THE Fee Free Basic Education Policy has been hailed a success.
Minister of Education, Dick Ha’amori highlighted this in Parliament on Thursday.
The policy, which was implemented back in 2004 and carried on by the current NCRA government, was part of the MDG (Millennium Development Goals), which stated that education must be given to everyone.
“The policy itself was not necessarily initiated by the NCRA government however it was carried on board and upheld,” Mr Ha’amori.
“The policy which was aimed at providing equitable access to quality basic education has more than achieved much of its goals.
“This can be seen through improved equitable access to education, the improvement in quality education provided, and also improvement in education planning and management we have seen since the policy’s implementation in 2004,” Mr Ha’amori said.
He said that NCRA has achieved some tremendous results since 2004.
“We have seen a vast improvement or increase in student enrollment in schools, also children have 89% more access to education than back in 2009, schools are being provided with school grants and most importantly students are no longer being sent home for school fee issues.
He also added that with the implementation of the policy, there has been an increase in the literacy and numeracy levels of students both in primary and secondary schools.
“Statistics have indicated a vast improvement in the quality of teaching and learning with regards to this policy,” he said.
Mr Ha’amori meanwhile called on the future governments to continue supporting the Free Education policy as it is for the betterment of the future of Solomon Islands.
By JEREMY INIFIRI
