WOMEN including girls in the Pacific still got some way to go to improving their status in the islands although a lot of gains have been achieved especially in the area of education and health for some of the countries and territories in the region. In education for example, girls are doing better than boys although only three out of ten students of the 270,000 students tested from 14 countries in the Pacific on literacy and numeracy skills have demonstrated the skills expected at their level of schooling.
From the same test, five in ten students failed to reach the expected standard of numeracy. Three in 10 girls demonstrated the expected literacy skills compared to two in 10 boys. For numeracy, five in 10 girls are demonstrating the expected numeracy skills, compared to four in 10 boys.
Based on the Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PILNA) 2012, it was established that girls of the Pacific are performing significantly better in schools than boys in both literacy and numeracy. This was one of the critical areas faced by women and girls as reported by the Pacific Community in their review of the progress in 20 years of implementing the Beijing Platform for Action in the Pacific.
When it comes to education and training of women, it was highlighted that most countries and territories are close to achieving universal primary education.
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