PADDLE

EDUCATION FOR ALL

COOK ISLANDS DRAFT
NATIONAL ACTION PLAN

By Repeta Puna
EFA Co-ordinator
Cook Islands Ministry of Education
September 2001

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This Education for All National Plan for Cook Islands was produced by Ms Repeta Puna,
the EFA Co-ordinator, under the leadership of the Ministry of Education.

In the process of producing this report, special recognition is due to the Honourable Jim
Marurai, Minister of Education and Mr. Ken Matheson, Secretary of Education, whose
support of the work of UNESCO and Education for All has been consistent throughout.
Thanks are also extended to the Education for All National Forum members for their
assistance and support.

Special thanks to the UNESCO Office for the Pacific, Apia, Samoa.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword by the Minister of Education.......................................................................... 1
Executive Summary.......................................................................................................... 1
Chapter one: EFA in the Cook Islands ........................................................................... 2
Chapter two: National Setting ......................................................................................... 3
Chapter three: EFA Action Plan..................................................................................... 4
EFA Goal one.......................................................................................................................................... 4
EFA Goal two........................................................................................................................................ 11
EFA Goal three ..................................................................................................................................... 16
EFA Goal four....................................................................................................................................... 21
EFA Goal five........................................................................................................................................ 24
EFA Goal six ......................................................................................................................................... 25
Chapter four: Framework for Monitoring and Evaluating EFA goals..................... 28
Glossary of Terms ........................................................................................................... 29

FOREWORD BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Ministry of Education is committed to developing an education system which
provides quality life long learning to all, irrespective of gender, age, economic status and
ability. The aim is to build the skills, knowledge, attitudes and values of the people of the
Cook Islands to ensure the sustainability of economic growth, language and culture of the
Cook Islands and to enable the them to put their capabilities to best use in all areas of
their lives.

To meet this aim in the Cook Islands, efforts will be geared toward working in
partnership with other agencies in government, civil society and the community. The key
themes emerging from the EFA goals are as follows:

Goal one– that parents be better informed of the developmental stages of children,
teachers better trained and appropriate resources be made available for the enhancement
of the development of cognitive skills in children;

Goal two – highlights the need for the provision of compulsory education to be enforced,
the provision of quality teachers, school management and the provision for education for
children with special needs be improved and participation of parents in the formal
education of their children to be strengthened.

Goal three - that life-skills programs be developed and promoted amongst young people
and adults.

Goal four – criteria for data collection on illiteracy rates amongst adults be established
together with a program to eliminate illiteracy.

Goal five – gender disparities is not a problem in the Cook Islands due to the provision of
compulsory education in the Education Act 1986/87.

Goal six – focuses on the improvement of literacy and numeracy rates in school through
the empowerment of teachers with the appropriate strategies.

The last chapter considers tools to enable the EFA co-ordinator to monitor the progress of
each activity and to evaluate effectiveness. Donor agencies can use these tools to check
the advancement of each activity and to monitor use of resources.

Initiatives in these goals, to a large extent, complement and/or further activities already
carried out by the Ministry of Education, civil society and community organizations. The
Cook Islands will ensure implementation of these goals are carried out in partnership
with all levels of society to achieve education for everyone.

1

CHAPTER ONE
EFA IN THE COOK ISLANDS

In the early 1990s, the world community made a commitment, through the World
conference on Education for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs, to improve the
accessibility and quality of education. At the World Conference in Jomtien, Thailand in
1990, the World Declaration on Education for All was adopted and the Framework for
Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs approved.

Ten years after Jomtien, progress towards the achievements of the goals set was assessed
and a follow up World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal in 2000. At this Forum,
the international community endorsed the Dakar Framework for Action, Education for
All: Meeting our Collective Commitments.

The Framework for Action commits UNESCO Member States to convene a National
Education for All Forum to inform the development of a National Education for All
Action Plan. This Plan will be integrated in, or complement, existing National Education
Plans but will specifically address the six goals identified by the World Education Forum
as contributing to the achievement of education for all.

The Cook Islands have met these commitments. In May 2001, a National EFA Forum
was convened, comprising representatives of the Ministry of Education, Ministry of
Health, Internal Affairs, House of Ariki, University of the South Pacific, Students,
Religious Advisory Council, Cook Islands Teachers Institute, National Human Resource
Development, Outer Islands representatives, Disabled People Society and included
people with specific expertise.

Invitations were sent out in March 2001 to agencies which have a direct interest in EFA
initiatives. Each agency responded recommending a representative. The first meeting
held in May (which was also open to observers) was to inform members of the forum
about the conception of EFA and its initiatives, the EFA goals, the roles and
responsibilities of the forum, the structure of the forum and how the forum was to
operate. The forum was split into three working groups, each working on two goals.
After the completion of one goal, the forum would meet to discuss the outcome.
Decisions from those meetings were documented in minutes and compiled in the main
text of this document by the EFA co-ordinator. The forum did not prioritize the goals
because they believe all of the goals are of equal importance.

2

CHAPTER TWO
NATIONAL SETTING

The Cook Islands consists of 15 islands located in the Pacific Ocean from 156 to 167
degrees west and from 8 to 23 degrees south. Its nearest neighbors are Samoa and Niue
to the west and French Polynesia to the east. The total land area of the Cook Islands is
236.7 square kilometers but its exclusive economic zone covers a substantial area of
approximately 2 million square kilometers.

The Cook Islands can be divided into three regions; Rarotonga, the Southern group and
the Northern group. The island of Rarotonga is treated separately because of its
dominance in terms of population size, economic activity and government administration.
Rarotonga is located in the southern part of the country. The Southern group comprises 7
islands which are all located within 200 to 300 kilometers from Rarotonga. The Northern
group consists of Palmerston island, located about 500 kilometers north west of
Rarotonga and six other islands located between 1,000 to 1400 kilometers to the north of
Rarotonga.

The Cook Islands is a self-governing country in free association with New Zealand. The
resident population in 1998 was estimated at 16,800 with the majority (about 95%) being
of Cook Islands Maori (Polynesian) descent. The people of the Cook Islands have
automatic rights to New Zealand citizenship. In 1996, the Cook Islands faced an
economic crisis that resulted in a large number of people leaving the Cook Islands in
subsequent years. Cook Islands Maori is the first language for most Cook Islands people
but English is also frequently used especially in secondary schools, businesses and
government administration.

Free, compulsory and basic formal education began in Rarotonga in 1896 with the outer
islands following suit with schools on their respective islands being established.
Currently, there are 35 schools in the Cook Islands with at least one school on every
permanently inhabited island. Rarotonga has 56% of the total student population, the
Southern group 33% and the Northern group 11%. The majority of students (85%) attend
government schools.

Education in the Cook Islands is voluntary from between the ages of 3½ to the year they
turn 5 and compulsory from the ages of 5 to the end of the year in which the child turns
15. Primary school level is defined in the Education Act as being grades one to six
inclusive. Students are expected to have completed grade 10 (Form 4) level. Therefore
basic education refers to Grades 1-10 (Form 4) inclusive.

3

CHAPTER THREE
EFA ACTION PLAN

This chapter contains the EFA Action Plan that addresses all six EFA goals in the same
order as they were listed in the Country Guidelines: Preparation of national plans of
action. The people of the Cook Islands consider them all to be of equal importance.
Each goal has been revised to suit the needs of education in the Cook Islands; the chapter
also provides a brief background, considers the constraints and proposes activities plus
budget. The Action Plan will be revised from time to time to reflect changing national
needs.

EFA GOAL ONE

Existing Goal
Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education,
especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children

Revised Goal
Improve the current pre-school service by making it a more collaborative and
comprehensive early childhood care and education service, especially for the most
vulnerable and disadvantaged children.

Information about Early Childhood

For most children, education starts at age 3½ when they are deemed eligible by Ministry
of Education policy to attend school on a voluntary basis as stipulated by section 31(4) of
the Education Act 1986-87. Of the 29 primary schools in the Cook Islands, 27 of them
have a preschool attached to the school. Pre-school students are taught by a variety of
methods including the rote method. These methods prepare them for formal education at
primary level. The majority of current pre-school teachers are primary trained and
therefore lack the specific knowledge and skills a properly trained Early Childhood
Education Teacher should have. Although there have been attempts to up-skill pre-
school teachers, the attainment of learning outcomes at this level has not improved very
much. Educational resources, especially in the Cook Islands Maori language are also an
issue that needs to be addressed urgently. The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework is
currently being developed which will identify the parameters and the learning outcomes
at the ECE level.

Data for the number of eligible pre-school children accessing preschool.1
Pre-school Population Enrolment %
Enrolment
Ages
3.6
697 642 92%

1 Source: Census of Population and Dwellings, December 2001,Statistics Office, Rarotonga.

4

Project No. 1 Parent Education

Background information
Parents are the carers and first educators of children and for that reason they must be well
equipped with information required for a child’s development and learning. Some
parents have the notion that their responsibility is to care and nurture the physical, social,
cultural and spiritual development of their children and that education (mental
development) is the business of teachers and schools, and that parents are not required to
participate in the development of that area unless in school fundraising activities.

Constraints
• Most parents are not aware of the developmental stages of a child and therefore
are not aware what they can do to foster the mental development of a child using
daily activities;
• There is still a demarcation of teacher and parents roles: partnerships should be
built;

Activities:
1.1 Inform parents on mental development of a child before, during and after pre-school;
1.2 Promoting activities parents can do at home to develop the foundations of literacy
and numeracy;
1.3 Parents and teacher roles are better defined and partnerships formed;
1.4 Develop resources to assist parents form foundations of literacy and numeracy at
home.

Actions
Timeframe Person/Org
Monitoring Result
needed
Responsible
1.1 Informing
2004
Ministry of
EFA
Information pack on pre-natal,
parents on
Health, Ministry
co-ordinator
post-natal during pre-school
mental
of Education.
development in place and
development of
distributed to parents
a child before,
ongoing
90% of parents or potential
during and
parents are aware of
after preschool.
developments before birth and
can positively participate in
those developments.
1.2 Promoting
2003
Ministry of
EFA
Strategies promoted through
activities
Education
co-ordinator
the most effective means;
parents can do
television, radio and brochures.

5

at home to
ongoing

1. 90% of parents take
assist their
advantage of simple home
children
activities to develop basic
develop the
literacy and numeracy skills;
foundations of
2. Improved achievement
literacy and
levels at G2, G4 and G6
numeracy
monitoring tests.

1.3 Parents and 2003
Ministry of
EFA
1. Policy on school
teacher roles
Education,
co-ordinator
committee developed;
are better
schools
2. Policy guidelines for
defined and
schools on
partnerships
strengthening “Home
formed.
and School”
partnership.
ongoing
Relationship and partnership
between parents and school
improved
1.4 Develop
2003
Ministry of
EFA co-
Dialect resources for pre-
resources to
Education
ordinator
school developed and
assist parents
distributed.
develop early
literacy and
ongoing
90% of students at pre-school
numeracy
have good foundations in
skills
literacy and numeracy.

Budget allocation ($NZ)
Action
2003/4
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
number
Govt. Donor
Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor
1.1
6,500 6,700 6,900 7,100 7,200
1.2
9,000 9,200 9,400 9,600 9,800
1.3 2,000

2,000
0 0 0 0 0 0
1.4

Project No. 2 In-service and pre-service training

Background information
41 percent of teachers teaching at pre-school level have a pre-school teachers
qualification. This has a major impact on the quality of education provided at this level,
which subsequently will result in various learning outcomes not being achieved and
students disadvantaged further down the line; this is evident with the grade 4 and grade 6
diagnostic tests at primary level.

6

On the other hand, in-service training for pre-school teachers has not been given priority.
This is due to the introduction of the new New Zealand qualifications at secondary level
where in-service training is a priority. In-service training is essential at this level to
ensure standards and methods of delivery, contents and assessment are equal across all
pre-schools.

Constraints
• Lack of properly trained preschool teachers;
• Current pre-school curriculum needs review;
• Insufficient in-service training for pre-school teachers;
• Lack of people wanting to be ECE teachers.

Activities:
2. Ensure teachers are better trained and qualified to teach at preschool level by:
2.1. Promoting qualifications available for pre-school teaching;
2.2. Ensure regular up-skilling of current pre-school teachers;
2.3. Ensuring teachers are trained to identify children with special needs at an early
age.
2.4. Media campaign to entice people into taking ECE teaching as a career;

Actions
Timeframe Person/Org Monitoring Proposed
Outcome
needed
Responsible
2.1 Promote 2003-2004
Ministry of
EFA
Promotion programs to target
qualification
Education
co-ordinator
pre-school teachers.
s available
for pre-
Ongoing
Learning achievement of pre-
school
school students improved –
teaching.
reflected in the G2 monitoring
tests
2.2 Regular
2003-2004
Ministry of
EFA
Monthly information sharing
up-skilling
Education
co-ordinator
with Pre-school teachers;
of current
Regular revision of delivery
pre-school
methods through pre-school
teachers.
association.
Ongoing
Standard of education at
preschool level improved.
2.3 Ensuring 2003-2004
Ministry of
EFA
Programs to identify children
teachers are

Education
co-ordinator
with special learning needs
able to

included in the education
identify

system.
students
Ongoing
90% pre-school teachers are
with special
able to identify and manage
learning
children with special learning
needs at an
needs.
early level.

7

2.4 Promote
2003 -
Ministry of
EFA
People are aware of the ECE
ECE teaching ongoing
Education
co-ordinator
area and have between 20-30
as an
applications for scholarships.
attractive and
rewarding
career.

Budget Allocation ($NZ)
Action
2003/4
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
number
Govt. Donor
Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4

Project No.3 Identify vulnerable and disadvantaged children

Background information
Anecdotal evidence suggests there are vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the
community who need assistance from various organizations in government and in civil
society. These are children who come from unstable homes where they are victims of the
circumstances and are missing out on opportunities to have positive mental and social
development. There are also children with special needs from homes that are not
informed of methods to manage them.

Constraints
• Lack of system to identify and support children who are disadvantaged;

Activities:
3. Research was undertaken by Internal Affairs to identify vulnerable and disadvantaged
children. Internal Affairs is now working towards a system to better identify their
needs. This system will need to be developed in partnership with Public Health,
Social Welfare, Ministry of Justice and the Vaka Councils (in Rarotonga), Island
Councils (in the outer islands) and the Disability Councils on respective islands to
ensure children who are vulnerable and disadvantaged are identified and supported.

Activities:

3.1 Develop an identification and support system in partnership with other
stakeholders

8

Actions needed
Timeframe Person/Org
Monitoring Proposed
Outcome
Responsible
3.1 Develop
2003 - 2005 Public Health,
EFA co-
System to identify and
identification and
Social Welfare,
ordinator
support in place.
support system in
Ministry of
partnership with
Justice, Disability
100% participation at pre-
other stakeholders
councils
school level.

Budget Allocation ($NZ)
Action
2003/4
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
number
Govt. Donor
Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor
3.1

Project No.4 Appropriate resources for ECE centers

Background information
The curriculum framework for early childhood currently being developed will identify
learning outcomes within which the achievement of learning programs will be outlined.
Central to the achievement of those learning outcomes is the need for appropriate
resources. Currently, resources used at this level are created by teachers and students
themselves which they take pride in but which may not necessarily be effective in the
development of children. Resources that have been proven to be effective at this level are
not used for lack of knowledge about what they are and their application.

Constraints
• Insufficient resources, especially in the Cook Islands Maori language for the
development of literacy at ECE level;
• Insufficient knowledge on the type of resources, which enhance cognitive
development in children.

Activities:

4. Equip schools with resources to assist with the educational development of
children.
4.1 The school committee, parents and the school will work together to ensure
ECE classes are well resourced (this activity will include research on the
appropriate types of resources for cognitive development in children) and to
also ensure maintenance of these equipment;
4.2 The Ministry of Education will ensure appropriate ECE resources are
developed to promote literacy and numeracy skills for use in schools.

9

Action needed
Timeframe
Person/Org
Monitoring Proposed
Outcome
Responsible
4.1 Appropriate
2003-Ongoing School
EFA
All Early Childhood Education
resources are
committee,
co-ordinator centers are equipped to
developed and
parents and
accommodate the educational
maintained for
school.
needs of young children.
children at ECE
level
4.2 Produce
2003-2005
Ministry of
EFA
20 reading books of each type
reading books and

Education/NG co-ordinator and in both languages (English
other resources to

O
and Cook Islands Maori) are
develop language

available in each ECE centre.
and number skills.

Ongoing
90% children are able to meet
when required
the learning outcomes of
literacy and numeracy as stated
in the Early Childhood
Education Curriculum
Framework.

Budget Allocation ($NZ)
Action
2003/4
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
number
Govt. Donor
Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor
4.1
4.2

10

EFA GOAL TWO

Existing Goal
Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult
circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete
free and compulsory primary education of good quality.

Revised Goal
By 2008 all children, especially those in difficult circumstances, maintain access to
primary education of good quality.

Background Information:
The Cook Islands Education Act 1986-87 makes it compulsory for any child between the
ages of 5-15 to attend school. However, enforcement is weak because there is no
stipulation for a specific authority to be responsible for enforcement.

Children in difficult circumstances in this goal refer to children with special learning
needs and children with other needs, which makes it difficult for them to access
education.

For social and economic reasons, there is no way primary education will be provided for
free in the Cook Islands. Although the government heavily subsidizes primary education,
(ie, through the provision of education materials, resources, buildings and teachers)
parents take responsibility for the welfare and wellbeing of their children to ensure they
are able to fully participate in education.

It is difficult to define the term quality due to its subjective ness; however, for this
exercise, the term quality means meeting all learning outcomes as stipulated by the
National Curriculum Framework for the primary level and meeting the requirements
under the Ministry of Education policy on Teacher Performance, Minimum Teacher
Qualifications and Guidelines for School Management.

Primary Ages
Population
Enrolment
% Enrolment
Ages 5 - 10
2127*
2227
105%
Source: Census of population and Dwellings, 1 December 2001, Statistics Office,
Rarotonga. * - Resident population only, does not include expatriates.

Project No.1 – Enforcement of the Education Act 1986/87

Background information
Although the Education Act 1986/87 stipulates that it is compulsory for a child from age
5 – 15 years to attend school there is no provision for an enforcement agency to ensure
that this part of the Act is complied with. Truancy is a problem faced by schools and the
nature of truancy varies from children deliberately staying away from school to children
being stopped by their parents from accessing school for various family reasons. This

11

responsibility is now that of the Welfare Officer at Internal Affairs, however, they are
also concerned that they lack the capacity to carry out these duties as well as theirs.
Truancy is also more prevalent in the northern group of the Cook Islands where the
population has decreased considerably and the main economic activity is pearl farming.

Constraints
• There is no agency appointed to enforce the truancy clause of the Education Act
1986/87;
• There is no agency responsible for the follow up and the provision of support for
children from homes who cannot be supported to attend school

Activities:
1. Enforcement of the Education Act
1.1 Appointment of Truancy officers for Education;
1.2 Work in partnership with Social Welfare to ensure other issues associated with
truancy are resolved;

Action needed
Timeframe
Person/Org
Monitoring Proposed
Outcome
Responsible
1.1 Appointment
2003 -
Ministry of
EFA
All truancy problems are
of Truancy Officer ongoing
Education
co-ordinator investigated and resolved, and
attendance of primary school
students is close to 100%.
1.2 Work with
2003 -
Ministry of
EFA
All social issues relating to the
Social Welfare
ongoing
Education,
co-ordinator cause of truancy are
agency to ensure
Social
appropriately addressed.
support is provided
Welfare
for truants
Agency.

Budget Allocation ($NZ)
Action
2003/4
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
number
Govt. Donor
Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor
1.1
35,000
1.2
10,000

Project No.2 Improve school management

Background information
The success in the delivery of education programs is to a large extent dependent on how
well schools are managed. Principals and Deputy Principals are appointed to these
management positions without management training, and these deficiencies are reflected
in the school roll and teacher retention.

12

Project No 2 Provision of quality teachers and education programs for children with
special learning needs.

Background information
Programs for children with special learning needs is a new concept to the Cook Islands.
The Te Apii Apiianga Pororo is located at Avarua school and caters for children who
have a physical and mental disability as well as a special learning need. The outer islands
do not have a facility to cater for children with special learning needs; in fact, they are
mainstreamed and stay home when they feel they cannot cope with the school work.

There have been courses conducted for primary school teachers on special needs
education; however, the course proved to be ineffective due to teachers failing to apply
the skills acquired in the course.

Constraints
• Teachers are not properly trained to cater for the needs of children with special needs;
• No monitoring of application of skills acquired by teachers;
• Parents are not encouraged to be involved in the education of their children with
special learning needs.

Activities:
4. Provision of quality teachers and education for children with special needs
4.1 All teachers at all levels be properly trained to accommodate the needs of children
with special learning needs and special needs;
4.2 Schools work in partnership with parents to help them with the learning needs of
their children.

Other needs
4.3 Guidance Counselor for primary and secondary school students

Action needed
Timeframe
Person/Org
Monitoring Proposed
Outcome
Responsible
4.1 Teacher
2003 –2005
Ministry of
EFA
Teacher training program in
training to cater for
Education,
co-ordinator place.
the needs of
NGO
children with
special learning
ongoing
70% of children with special
needs and children
learning needs participate at
with special needs
various levels of society.
4.2 Parents are
2003 - 2005
schools
EFA
Parents education program
educated on how
co-ordinator ready for delivery
to assist with the

13

education of their
ongoing

90% of parents participate in
children with
the education of their children.
special learning
needs and special
needs.
4.3 Employ a
2003/04
Ministry of
EFA
Guidance counselor employed
Guidance
Education
co-ordinator with conditions of employment
Counselor for
included in performance
primary and
contract
secondary school
ongoing
That 100% of children with
students.
special needs are able to take
part in the learning process

Budget Allocation ($NZ)
Action
2003/4
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
number
Govt. Donor
Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor
4.1 20,000
20,000
5,000
5,000
5,000
4.2 20,000
20,000
5,000
5,000
5,000
4.3 40,000
35,000
35,000
35,000
35,000

Project No.5 Parents participate in the education of their children.

Background information
Parents play a major role in influencing the education of their children, therefore they
need to understand that their responsibilities do not end once their children enter formal
education. Parents have often said they have no understanding of the modern syllabus
used in schools today and therefore cannot adequately support their children.

Constraints
• Parents have no support for assisting their children with formal education
• Parents have no understanding of modern syllabus

Activities:
5. Parents participation in the education of their children.
5.1 Encourage and strengthen partnership and good working relationships between
teachers and parents to ensure parents have full information about the education
of their children through regular meetings like parents’ evenings or individual
meetings or other avenues.

14

Action needed
Timeframe
Person/Org
Monitoring Proposed
Outcome
Responsible
5.1 Regular
2003 -
Ministry of
EFA
6 parents evenings and 9
parents/teacher
ongoing
Education,
co-ordinator newsletters per year
meetings and
schools,
monthly
parents
publication of
Teachers and parents are able
educational
to share information about the
newsletters.
education of their children
through various avenues

Budget Allocations ($NZ)
Action
2003/4
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
number
Govt. Donor
Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor
5.1 5,000
5,000
5,000
5,000
5,000

15

EFA GOAL THREE

Original Goal:

Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through
equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programs.

Revised Goal:

1. To develop learning opportunities to meet better the needs of young people and
adults through life skills programs;
2. To ensure every young person and adult has an equal opportunity to life-skills
programs.
3. To develop and deliver healthy living programs for the community and to ensure
the Cook Islands is kept free from HIV and other social related diseases.

Background information
It is estimated that 84% of students drop out of school during the last four years of senior
secondary education. These young people either look for employment or migrate out of
the country. Opportunities for them after formal secondary education to acquire new
skills are limited.

It is difficult to ascertain the definition of life-skills; however, in this exercise, life-skills
means equipping a young person with the skills and knowledge to survive and participate
fully in society.

Health promotion and the prevention of important health problems are at the core of
skills-based health education. Appropriate culturally specific strategies to health
education, based on community endorsement and ownership will enhance partnering
relationships between the community and government organisations to ensure high level
of success for these projects. Assisting the community to develop healthy social practices
helps them to acquire beliefs, attitudes, values, lifeskills and services they need for
emotional and psychosocial well-being as well as physical health.

Project No. 1 To develop learning opportunities to meet better the needs of young
people and adults through life skills programs

Background Information
Currently, there is only one life-skill program being offered in the Cook Islands called the
Outward Bound which teaches young people to be able to survive with minimal
equipment and supervision. There is no assessment of the effectiveness of this course.

Constraints
• There is not enough variety of life-skills courses offered in the Cook Islands;

16

• Lack of funding for the delivery of these courses

Activities:
1.1 Develop and deliver appropriate life-skills courses for young people like agriculture,
domestic skills, basic maintenance skills, healthy living, technology and computer
skills, arts, crafts and culture;
1.2 Programs for people with a disability
1.3 Mobilize resources for delivery of programs

Action
Timeframe Person/Org Monitoring Proposed
Outcome
needed
Responsible
1.1 Develop
2003 -2005
National
EFA
The development of various
and deliver
Human
coordinator
life-skills programs complete.
life-skills
Resource
programs
Ongoing
Development,
Young people are able to
Ministry of
perform various skills to
Agriculture
support themselves.
1.2 Develop
2003 – 2005
National
EFA
The development of programs
and deliver
Human
coordinator
for people with disability
programs for
Resource
complete.
people with
ongoing
Development,
Young people with disability
disability
Ministry of
are able to participate in
Health, Internal
various levels of society.
Affairs
1.3 Mobilize 2003 -
National
EFA
Resources are available for the
resources for ongoing
Human
coordinator
provision of the above
delivery of
Resource
programs.
programs
Development,
Respective
agency

Budget Allocation ($NZ)
Action
2003/4
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
number
Govt. Donor
Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor
1.1 250000
25000
250000
250000

250000
1.2 120000
12000
120000
40000

40000
1.3

5,000
5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000

Project No.2 Ensure access for everyone to life-skills programs

Background information

17

Life-skills programs need to be promoted to ensure that all young people who are interested
in participation and will benefit from these courses have access to them.

Activity:
2 Ensure access for everyone to life-skills programs
2.1 Media campaign to raise awareness

Action needed Timeframe Person/Org Monitoring Proposed
Outcome
Responsible
2.1 Media
2003 - 2004
Ministry of
EFA
Media strategy complete.
campaign to
Education
co-coordinator
Campaign started.
raise awareness ongoing
95% of eligible young
people apply and are
accepted into a course

Budget Allocation ($NZ)
Action
2003/4
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
number
Govt. Donor
Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor
2.1 20,000
20,000
15,000
15,000
15,000

Project No.3 Promoting healthy living

Background information
Public health education and community awareness of the issues of STI, HIV and AIDS
started in the 1980s and has had a mixed bag of success. It still continues till today and
particularly on the main island of Rarotonga. The effort has seen the level of awareness
and understanding of people slowly increase and improve. The majority of health
workers, especially Public Health Nurses are well trained with regards to their ability to
provide information on the issues of HIV and healthy living. There are no known cases
of HIV AIDS or Syphilis in the Cook Islands, however, the cases of Hepatitis B has
decreased from 16% in 1993 to 7% in 1997. The success in controlling this disease is the
result of vigorous community awareness campaigns. On the other hand, the Cook Islands
on average has around 9% of its population with Gonorrhoea, Candidiasis,
Trichomoniasis and Garnerella. (Medical Records Unit, Ministry of Health)

Health education is part of the school curriculum in the Cook Islands for the primary
level. The Ministry of Health actively promotes prevention of diseases as a result of
careless social behavior (ie, sexually transmitted diseases) or lifestyle diseases (ie
diabetes, high blood pressure, etc…) to secondary school students (ie, from form 1-7).
This is done on a regular basis (once or twice a year)in all schools and continues to draw

18

discussions from teachers and parents alike regarding the contents of the program and its
implications.

Constraints
1. Lack of project follow-up in the community;
2. Parents not willing to discuss sexual issues with their children at home or allow
teachers or health educators to discuss them at school;
3. Promote the importance of healthy social values among school children and young
people.

Activities

3.1 Develop and deliver targeted educational programs to educate parents on
effective strategies to bring understanding and stimulate discussions about
sexual issues with their children;
3.2 Provide parents with resources to help them educate their children in the
home on issues relating to sexual behaviour and sexually transmitted
diseases;
3.3 Develop a system to follow up and monitor existing community health
programs;
3.4 Employ a Counsellor to work through sports, church organisations and
parent groups to train them to advise and educate young people on the
value of healthy behaviour.

Timeframe Person/Org Monitoring Proposed
Action Needed
Responsible
Outcome
3.1 Educate
2003- ongoing
Ministry of
EFA co-
80-90% of
parents
Health,
ordinator,
parents are able
Ministry of
Health
to educate their
Education
Educator
children at
home on
healthy social
behavior.
3.2 Provide
2003 - ongoing Ministry of
EFA co-
Parents have
parents with
Health,
ordinator,
the means to
resources
Ministry of
Health
make their
Education
Educator
children’s
education more
effective.
3.3 Monitor
2003 - ongoing Ministry of
EFA co-
Community
community
Health,
ordinator,
programs are
programs
Ministry of
Health
continuously
Education
Educator
improved to
meet the
changing needs
of the
community.

19

3.4 Counselor
2003 - ongoing Ministry of
EFA co-
At risk young
for healthy
Health,
ordinator,
people are
behavior.
Ministry of
Health
helped to curb
Education
Educator
risk-taking
behaviour.

Budget Allocation
Action
2003/4 2004/5 2005/6 2006/7 2007/8
number
3.1
25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000 45,000
3.2
40,000 45,000 5,000 5,000 5,000
3.3
15,000 18,000 20,000 20,000 20,000
3.4
$50,000 $55,000 $60,000 $65,000 $70,000
Government contributions are included in the above figures.

20

EFA GOAL FOUR

Original Goal:

Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for
women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults.

Revised Goal

1. To identify illiteracy rate among adults;
2. To achieve an 80% improvement on the adult illiteracy rate by providing
equitable access to basic and continuing education.

Background information
There is no data available on the rate of illiteracy among adults in the Cook Islands.
However, anecdotal evidence suggests that there are adults who cannot read, write, speak
or understand one language.

Project No 1. Develop criteria for identifying and assessing illiteracy.

Background information:
Illiteracy data for the Cook Islands is not available because such information is not
collected for lack of knowledge about collecting them.

Constraint
• No tool available for collecting data on illiteracy

Activity:
1. Criteria for identifying and assessing illiteracy must be developed. The criteria must
include speaking, reading, writing and understanding either English or Cook Islands
Maori (including any one of the Cook Islands Maori dialects).

Action needed
Timeframe Person/Org
Monitoring Proposed
Outcomes
Responsible
1. Criteria for
2003-2005 Ministry
of
EFA
Comprehensive criteria
identifying and
Education
co-coordinator
are developed to identify
assessing adult
and assess illiteracy rate
illiteracy
amongst adults.

21

Budget Allocations ($NZ)
Action
2003/4
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
number
Govt. Donor
Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor
1. 20,000
20,000
20,000
nil
nil

Project No. 2 Program to eliminate stigma around illiteracy in the community

Background information
Illiterate adults share the same stigma status as people with a mental illness; they do not
like to admit to being illiterate and therefore are unwilling to address their problems.

Constraints
• Stigma around illiteracy hinders people who are illiterate from asking for help.

Activities:
2. There need to be strategies developed to eliminate the stigma of being illiterate
through:
2.1. media promotion;
2.2. community awareness programs to generate acceptance of people who are
illiterate;
2.3. developing and delivering educational programs to address the various illiteracy
problems of adults.

Action needed
Timeframe Person/Org Monitoring Proposed Outcomes
Responsible
2.1 Media promotion
2003 - 2005 Ministry of
EFA
Media strategy
Education,
co-ordinator complete. Campaign
media
started.
2.2 Community
2003 – 2004 Ministry of
EFA
Community awareness
awareness programs
Education,
co-ordinator program in place.
2004 - 2005 Vaka and
3 community programs
Island
conducted in each Vaka
councils
on Rarotonga and 4 on
each of the respective
islands.
2005 –
Communities are aware
ongoing, if
of the problem and will
required
positively contribute to
the encouragement of
people who are illiterate
to seek help.
2.3 Develop and deliver 2003 - 2008 Ministry of
EFA
80% or more increase of
literacy programs
Education,
co-ordinator literacy rate among
NGO
adults

22

Budget Allocations
Action
2003/4
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
number
Govt. Donor
Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor
2.1 20,000
20,000
15,000
15,000
15,000
2.2 nil 10,000
10,000
nil
nil
2.3 50,000
50,000
50,000
40,000
40,000

Project No. 3 Evaluate project to ensure target is reached

Background information
To ensure target of 80% is achieved at the end of 2008, it is essential that evaluation of
the effectiveness and impact of this project is carried out.

Activity
3. Evaluate the project to check that an 80% improvement is achieved on the adult
literacy rate.

Action needed
Timeframe Person/Org
Monitoring
Proposed Outcomes
Responsible
3. Monitor and
2005 - 2008 NGO
EFA
The target of 80% or
evaluate project to
co-coordinator better of people who
ensure target is
took the course has been
achieved.
achieved.

Budget Allocation
Action
2003/4
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
number
Govt. Donor
Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor
3. nil nil 5,000
5,000
5,000

23

EFA GOAL FIVE

Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and
achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full
and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality.

Background information

This goal is not a priority for the Cook Islands. The Education Act 1986/87 stipulates that
it is compulsory for all children aged between 5 and 15 to attend school. Girls make up
46% of the preschool and primary school (G1-G6) enrolment respectively. However,
51% of secondary (F1-F7) students are girls who dominate at the senior secondary (F5-
F7) level accounting for 56% of the enrolment (compare Cook Islands Statistics Digest
2000, p. 8). Ministry of Education research has shown that girls achieve higher than boys
at primary and lower secondary level; however, boys’ achievements improve at the senior
secondary. International research has shown this to be an international trend, and
somehow linked to natural development of children (exact title of research still to be
found and properly sourced).

24

EFA GOAL SIX

Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that
recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in
literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.

Revised Goal:

Improving the quality of education and ensuring excellence for all especially in literacy
and numeracy.

Background information
The Cook Islands does not have an official language. English is widely used especially
on Rarotonga and preferred by most local parents to be their children’s first language of
instruction at schools. As a result, materials of instruction, which were in Cook Islands
Maori are no longer used and missing and others in English are now being used.
However, children are also spoken to in Cook Islands Maori in community, cultural,
family and sometimes religious gatherings and are expected to participate in those
activities. This process does not provide a child with a firm grounding in their first
language, which research has shown, makes the development (teaching and achievement)
of literacy much harder. This problem is more prevalent amongst children in Rarotonga
whereas children in the outer islands use their Cook Islands Maori dialect as their first
language before English is introduced.

Furthermore, a local survey has shown (get proper name of survey) that teachers lack the
knowledge to teach literacy and numeracy properly and the ability to use available
resources effectively. The Ministry has been alerted to this problem and is in the process
of employing two Reading Recovery Teachers to provide advice and assistance to
teachers and students in schools but the problem with numeracy still has to be addressed.

Constraints
• Students are not achieving a high level of literacy and numeracy by the time they
finish primary education;
• Teachers are most likely to be unaware of best teaching practices, eg. what
teaching strategies are most effective in teaching literacy and numeracy;
• Reading is not promoted by teachers as an enjoyable and worthwhile activity
because teachers do not value reading;
• Students are unable to use effective strategies to help them to read, write and
work with numbers;
• Limited resources (reading for beginners) in the Cook Islands language;
• There is no ongoing professional development for teachers in the area of literacy
and numeracy;

25

• The Diagnostic Tests conducted annually clearly identify children who are at risk
but no recovery program is undertaken to help these children.

Activities:
1. Develop appropriate resources for the improvement of literacy and numeracy skills;
2. Empower Curriculum Advisors to advise and train teachers on the development of
literacy and numeracy skills;
3. Develop a pre-service training program for teaching literacy and numeracy.

Actions needed
Timeframe Person/Org
Monitoring Proposed
Outcome
Responsible
1. Develop
2003 - 2005 Parents,
EFA
Literacy and numeracy
resources to
schools and
co-ordinator resources developed
improve literacy
NGO
and numeracy
ongoing
All schools have appropriate
skills
resources for the
development of literacy and
numeracy skills
2. Empower
2003-2005 Program
Ministry of
EFA

for
empowerment
Curriculum
Education,
co-ordinator complete.
Advisors to
parents
monitor and train
teachers to teach ongoing
By 2005 all Curriculum
literacy and
Advisors know how to teach
numeracy skills
and develop effective
strategies for developing
literacy and numeracy skills
3. Develop a pre- 2003 -2004
Ministry of
EFA
Program for developing
service training
Education
co-ordinator literacy and numeracy skills
program for
is included in the Cook
teaching literacy
Islands Teachers College
and numeracy.
Curriculum Framework

Budget Allocations
Action
2003/4
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
number
Govt. Donor
Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor Govt. Donor
1.
500000
500000
500000
200000

200000
2. 20,000
20,000
20,000
5,000

5,000
3. 5,000
5,000
nil nil
nil

26

Secondary Ages
Population
Enrolment
% Enrolment
Ages 11 - 17
2528
1692
67%

Compulsory Ages
Population
Enrolment
% Enrolment
Ages 5 - 15
3996
3331
83%
Source: Census of Population and Dwellings, 1 December 1996, Statistics Office,
Rarotonga. Data on population may be distorted due to visitor numbers being counted.

27

CHAPTER FOUR
FRAMEWORK FOR MONITORING AND EVALUATING EFA GOALS

Monitoring Framework: (For accountability)
(draw graph)

1. Investment components
2. Progress indicators – Proposed Outcome
3. Project effectiveness components (evaluation)
4. Administrative components
5. Reporting component

Monitoring tools

Activity Timeframe
Finance (*)
Progress Indicator
Original New
Act. Cost Balance

(*) For each activity, invoices and receipts must be attached.

Evaluation tools

Activity
Timeframe Impact
on
Improvement to
Progress to Outcome
Delivered
Audience
activity delivered

28

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Early Childhood Care

Early Childhood Education

Pre-school

Disadvantaged Children

Vulnerable Children

Basic Education (goal 5)

Adult

Lifeskills

Vaka Council

Island Council

Monitoring tools

Evaluation tools

29

last updated Sat Sep 01, 2012