Oz-Dev: Kiribati Education

The Kiribati Education Improvement Program (KEIP) is the framework within which the major donors to the education sector will support the GoK to address its most pressing education issues up until 2020. The donors participating in KEIP as at 2010 are AusAID, UNESCO and UNICEF. Collectively these donors are referred to as KEIP partners. The implementation of KEIP is underpinned by the Kiribati Education Sector Statement of Partnership Principles between the Government of Kiribati and Development Partners. The statement – approved by all parties – declares that education sector assistance will be guided by the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness: country ownership and leadership; alignment with national development strategies; managing for results; harmonisation between donors and mutual accountability.

KEIP will focus resources on access to and the quality of schooling in Kiribati. It is intended to improve the standard of education across all 115 primary and junior secondary schools in Kiribati, and to ensure progress towards the MDG2 target (shared by the Government of Kiribati) of a net primary completion rate of 100 percent by 2015. It also intends to: encourage and facilitate high transition rates from primary to junior secondary school; to strengthen the capacity of the teaching force; to improve learning outcomes so all children are literate and numerate; and to establish a strong educational foundation for young I-Kiribati who wish to progress to higher education and training.