More boys than girls are dropping out of secondary schools in Vanuatu, with TORBA Province recording the highest dropout rate.
Boys are repeating grades more than girls at both primary and secondary levels across all provinces, and TORBA Province again has the highest repetition rate.
These findings were conveyed by the Director of Policy and Planning at the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), John Gideon, in his presentation to set the tone for discussions at the National Education Forum in Port Vila.
He said more boys are leaving school for reasons beyond the classroom, such as the cost of education, distance to school and boarding challenges.
In 2016, Vanuatu came up with a policy requiring children to start formal primary school at age 6. Director Gideon revealed that the net enrolment rate has been declining since 2023, with girls recording a higher rate while boys’ participation remains lower.
Girls also recorded higher gross enrolment rates than boys at every level.
Director Gideon also mentioned that the education system is not retaining students, especially at the secondary level. He said about 41 out of every 100 children who start Year 1 remain in school by Year 6, and only about 5 out of every 100 continue through to Year 13.
Director Gideon highlighted that the number of early childhood centres has decreased since 2022, primary schools have remained stable, while secondary schools have grown the most, with 67 new schools established since 2015.
“There are over 5,400 teachers, but they are not where the students are,” he said. SHEFA, TAFEA and SANMA have the most senior secondary schools, while TORBA faces a severe shortage of junior secondary teachers.
Director Gideon encouraged participants at the forum to examine what the data reveals about boys’ engagement in the education system, how to increase enrolment in early childhood and the relationship between enrolment and student progress.
Currently, 104,510 students are enrolled across more than 1,000 registered schools in Vanuatu. However, Director General Cherol Ala pointed out that not all children are in school, highlighting the need to improve access, enrolment and participation.
While literacy and numeracy outcomes continue to decline, she said monitoring of the nationwide Curriculum Improvement Program (CIP), launched last year, is showing improved outcomes in student learning.
Other challenges she mentioned include student and teacher attendance, high dropout rates, limited access to formal training and qualifications, school infrastructure, access to schools and rolling out internet connectivity.
She reminded everyone about the ministry’s mission to provide young people with lifelong skills, values and confidence to become self-reliant and contribute to development.
Throughout the four-day National Education Forum, government leaders, educators and partners have discussed what has not worked and what needs to be done to improve education outcomes.
