“There are no more suitable people on earth to be the custodians of the oceans than those for whom the sea is home...we seem to have forgotten that we are such a people...our roots...our origins are embedded in the sea...our ancestors were brought here by the sea...the sea is our pathway to each other and to everyone else, the sea is our endless saga, the sea is our most powerful metaphor...the Ocean is in Us...“ – Prof. Epeli Hau’ofa.
EQAP's Priorities under the PacREF
The Pacific Community's education division, Educational Quality and Assessment Programme (EQAP), has a critical role in the successful implementation of the Pacific Regional Education Framework (PacREF), Moving Towards Education 2030, - the 12-year education roadmap that outlines the region's education and training priorities and strategies.
The framework adopts a human rights approach that seeks to empower all Pacific islanders to fully enjoy the benefits of education and lifelong learning. It advances the Pacific Forum leaders' vision of The Blue Pacific that was endorsed in 2017.
In essence, the PacREF is an integrated set of tools and mechanisms to help Pacific island countries realise their education goals as prioritised under the following key policy areas:
Policy Objective: High Quality, relevant programmes are provided for learners at all levels of education.
Goal: All learners with a safe and supportive environment, within which they are offered high quality learning opportunities that are meaningful, valuable, inclusive and future-focused.
Policy Objective: Learners' needs are met through a broad range of programmes and delivery modalities.
Goal: All learners have equal access to multiple and seamless pathways and modalities of learning that will allow them to meet their full potential.
Policy Objective: Learners at all levels of education achieve their full potential.
Goal: All learners acquire the knowledge, skills, values and attributes to enable them to contribute to their families, communities and nation building.
Objective: The teaching profession is supported and empowered through opportunities for continuous development, shared understanding and accountability.
GOAL: Competent, qualified and certified teachers and school leaders who are current in their professional knowledge and practice. Teachers are supported, engaged, effective and committed to the holistic development of their students.
EQAP's mandate as set by member countries aligns with these PacREF priorities.
In addition to its role as one of the PacREF's five implementing agencies, EQAP also leads the monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL)efforts of the PacREF programme. This MEL component is essential for the periodic review reports at the end of each three-year phase of the programme.
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