Educational Quality & Assessment Programme

Citizens’ right to quality education denotes right to timely education data

Timely and quality statistics are important for monitoring international and regional commitments to improve education systems in the Pacific region.

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Oceania sport sector set to benefit from milestone ONOC-SPC partnership

A partnership agreement signed today between the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) and the Pacific Community (SPC) has set the stage for the Pacific’s sporting sector to strengthen career pathways, technical expertise and administration skills across the region.

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Key design changes in PILNA research to yield more helpful data for Pacific education

The Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PILNA) in October will be more extensive and is expected to yield more telling information, following key research design changes endorsed this month.

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EQAP's Large Scale Assessment Team Leader Torika Tora, left, with EQAP Director Dr Michelle Belisle during the PILNA Steering Committee

Steering Committee on PILNA to convene ahead of Pacific education board meeting

THE Steering Committee for the Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PILNA) convenes today to deliberate on how to best conduct the region-wide research amid the challenges posed by COVID19.

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EQAP consultations with PNG's Education deputy secretary Walipe Wingi (pictured on screen) and director Regina Mabia.

Timely boost for quality education in the Pacific

The regional effort to transform Pacific education is expected to gain traction following the recent approval of USD 15 million (EUR 12.3 million) in grant money to the education partnership under the Pacific Regional Education Framework (PacREF).  The regional grant for the improvement of basic education in the Pacific was confirmed by the international funding platform, Global Partnership for Education (GPE), in a release last month.  

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I-Kiribati primary school students during a Maths class. Kiribati is one of the six Pacific island countries that agreed to pool their funds from GPE for the PacREF work. (Picture Credit: Danica Waiti/SPC)

Regional Form 7 students achieve 89% pass rate despite year of disruptions

In 2020, a total of 1,233 students in the South Pacific Form Seven Certificate (SPFSC) programme overcame the challenges of COVID-19 to successfully complete the requirements of the regional qualification. According to the results released last month, this represents an impressive 89 per cent pass rate. The regional Year 13 certificate qualification, administered by the Pacific Community’s Educational Quality and Assessment Programme (EQAP), is undertaken by students in Kiribati, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

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Year 13 students of Vanuatu's Aore Academy studying for their SPFSC examinations last year. CREDIT: Aore Academy

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Follow #EQAP on Twitter

24 June 2021

The #PILNA main study was set to be conducted from October 18-29. #EQAP @spc_cps and @acereduau have proposed three alternatives for heads of #PacificEducation systems to decide on the next steps for the regional study. https://t.co/PK7A673v4k

14 April 2021

CSOs supporting work on the Pacific #InclusiveEducation framework presented during the final day of the education ministers meeting, #FEdMM. The virtual meeting coordinated by the #PacREF Facilitating Unit was convened for Fiji-based participants at USP. #AllmeansALL #EQAP https://t.co/frl9aVDnsj

31 March 2021

#EQAP #Reflections: From imagining what we want #PacificEducation to look like in 2040 to re-thinking education with a cultural lens. 🤔Thought-provoking stuff from @1angrynative #keepingitrelevant #PacificContext https://t.co/WbNJYUG0tn

30 March 2021

#EQAP conducts the final country training on the #PILNA coding process with Fiji. Coding accuracy is crucial for the integrity of the regional study. Hence, much ⏲️ & resources have been invested to ensure all teams from the 1⃣5⃣ countries are thoroughly prepared. @acereduau https://t.co/Sykf2rH7xF

Snapshots on #PacificEducation

More female students in Kiribati, Vanuatu and Tuvalu are choosing to study science. In 2020, almost half (48%) of the Year 13 SPFSC students enrolled in physics, biology and chemistry were female. #EQAP #PacificEducation

Between 33% - 40% of the region's Year 4 and Year 6 students' teachers had never attended a professional training in the area of student welfare, inclusive education and leadership skills within three years, according to the PILNA 2018 research. *Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment. #EQAP #PacificEducation

Female students are showing a strong interest in ICT. In 2020, 57% of the 304 students who successfully completed the regional SPFSC course in ICT were females. A similar success rate of 58% was recorded in 2019. #EQAP #PacificEducation

Girls significantly outperform boys in literacy. In a 2018 Pacific-wide assessment* of 19,957 students at the Year 6 grade level, the girls' performance mean score in writing was 35 points greater than the boys. #EQAP #PacificEducation

One in four Year 4 & 6 students who participated in the 2018 PILNA study had teachers whose highest qualification was a certificate or lower. #EQAP #PacificEducation

A total of 242 qualifications listed on PRQS

Students who attended an early childhood programme achieved an average literacy score that was 13 points higher than the score of those who did NOT attend an early childhood programme.

57% of the Pacific's youth are enrolled in upper secondary education

Overall pupil-teacher ratio in Pacific education systems vary widely, dependent on geographical size of country.

Critical thinking and problem solving remain the most challenging aspects of learning for the region's students.

Only 39% of the 40,000-plus Year 4 and Year 6 students who took part in the PILNA 2018 study had a family member who supported their reading at home.

Only 56% of the teachers expressed confidence in teaching students how to compose and organise their ideas when writing.

Pacific primary school teachers need more support in the teaching of foundational geometry and data and chance.

At the country level, between 33-77% of the Pacific's students at the Y4 and Y6 grade levels eat breakfast, lunch and dinner on a normal day.

EQAP works with the education systems of 15 Pacific island countries to provide the region’s learners with a quality education that helps them to achieve their f`ull potential and promotes lifelong learning; securing prosperity and peace for themselves and their communities.