Department of Education                               Peace Corps Vanuatu

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Port Vila, 17 November 2004                                        

Department of Education and Peace Corps Strengthen Partnership

The Department of Education and Peace Corps marked an important chapter in the their partnership by signing for the first time a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Thursday December 9, 2004.The signing ceremony by Peace Corps Country Director Mr. Kevin George and Director General of Education Mr. Abel Nako was attended by representatives of government departments, non-governmental organizations and international organizations at Magalilu Village North Efate.   

This MOU provides for The MOE and Peace Corps to collaborate to implement the objectives of the MOE’s Corporate Plan and other strategies, such as the nation’s commitment to Education for All (EFA), as related to formal education in primary and secondary schools, and to vocational, community based training in Rural Training Centers.  The MOE and Peace Corps will utilize their respective resources under a shared strategy to assist the educational system to demonstrate increased capacity for self-sufficiency and sustainability, delivery of a quality instruction, and an increased capability to obtain resources necessary for the delivery of education. To achieve this goal, the MOE and Peace Corps have agreed to a Project Framework (attached) outlining agreed upon objectives, activities and the resources necessary for implementation of this shared strategy.  The Project Framework, which will be updated as necessary by the organizations, is incorporated into this Memorandum and is designed to meet goals and objectives as developed by the Ministry of Education in its Corporate Plan that are referenced in the Project Framework. 

The MOE is the government agency that has primary responsibility for supporting education in Vanuatu. In partnership with stakeholders, its goal is to provide education that is well managed, relevant, and of good quality to ensure that all the people of Vanuatu participate fully in the nation’s social, cultural, and economic development.  The primary purpose of the Government’s education policy is to create a system, which provides good conditions for knowledge, skills, and values development, with the view of enhancing a harmonious and peaceful society, conducive to the promotion of a sustainable way of life in Vanuatu. The core element of the Government’s primary policy objective of restructuring and developing the economy is raising the access and standards of education and training throughout the system.  The MOE Corporate Plan states “education shall be fundamentally grounded in Ni-Vanuatu culture and belief”. 

To implement its goals and objectives the MOE provides the following support to Vanuatu’s education system. 

l    The government and donors channel national administration of the educational system through which policies and practices are implemented and financial support of education. 

l    Management of schools and other institutions of learning,

l    The development of curriculum and teaching resources, 

l    Systems for the training, monitoring and evaluation of teachers. 

l    The management of national examinations. 

l    Support for the establishment of infrastructure such as schools and administrative offices. 

Peace Corps is an independent agency of the United States government that provides grassroots development assistance to Vanuatu through skilled Volunteers from the United States who work in the agriculture, education, youth development, environment and business sectors. The organization is committed to principles of development that promote community involvement and self-sufficiency. 

Peace Corps and its Volunteers provides, or has the potential to provide, the following resources.  

l    Teachers with the skills necessary to teach subjects such as Math, English, Science and Information Technology at the secondary and/or upper primary school level. 

l    Primary Education Teacher Trainers, with the skills and experience necessary to promote in-service training of teachers, implement new teaching methods and to provide other types of support to Zone Curriculum Advisors,

 l   Volunteers with the appropriate skills to support the development of curriculum and teaching resources.

 l   Volunteers with the appropriate skills to assist in the implementation of vocational (technology) training in schools and rural training centers.

 l   Management, monitoring and evaluation of Peace Corps contribution to the goals and objectives defined in the Project Framework and the Ministry of Education’s Corporate Plan.