If Kiribati’s 33 islands were layered on top of a map of the United States, they would cover the entire nation from north to south and west to east. Kiribati is the only country in the world that extends into all four hemispheres!
These unique geographic features may be useful for trivia purposes, but they make the delivery of services, including education to all children, extremely challenging.
However, through the Ministry of Education (MOE), the government is committed to ensuring that all Kiribati children have access to an equitable and high-quality education, participate in inclusive learning for students with diverse needs, and work with partners like the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). In order to benefit the entire education system, MOE’s priorities, outlined in our Sector Strategy and Partnership Compact, include removing obstacles to learning and making education truly inclusive and equitable.
Investing in technology and teachers for inclusive education
Despite the logistical challenge of reaching students spread over thousands of miles, we must improve the schools’ infrastructure so that students have the tools they need to learn in a safe and conducive environment to achieve their full potential and become productive citizens.
Better learning starts with better teaching: we need to ensure that teachers have the proper training, skills and support, with ongoing professional development, to teach all students effectively.
Due to our geographic conditions and high turnover of teachers, we recognize the importance of investing in technology to unlock these barriers and promoting technology solutions.
The classic example is the Learning Passport App for remote learning during the COVID-19 school closures.
Many students were able to continue their education from home thanks to online lessons and radio and video programs for those who were unable to access the Learning Passport App. We were able to develop remote learning strategies thanks to the financial support that GPE provided during this trying time. To reach children on remote islands, technology must be a part of the solution, and teachers must be trained to use these tools and methods. ICT will not just impact children’s learning, but also how the education system as a whole is managed.
To reach children with disabilities, we work with line ministries and NGOs focused on special needs.
With these partners, we talked about how to meet the needs of students with disabilities and make sure they get the right support and resources at the recent National Inclusive Education Summit. The Kiribati Inclusive Education Policy and the promotion of greater inclusivity in schools were also agreed upon by the participants.
Partnership and coordination of all actors is key
It is essential to collaborate with all education stakeholders and coordinate our efforts because Kiribati is so dispersed and the ministry of education is the largest ministry with numerous stakeholders. Our team is represented by line ministries, mission schools, civil society organizations, teachers’ unions, businesses, parents, and communities on a variety of Committees. Other mechanisms include the Education Partners in Kiribati (EPiK) Forum and the local education group. The MOE, in collaboration with development partners and line Ministries, organizes the EPiK Forum annually. The key objective of the EPiK Forum is to allow an open dialogue and discussion between MOE and development partners on important education priorities and possible assistance in line with the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP).
The EPiK Forum is complemented by the work of the local education group that coordinates the support and assistance of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) led by DFAT as the coordinating agency, which allows for quicker consultations and action when necessary.
The group includes development partners and other education stakeholders who share updates and learn from each other.
We see collaboration as essential to reach our goal of all students receiving quality education.
The collaboration mechanisms we have in place help us reduce inefficiencies and duplications, and align support behind the MOE’s priorities. Through them, we can tap the capacities of each partner where they have a comparative advantage to support our needs.
The value of the GPE partnership approach
Overall, the GPE’s support has been valuable to Kiribati. Working through DFAT as the coordinating agency, we can access this support more efficiently and with fewer bureaucratic hurdles, which facilitates quick access to funding and technical support.
And this in turn helps us develop our strategies and implement our activities. We are truly grateful and appreciative for this assistance, which has been crucial to achieving our ESSP’s goals and priorities. Kiribati was able to use all three grants during the current GPE cycle through MOE. Under the GPE system capacity grant, we were able to improve our staff’s capacity and create the Education Sector Strategic Plan, which serves as the MOE’s strategic direction and directs the assistance we receive from all development partners. The GPE funding has been a crucial component in our ability to effectively implement our strategic plan and gain additional support from other partners on the implementation side. A recent example of successful coordination and of the GPE value is the new Multiplier grant of US$5 million, which leveraged US$30 million from the Asian Development Bank and close to AU$17 million from DFAT.
This funding will create classroom-based computer labs to equip students with hands-on experience in using technology, complementing the recently approved GPE system transformation grant of US$2.5 million aimed at enhancing digital learning and teacher capacity, particularly in outer islands where internet connectivity remains a challenge. As the grant agent, UNESCO is working with this GPE assistance. Providing students with access to digital learning will guarantee that improved classroom experiences result from teacher training. The program is expected to train more than 500 teachers and reach 130,000 students over the lifetime of the new facilities.
Other components of the GPE Multiplier include dormitories for a high school in Kiribati and the students at the Kiribati Teachers College (KTC) to enhance academic performance and enrollment, and safe transport for schools in the outer islands.
Together, the GPE Multiplier and system transformation grants, and DFAT and ADB’s co-financing, form a comprehensive and coordinated approach to improving Kiribati’s education system, ensuring both teachers and students are equipped with the tools, skills, and infrastructure needed to support digital learning and improved academic performance.
