FEDMM Opening Remarks By He Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi
FEdMM OPENING REMARKS BY HE RATU JONI MADRAIWIWI
26 Sep 2006 17:41:18 DEVELOPING A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE IN EDUCATION (Remarks at the opening of the Forum Education Ministers Meeting, Tanoa International Hotel, Nadi Tuesday 26 September, 2006 9.00am) Regionalism is a concept that has wide acceptance. It connotes the idea of working together for a common purpose. In the Pacific where distances are vast and resources limited, it makes good economic, social and political sense for neighbours to co-operate in areas of mutual interest. This is what the Forum Basic Education Action Plan (FBEAP) and its means of implementation, the Pacific Regional Initiatives for the Delivery of Basic Education (PRIDE), are about. Introduced in 2001, it is five years since those policies were mooted. This meeting will consider the nature and extent of progress made since 2004, when it was agreed there would be a biennial review to monitor implementation of the Plan. The provision of education to as wide a section of the population as possible and at acceptable standards remain continuing challenges. It was the uneven pattern of these factors throughout the region that persuaded members of the Forum to work together more closely with each other. Shared experiences and strategies have assisted in creating more positive results for all concerned. At the same time, low rates of economic growth and worsening levels of poverty threaten the gains made. Of course it has not always been easy to transpose practices and workhabits given social and cultural and other differences. However, these caveats have been dealt with determinedly by frequent engagement between and among officials of the member States of the Forum. The Forum Education Ministers' meeting is only one, albeit the highest, level of these regular exchanges. Education is perhaps the most critical aspect of national and regional development because it relates to the enhancement of the capabilities of our human resources. That said, how they are moulded and prepared for the workforce in economies at the mercy of global forces beyond our control is critical. If we are to survive both as a region and as individual States, our educational infrastructures must have the flexibility to respond to changing circumstances. At the same time, identity and culture must not be overlooked. I also include language in this regard. It is the medium by which we relate and describe our views of ourselves and the world around us. This must accompany our facility with information technology and telecommunications. This is the reality of contemporary Pacific peoples. While the role of the State remains central in the provision of education, it is one that can be assisted by the private sector, religious organisations and civil society for mutually beneficial ends. These partnerships are to be encouraged because they allow the State to deploy resources to other deserving projects. As the regional entity changed with overseeing implementation of the Plan, the Forum through its member Governments is able to provide some guidance and advice as to how these relationships can be strengthened and further enhanced. It is particularly in the non-formal sector that these non-government entities play such an influential role. They are able to reach those who are not part of the Government system. Those are significant numbers in the countries of the Pacific. Much of the Plan is concerned with the curriculum, teaching competence, the quality and relevance of teaching materials, the quality of school buildings, assessment procedures and relationships with the community. These aspects can be characterized as the components of an educational system. What has been an interesting even challenging exercise is establishing criteria in order to make a comparative analysis. In attempting to set standards, the Forum has had to handle the sensitivities involved with great tact and delicacy. Establishing a regional curriculum for education remains a distant prospect. Notwithstanding that consideration, some impressive studies have been accomplished. The competence of teachers, relevance of learning materials and teaching materials and learning styles have undergone sweeping reassessments in the last few years. What the Plan and the Initiatives accompanying it have done is to generate considerable discussion and reflection about these issues. That has allowed some measure of consensus on the way forward. In this, the strategy of the Plan has been a sectoral approach executed through the CROP institutions and through regular exchanges of Governmental and nongovernmental officials, through seminars, workshops, conferences, training sessions and meetings such as this. Having said that, I do not deny the continuing complexities. In the light of the many and varied natures of the Forum Island countries, it is not easy to yield sovereignty over such issues as the curriculum. The similarities we have as neighbours do not diminish the very real peculiarities that may pertain to us individually. It is for the larger countries such as my own to adopt a more understanding and accommodating approach to the concerns of the smaller States. The fear of being swamped or overwhelmed is a very real one. For the Forum's part, it will continue to encourage constructive engagement in areas where countries can more readily find common ground. The more intractable issues are best dealt with gradually and stage by stage. While human rights governance and gender have become incorporated in the education agenda together with a focus on technical, special and inclusive education, I would respectfully add a comprehensive element on sex education with particular emphasis on HIV/AIDS. This I acknowledge is a proscribed subject in many island States who would prefer it were not mentioned at all. My respectful response is that we need to deal with it openly and honestly. Otherwise we may have an entire generation of young Pacific Islanders lost to us. We are ill-equipped and poorly resourced to face an epidemic or pandemic of this nature. We cannot pretend that our youth are not sexually precocious. They are as a direct consequence of their youth whether one likes it or not, and we need to consider how best to moderate that behaviour or at least ensure it does not result in the fatalities suffered elsewhere. Enough of the sermonising, I did not mean to offend and apologise if I have done so. The eventual success of the Plan depends on the commitment and resolve of the Forum members. The Secretariat will only achieve the level of harmonization and integration that its Governments are prepared to allow. At the same time, the inexorable advance of globalisation will impose its own pressures. It will be necessary that we co-operate more closely in order to create economies of scale and the critical mass to be able to be more effective in the fields which reflect our collective strengths. Individually, we will not amount to much but together the Pacific has a far better chance of engaging the behemoth that is globalisation in all its myriad forms. For that reason, I am optimistic about the prospects for the Plan and its implementation because our fates are inextricably interwoven for better or worse. With those few words, I am honoured to open this meeting of Forum Education Ministers. May your deliberations be as engaging as they are fruitful and I wish you all a pleasant sojourn here and a safe return home. Joni Madraiwiwi |
2006