Sikua made the announcement during the 25th Anniversary of state-owned Waimapuru National Secondary School in Makira/Ulawa Province last Friday.
Top officials from the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development have already completed a draft of the policy which was one of the major policy initiatives of the government to provide access to better education to all Solomon Islanders.
The government has already implemented its fee free basic education for primary and secondary schools at form 3 level. The implementation of the policy has seen dramatic increase in student enrolments at the beginning of this year.
Sikua said the new tertiary education policy is aimed at upgrading the status of the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education, the fourth USP Campus and a proposed National University.
“This policy will cater for the upgrading of SICHE, the fourth USP campus and a proposed National University, from which secondary school students such as those at Waimapuru will be given the opportunity to further their education, as skilled expertise in specialized fields of study,” he said.
Since taking office in Dec. 2007, the government made a policy commitment in placing Education as its major priority — one of which is the implementation of the fee free basic education policy.
Prioritizing access to basic education is an attempt to address the government’s commitment under the Millennium Development Goals of Education for All.
“For us, this simply means an opportunity for access to formal schooling so that eventually down the road, education for young people may become a right rather than a privilege,” Sikua said.
