Background
To support the Forum Leaders’ Pacific vision, the ”Pacific Regional Education Framework, Moving Towards Education 2030” (PacREF) prioritises action on quality and relevance, free learning pathways, and the teaching profession that will maximise sustainable gains in student learning outcomes and well-being. Oversight to the Programme is provided by the Conference of Pacific Education Ministers (CPEM) comprising ministers of education from the 18-member countries of the Pacific Islands Forum.
The 2nd Conference of Pacific Education Ministers (CPEM) will be hosted on 18–20 March, 2025, by the Government and people of Papua New Guinea. This follows the successful inaugural CPEM in 2023 which was hosted at the Aotea Centre, Auckland, by the Government and people of Aotearoa New Zealand. The theme of the 2025 CPEM as developed by Papua New Guinea is “Transforming Edukesen for a better Pacific”. The theme aligns well with the current global efforts to transforming education to better meet the demands and aspirations of the young generations of the Pacific as they charter their future through a challenging and changing environment in which they live.
Key Commitments at the 2023 CPEM
Ministers, at the 2023 CPEM, inter alia, prioritised the following to be implemented under the PacREF programme:
- Indigenous Knowledge, Culture and Language: Indigenous knowledge, culture and language should be embedded in curriculum development, teacher training programs, and delivery.
- Teacher Quality: Increasing support to programs that ensure quality of teachers in the region and providing the opportunity for sharing best practices through exchange program.
- Early Childhood Education: The centrality of early childhood learning and development to student overall development.
- Data Integrity and Sovereignty: Ministers endorsed the need and accessibility for quality data to support regional and national initiatives. They also expressed the need to promote cyber safety and ensure cyber security measures are in place.
- Student Inclusiveness: Ministers committed to ensuring that education is available to all learners irrespective of their challenges.
- Technical Vocational Education Training, including Sports Development: Ministers agreed to the importance of developing skills and student pathways to create opportunities that meet learner aspirations and abilities.
Indigenous knowledge, Culture and Language
A key priority for Ministers of Education in the Pacific is the preservation and maintenance of indigenous knowledge, culture and vernacular languages. Maintaining our Pacific identity through education, is of paramount importance as a means of our survival as we live in a fast-changing world influenced by the use of technology, particularly among the young generations of today.
Under the PacREF programme, the importance of non-cognitive skills being integrated into the school curriculum is a priority under Policy Area 1, Quality and Relevance. It has been recognised globally as vital for the holistic development of children. Schools are looking beyond cognitive skills testing and are incorporating character and citizenship education, with a holistic focus on children’s well-being and development. In the Pacific context, this includes the inclusion of culture and traditional knowledge and the importance of community as the foundation of Pacific societies. Pacific children’s grounding in their culture, tradition, and value systems is an underlying foundation of the PacREF.
Teacher Quality
Pacific Education Ministers are committed to increasing support to programs that ensure quality of teachers in the region and providing the opportunity for sharing best practices through exchange program. Two frameworks that have been developed under the PacREF Phase 1 implementation are the Pacific Regional Standards (Contextualisation and proper monitoring) country-led initiatives for teaching effectiveness to ensure a supported, engaged and effective teaching workforce, committed to the holistic development of students, and the Pacific Regional School Leadership Standards to guide improvement for school leaders, so that countries can promote effective leadership among Pacific school leaders.
Stories collected from countries have shown positive impacts of participating in the training programmes and using the Frameworks. The story below is such an example:
School Leadership and the Graduate Certificate of School Leadership (GCSL) offered by the University of the South Pacific (USP) Institute of Education (IoE). A total of 67 Marshallese educators have completed the GCSL across four cohorts, with approximately 10% of graduates advancing into leadership roles since graduation. The program has trained 90% of principals and headteachers across the atolls. The GCSL
has resulted in significant gains in knowledge, raising awareness about the importance of effective school management, fostering collaboration among schools to address shortcomings, and engaging communities to enhance learning outcomes. Additionally, the program has improved leadership understanding among new and emerging school leaders, resulting in better comprehension of Public-School Systems (PSS) policies, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation requirements, and school management skills1.
Early Childhood Education
Pacific education ministers agreed on the centrality of early childhood learning and development to student overall development. The story below is from the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM):
FSM emphasizes the need to contextualize policies to ensure they are fi t for purpose. There is a collective commitment to making ECE compulsory for 5-year-olds, though ECE is not yet mandatory, and a formal curriculum for teaching and learning has yet to be finalized. FSM has adopted a multi-sectoral approach to support ECE development, making resources and support more accessible. The development of the ECE policy has influenced change in FSM, prompting a restructuring of existing programs to align with the current ECE framework 2.
Data Integrity and Sovereignty
Ministers endorsed the need and accessibility for quality data to support regional and national initiatives. They also expressed the need to promote cyber safety and ensure cyber security measures are in place. This is a critical area of priority among most of the regional countries. That is, the availability and use of data for policy, planning and evidence-based decision making. The development of functional education management information systems (EMIS) together with personnel proficient in data analysis for policy and planning continue to be a top priority for us in the Pacific.
Student Inclusiveness
Ministers are committed to ensuring that education is available to all learners irrespective of their challenges. This is especially so for students with disabilities and those with special learning needs. UN agencies such as UNICEF and UNESCO are leading efforts to ensure education is accessible to all children but particularly to those marginalized groups and children living with disabilities. Below is a report from Solomon Islands on their efforts to promote a multi-stakeholder approach to inclusive education:
The Solomon Islands have made significant strides in implementing inclusive education (IE) through collaborative efforts with UNICEF, government agencies, provincial offices, school leaders, teachers, students, and parents. The development of the Inclusive Education Policy has been a cornerstone of this progress, resulting in the establishment of an inclusive education officer, the creation of a policy manual, and notable shifts in behavior and attitudes 3.
Technical Vocational Education Training, including Sports Development
Ministers have noted the importance of developing skills and student pathways to create opportunities that meet learner aspirations and abilities. Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) provides an alternative learning pathway within an education system as not all students are academically oriented. In addition, Ministers have noted sports development has become a career path for Pacific students. The following story from Tokelau shows the opportunities offered through TVET programmes to student learning:
The Tokelau Ministry of Education has partnered with the New Zealand Institute of Technology to strengthen Vocational Education and Training (TVET) pathways, resulting in a rise in enrolment—58 students this year, compared to 24 last year. Of the nine students who completed Level 3, four have pursued apprenticeships in New Zealand, three have secured local jobs, and one has relocated abroad 4.
Moving Towards Phase 2 of the PacREF programme
PacREF has provided an opportunity for countries to work together and share experiences in various areas of learning and teaching. The networking developed through Phase 1 implementation provides a strong platform for shared learning or the Wansolwara learning platform. In December 2024, Fiji hosted six countries to an EMIS Study tour facilitated by UNESCO and the PacREF Facilitating Unit (PFU). The Policy and Planning Fono hosted by Solomon Islands also provided an opportunity for countries to come together and share their experiences on education planning and policy development supported by USP-IOE, UNESCO, UNICEF and PFU.
As the PacREF programme moves through a seamless transition from Phase 1 into Phase 2 this year, new emerging priorities are being defined by the governing bodies of the Programme. The Pacific Heads
of Education Systems (PHES) at their meeting in March 2024, identified Climate Change as an important priority for inclusion in Phase 2 of the Programme.
As Pacific Education Ministers meet in March 2025, they will consider the progress of PacREF implementation and set new directions for the Programme. The target now is to set a work plan for regional education that will support countries in the region to achieve the SDG4 goals, as well as their national education targets by 2030.
- Report from the Republic of the Marshall Islands as collected under the publication Advancing Education in the Pacific. (SPC-EQAP, 2025. Report to CPEM 2025).
- Report from the Federated States of Micronesia as collected under the publication Advancing Education in the Pacific. (SPC-EQAP, 2025. Report to CPEM 2025).
- Report from Solomon Islands as collected under the publication Advancing Education in the Pacific. (SPC-EQAP, 2025. Report to CPEM 2025).
- Report from Tokelau as collected under the publication Advancing Education in the Pacific. (SPC-EQAP, 2025. Report to CPEM 2025).
