PRESS RELEASE - 11th August 2010 - The Forum Education Ministers' Meeting (FEdMM) has provided a very effective platform for leveraging donors and development partners' reactions to the development needs of education in the region.
In a presentation on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat at the Consultation Meeting on the Pacific Education Development Framework in Nadi, Fiji today, the Forum Secretariat's Social Policy Adviser, Filipe Jitoko said since the first FEdMM was held in 2001, "we can confidently say that it has provided a very effective platform for leveraging donors and development partners reactions to the development needs of education in the region."The Forum Basic Education Action Plan that was adopted by the Education Ministers in 2001 has provided a mechanism for regional cooperation in education.
The Pacific Regional Initiatives for the Delivery of Basic Education (PRIDE) Project was the vehicle for implementing the Plan.
"And indeed, PRIDE has provided countries of the region with substantial financial and human resources for the enhancement of regional education systems. At this point I want to thank the European Union (EU) and the New Zealand Assistance for International Development (NZAID) for their generous support of PRIDE," said Mr Jitoko.
The Pacific Education Development Framework (PEDF), endorsed by the Forum Education Ministers' Meeting in Tonga last year came out as a result of a review of the Forum Basic Education Action Plan.
The three-day Consultation Meeting on the PEDF which started in Nadi today will, among other things, review the Framework and identify areas that need interventions and discuss and agree on regional initiatives to support the implementation of the PEDF at country levels.
The PEDF covers six sub-sectors in the education sector including Early Care and Childhood Education; Formal School Education (Primary and Secondary); Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET); Non-formal Education; Teacher Development; In-service Education and Pre-Service education of Teachers; and System Governance and Administration
The Consultation Meeting will also discuss several cross-cutting themes including Regional IT Policy in education; Strategies for Education for Sustainable Development; Education for Sustainable Development and the Pacific Plan; Distance and Opening Learning Systems through ICT; and the Pacific Regional Strategy on Disability.