Government Agencies in Solomon Islands

The Ministry for Education and Human Resources Development (MEHRD) is responsible for managing primary and higher education in the Solomon Islands. There are national, provincial and community levels of secondary education while technical and vocational training (TVET) and adult literacy programmes are administered by the Provincial Non-Formal Education (NFE) offices. Solomon Islands College of Higher Education (SICHE) provides teacher education and offer courses in industrial development, finance and administration, nursing and paramedical studies, marine studies and natural resources as well as first-year university courses. The National Education Board was re-established in 2004 to help manage several education reform and development programs funded by the EU, Australia’s Aid Programme (AusAID) and New Zealand’s Agency for International Developement (NZAID) including Pacific Regional Initiative for the Delivery of Basic Education (PRIDE) and the Education Sector Investment and Reform Programme (ESIRP) which aim to improve literacy and access to basic education.

Public spending on education was 6.1% of GDP in 2008. The years of conflict during the early 2000s severely damaged and depleted the education system. In many parts of the country there was little or no access to educational facilities, as some schools were forced to contract or close. Following the restoration of order in 2003, the government set about rehabilitating and reforming the country’s education system. With assistance from the governments of Australia and New Zealand, the government has been able to rehabilitate infrastructure, re-establish in-service training and provide teaching materials to primary schools.