The outputs of projects which were developed through PRIDE’s assistance were turned over to Palau government through MOE in a Closure and Handover ceremony held on Tuesday at the Palau High School Multi-Purpose Gym.
PRIDE was established by the Pacific Islands Forum Ministers of Education to implement the Forum Basic Education Action Plan (FBEAP). As a response to the concerns expressed by the Forum leaders during their 1999 meeting about the poor quality and delivery of basic education in the Pacific region, the FBEAP was developed in 2001. It is funded by European Union and New Zealand Aid through the Pacific Islands Forum and implemented by the University of the South Pacific.
“The PRIDE project officially comes to a close on December 31, 2010,” PRIDE Director Priscilla Puamau said during her speech at the Handover Ceremony. “It is an honor for me to hand over everything that has been developed through PRIDE funds to the MOE both at country and project levels.”
Those that were handed over to the MOE included Subproject Outputs as a result of the five subprojects implemented by the Palau MOE; some equipment, including a printer/fax, a radio, a camera, projector and four external drives; 17 editions of the PRIDE newsletter called Pacific Pride, which documents key achievements and activities in the country; regional benchmark on education strategic planning; seven publications in the PRIDE Pacific Education Series on educational planning and data management; ECE; Literacy and Numeracy, teacher education, inclusive education, TVET and knowledge societies; a poster and two CDs.
“The Palau MOE has benefited from more than half a million dollars from the PRIDE Project in holding the first Education Summit for the country in 2006, in evaluating the previous 10-year education master plan and developing a new 10-year Education Master Plan, in implementing five projects to address goals and objectives in the Education Master Plan, and in participating in regional training and workshops to increase the MOE capacity to deliver basic education to our children and youth,” Emery Wenty, Director of Education, said on Tuesday.
The FEAP has also come to an end. And it is now replaced by a new initiative called the Pacific Education Development Framework (PEDF). During the Ministers of Education’s meeting in Tonga in March 2009, they endorsed the PEDF to replace the FBEAP. The PEDF, a regional framework that provides guidelines for education development in the Pacific regional, will be used by countries, donor partners and development partners for the seven year 2009-2015.
Puamau said that Dr. Lia Maka recently visited Palau to conduct the Palau PRIDE review. And according to her, Maka’s report has confirmed her own observations and assessment that “Palau is a leader in educational development and governance.”
Among Maka’s conclusions was that the five subprojects –the revision of the curriculum frameworks and the development of a Palauan Studies Textbook for First Grade, managed Director Debbie Tkel-Sbal; the implementation of a centralized Education Awareness Week Program and development of an overall MOE school handbook, handled by Chief Sinton Soalablai; and the development of the Second Edition of the Palau Achievement Test and Monitoring and Evaluation of the projects managed by Chief Raynold Mechol – all achieved the objectives and outputs significantly and all share common success stories.
“All five subprojects have exceeded expectations in terms of high quality and outcomes and high levels of sustainability,” Puamau said. “Palau was the first country to utilize every cent of subproject funds and to fully acquit for these funds. Given the challenges faced by other Pacific countries in these areas, this is a significant achievement.”
Puamau added that she hopes that these outputs, at the country and project levels, will be useful for Palau.
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