1. More resources should be allocated to the education system to cater for the school age population which is growing at 4.5% per year. Need for better management of the in-take into secondary schools to fully utilise existing schools with the current low student-teacher ratio.
2. Increase female participation in secondary schools and post-secondary institutions. Government, women, church groups, chiefs and NGOs must collaborate to find solutions to the gender problem.
3. Co-ordinate efforts to increase the literacy rate through formal and non-formal mechanisms. Encourage and support Non-formal education to provide this service.

1. Merging smaller schools into community schools to reduce costs. Concentrating resources rather than spreading is more likely to improve the quality of education.
2. Review the free education policy. Develop a school fee structure. Awareness that it is government policy that school maintenance is the responsibility of the community.
3. Encourage the development of privately or community financed schools and develop a policy on cost sharing arrangements with existing non-government education providers such as the churches.
4. Commitment by Government to fund 8 years of education for all by the year 2010 as proposed by the Education MasterPlan.

a) Develop and adopt a clear language policy.

1. Need to review the current programs taught at school to ensure that what is learnt at school is of practical value for the vast majority, but is also sufficiently academically demanding for those destined for tertiary education.
2. Review and develop a Human Resources Development Plan for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.

6.Management

1. Finalize the Education Master Plan plus the Youth and Sports policy and start planning the implementation of the recommendations as set out in a summary of annexes 3 and 4. The Master Plan is the key document which provides the Government on how to the education system might develop for the next 10 – 15 years.
2. Staffed the Division of policy and Planning of the Department of Education with the right people to plan for the future development of education, youth and sports.
3. A comprehensive Education Act needs to be put in place quickly to guide the implementation of the Master Plan.

With assistance from the World Bank, the Government of Vanuatu is in the final stages of finalizing an Education Master Plan. This Masterplan investigates all aspects of Vanuatu's education system, and make recommendations as to how it might be developed over the next 10 to 15 years.

The Masterplan when hopes established to create an education system with the following goals:

• To preserve a bi-lingual Anglophone Francophone education system and culture and to provide for the continuing development of both languages.
• To provide, by the year 2010 a Basic Education up to Year 8 for all children and to improve the access offered at secondary, technical and tertiary level.
• To provide a more relevant curriculum which better reflects Vanuatu culture, values and economic circumstances.
• To provide for equity, in all of its varieties, throughout the education system.
• To develop a partnership between Government and the other constituent parts of society in the development of the education system.
• To improve the management of the education system
• To develop a more cost-effective and sustainable education system.

The recommendations made are set out in the remainder of this summary.

That English and French should continue to be used as languages of instruction.

That the use of vernacular languages as languages of instruction should be introduced.

That all children should be offered a Basic Education to comprise a preparatory year followed by Years 1 through 8.

That a new kind of school to be known as a Community School should be established and that this should comprise a Preparatory Year and Years 1-2.

That in the Community Schools the language of instruction should be the local vernacular. That in order to make this possible a written form of the vernacular where it does not already exist should be established and the presently existing teaching materials translated into it.

That the teachers in these schools should be locally recruited Year 10 graduates, speaking the vernacular, offered short term pedagogic training, and paid at a lower rate than teachers trained by the Teachers College.

That the classrooms which will become available as a result of the creation of the new Community Schools should be used to provide space for the new Year 7 and Year 8 classes.

That students who complete their Basic Education at Year 8 should continue their education with a vocational focus through an expanded system of Rural Development Training Centres.

That junior secondary schools which currently offer education in Years 7 through 10 should be converted to high schools offering education for Years 9 through 12.

That the role of INTV in the education system be strengthened, and that it be recognised as the leading institution of the country for all forms of technical education.

That Malapoa and Matevulu Colleges be recognised as the primary centres for English language pre-university preparation.

That the Lycee Louis Antoine de Bougainville be recognised as the primary centre for French language pre-university preparation.

That opportunities for Distance Education be improved, and that experiments be made as to how this may best be delivered.

That a second language not be taught in Years 7 and 8, and that the teaching of French or English be introduced as a second language only in Year 9.

That Technology be introduced as a major subject in the high schools Years 9 through 12.

That the Physical Facilities of the Teachers College with the exception of the buildings constructed in 1997 the 1998 be completely renovated.

That training programmes be provided for teachers required to teach in Years 7 and 8 previously teaching in years 1 through 6, and for teachers required to teach in Years 9 through 12 previously teaching in Years 7 through 10.

That the presently existing system for the supervision and improvement of primary teaching provided through the Provincial Education Offices be improved and developed.

That the presently existing system for the supervision and improvement of secondary teaching located in the Ministry of Education be very substantially strengthened by the provision of additional resources and personnel.

That the salary structure for teachers be improved and administrative arrangements made so that teachers offering good service receiver regular salary increases.

That a ratings system to evaluate teachers overall performance be established, and that it be used to make decisions about promotion, discipline, and salary increases.

That a unit be established with a special responsibility for the in-service training of head teachers and principals.

That a National Curriculum Commission be established with responsibility for the selection and approval of all instructional materials.

That the Curriculum Development Centre be reorganised so that its role is essentially the management of contracts with firms in the private sector for the writing and production of textbooks and other instructional materials.

That a significant percentage of the Education Budget be diverted from the payment of teachers’ salaries to the purchase of books and other educational materials.

That training in school based assessment methodology be added to the programme of the Teachers College.

That the Year 6 examination should continue until such time as education through to Year 8 is universally available.

That a Year 8 examination should be established to regulate entry into Year 9.

That a detailed school mapping exercise be undertaken to establish precisely the needs for and desirable locations for schools at all levels.

That new community based schools be established where required.

That existing primary schools be amalgamated where necessary to create Year 3 through 8 primary schools.

That the maintenance of primary schools should become a partnership between communities and the Government.

That efforts to expand access and to improve education quality should focus on rural areas.

That the enrolment of girls in school be encouraged through a general expansion of access and by improving the overall quality of the school environment.

That linguistic equity be encouraged by the improvement of the teaching of English in the French system, and by the improvement of the teaching of French in the English system.

That the Government seek to establish partnerships for the development of education with the many important organisations operating in the private sector. In this connection the role of the churches is particularly important; there is, however, a need to revise and update existing agreements.

That the initiative to establish a National Training Council be supported.

That the Education Act of 1986 and that the proposed Education Law of 1994 be reviewed and modified where necessary. New legislation should be passed as required.

That greater administrative and financial control be decentralised to the Provincial Education Offices.

That the Education Management Information System presently operated by the Ministry be revised and strengthened.

That the current initiative to reorganise the structure and management of the Ministry to give greater prominence to the role of technical and vocational Education be supported.

That the Government accept the judgement of the Mission that it is possible to fund universal basic Education up to Year eight by 2010, but that it is not possible to do this up to Year 10.

That the Government should undertake a study of the feasibility of merging small primary schools where they are geographically in close proximity, and that the growth in number of church related schools should be discouraged.

That in developing its programme for the implementation of the Education Master Plan that the Government should consult as widely as possible with all interested and seek to establish a consensus before proceeding.

Young people of Vanuatu use their energy in constructive ways, using both traditional and modern technologies, in support of the nation’s development and their own financial, physical, social and other needs. The ‘potential energy’ of youth is enhanced and directed, so that the things that they do benefits youths individually and collectively while also benefiting their families, communities, and nation.

This policy’s purpose is to support, encourage, and assist the design and implementation of youth and sports development activities, which might benefit Vanuatu. It applies equally to national and international activities that encourage and/or support youth, cultural, and/or sports development activities, which contribute to national development objectives.

Key Policies

2. We cannot achieve our mission just by stating it in the compact and comprehensive way we’ve just done. Our purpose can be achieved through policies in the following key areas: Organisational Development, Research and Planning, Education, Cultural Development, Counseling and Treatment, Employment development, and Physical fitness and sports. The following tables define and expand upon each of these above key areas by describing specific policies, and by suggesting activities that might implement those policies.

23. Conduct an Urban Youth Survey in 1999-2000. Conduct a Rural Youth Survey in 2001-2.

24. Formalise-strengthen the national networks of youth groups and youth service providers. This will involve the development and convening of regular fora for discussing programs, plans, and resource allocation-sharing. A key early element in this is the development of the National Youth Council’s internal policies—its Corporate Plan.

25. Continue to develop awareness-raising/educational activities. Theatre is a form of self expression acceptable for and by young people. This interest should be encouraged and such groups used by government departments to do outreach work.

27. The Mission of the Ministry of Education needs to be developed to encompass all educational forms, academic and non-academic, formal and non-formal, etc.

28. Vanuatu needs a (comprehensive) National Youth Policy to persuade political and custom leadership to recognise and respond to the problems of youth. This policy focus on the correlation between youths’ (and their parents’) expectations, education and training capacities, and the markets and related job capacities within Vanuatu.

29. In order to re-focus on youth development, we need to move from ‘academic’ and ‘sports’ achievements to look at and address all of the issues of youth development. To accomplish this move, the office currently handling youth development should be re-organised, and re-named to the Department of Youth, Sports, & Cultural Affairs.

30. The National Training Council is new and in a position to be extremely helpful for the development of the nation’s youth. One of the ways it can help these sectors to develop (and help youth development) be to serve as registrar, recorder, and (eventually) accreditor of all non-formal, vocational, technical, and other forms of continuing education. For the foreseeable future, this function could be done on by training providers a voluntary basis; later on, accreditation might be required of training providers in order to receive assistance.

31. Vanuatu Rural Development & Training Centres Association (VRDTCA) has a role that allies closely with the NTC, but focuses primarily on the needs of rural communities and their youths rather than on formal sector employment. Government should support VRDTCA in ways that do not undercut VRDTCA’s autonomy; and it should encourage and support VRDTCA initiatives which accord with governments’ priorities.

32. The Vanuatu National Council of Women’s mandate as an apex, policy-advising and extension-supporting, organisation for Vanuatu’s women puts it in a position to advise and support the development of young women.

33. At present, there is no mechanism for bringing together the plans and needs and expectations of youth organisations (represented by the NYC) and those organisations (public and private) which provide services to youths. Vanuatu could adopt a model developed in the Federated States of Micronesia, where these two kinds of organisations come together in state and national youth ‘congresses’ on an yearly or three-yearly basis.

34. The development of school-based physical education—such that it would be an ‘examinable’ subject—could be a primary target for government’s support of sports development. This kind of activity must, of course, focus on the provision of physical education for health and fitness, rather than on sports development, as most youths will not end up in top-line sports, but they yet need to know how to keep their bodies fit and to use sports and physical exercise for entertainment.

RECOMMENDATIONS

35. All legislation related to education, youth, sports, cultural affairs (including the Malvatumauri), and employment, should provide for public participation in the design of implementing regulations and policies.

36. A participatory program to identify, collect, and analyse more up-to-date and detailed information on the current situations of youth in the country—their problems, resources, etc.—followed by the development of a full, long-term policy framework for youth, sports, and cultural affairs development, should be completed by the end of the year 2000.