The Kiribati Education Improvement Program (KEIP) supports the education reforms of the Kiribati Ministry of Education and increases children’s access to quality basic education.

The program aims to improve learning outcomes for basic education for i-Kiribati children in school years 1 to 9, including children with a disability.

Improving education outcomes encompasses providing better learning environments; improving access to schools; building a curriculum that supports student engagement and self-development; improving teaching quality; and supporting better retention in school for both boys and girls. KEIP also supports Kiribati’s Ministry of Education (MoE) to effectively plan, resource, and manage priority sector activities. The KEIP has adapted its support as required to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Program highlights include:

• Reviewing the Junior Secondary School curriculum, and implementation of recommendations to improve education delivery in years 7 – 9.
• Supporting school rehabilitation on selected outer islands, including classrooms, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities, water storage, and solar power.
• Providing school furniture to school students in the Gilbert outer island schools.
• Building the capacity of new and emerging school leaders.
• Working with local storytellers and artists to develop a collection of original children’s books in te-Kiribati, as well as a new English-Kiribati dictionary.
• Supporting the Ministry of Education to establish two new model disability-inclusion schools.
• Supporting the reduction of gender-based bullying in schools and reducing negative gender stereotyping in the curriculum and school materials.
• Supporting the Kiribati Teachers College to progress towards its goal of achieving external accreditation, providing pathways for teachers to undertake an Advanced Diploma of Teaching in Kiribati.

Providing school furniture to Kiribati’s outer islands during a global pandemic presents significant logistical challenges. Furniture is being sourced from Australia, flat-packed and packaged in small quantities for shipping to Kiribati. This will facilitate distribution to schools without heavy lifting equipment. Storage containers are also being supplied to ensure the furniture can be kept away from the elements when not in use.

For the new schools, construction materials are being sourced from New Zealand and shipped to Kiribati. In Kiribati, a ‘kitset’ method of construction will be utilised, with kitset components being manufactured near Tarawa and then shipped to outer island construction sites for assembly.