The Republic of Vanuatu has joined the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) after endorsement of its education sector plan by its development partners.
The country is the 69th lower-income country to join the partnership.
The Vanuatu Education and Training Sector Strategy (VETSS) covers the period 2020-2030 and aligns with the country's National Sustainable Development Plan 2016-2030. It aims to improve education for all in an efficient and effective way.
About 50% of Vanuatu's population, estimated at 304,000 and spread over more than 80 islands, is of school age. The demographic growth rate of 2.4% means that the education sector will need to accommodate larger student cohorts in the coming years. Despite the fact that education is not compulsory in the country, enrollments have significantly increased over the past three years.
Since 2017, Vanuatu has received four GPE grants:
- US$455,690 (2017-2019 - Grant agent: UNICEF) to support the development of a comprehensive sector plan.
- US$174,816 (2020 – Grant agent: Save the Children UK) to prepare an application for a GPE education sector program implementation grant
- US$750,000 (2020-2021 - Grant agent: Save the Children UK) in accelerated support for the education sector's COVID-19 response, which is funding activities such as printed home-school packages for preschools and primary schools, radio and SMS lessons, and homeschool guidelines for parents and guardians.
- US$499,796 (2020-2021 - Grant agent: Save the Children UK) in accelerated support to respond to damages to the education sector following Tropical Cyclone Harold. The funding will repair 70 damaged classrooms and provide teaching and learning materials for 70 classrooms, benefiting more than 1,500 students.
The Australian Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade is the coordinating agency for education partners in Vanuatu.