teacher education. TAESP is primarily an executing arm of EFL/EFA aims and objectives.

In the area of education management and administration, two personnel from the Department of Education had so far benefited from short-term in-service training attachment of six to eight weeks duration to education institutions in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. Existing as a result of strengthening the concerns expressed above are:

Curriculum development for primary schools is still an on going task that has to be completed. Already syllabuses for Health Education, Science and Business Studies together with teaching materials have been prepared for classes 1-8 and are now being implemented in all Primary Schools. English and Mathematics syllabuses have been started and they will be used in schools in August 1999. The remaining syllabuses and instructional materials for these two subjects will be distributed in December/January to schools ready for implementation at the beginning of the first term in the Year 2000.

All primary school teachers have benefited from short term in-country training that have been provided under the TAESP. Teachers were trained to improve their ability in teaching methodology as well as in the broad-based competency and skills required by primary school teachers to teach all subjects with confidence. In addition, there exists a small group known as the Reference Group. This handful of teachers has been trained as key curriculum developers and they will become very useful resources in curriculum development for the future.