Fiji is putting itself forward as a forerunner for progress in education as it hosts the 20th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM)
Fiji is putting itself forward as a forerunner for progress in education as it hosts the 20th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM).
Fijian Attorney-General and Minister of Education Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum met with the Commonwealth of Learning President and Chief Executive Officer Professor Asha Kanwar to explore a number of initiatives the institution could implement in partnership with the Fijian government to strengthen learning for sustainable development in the country.
The Commonwealth of Learning aims to specific challenges to education and supporting wider efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
It works to provide Commonwealth citizens with improved access to quality education and training through open, distance and technology-enabled learning.
Attorney-General Sayed-Khaiyum also called for the development of a best practice toolkit to help Commonwealth members achieve shared access to the resources and knowledge base developed by individual countries, as well as the management of education systems.
This will help governments to tailor national policies to be most effective within their relevant jurisdictions.
Sayed-Khaiyum also called for a virtual education repository to be administered by the Secretariat, which would allow people to access information quickly regarding a specific issue and help connect them to a solution by providing details on how others have dealt with it in other countries and jurisdictions.
The Attorey-General said that students and young people should be at the centre of discussions on policy as they are both the most vulnerable members of society and the primary beneficiaries of education.
He added: “As Commonwealth nations, we all stand at our own levels of development, and we all have our own vision, priorities and agendas for the education of our students and young people.
“But whether we are small developing states or larger, wealthier nations, delivering on our agendas in education depends entirely on our ability to realise the Sustainable Development Goals.
“And with access to this wealth of information, governments can tailor the experiences of other nations to formulate policies that are most effective within their own jurisdictions.”
On Fiji’s membership in the Commonwealth of Learning, he said: “Our membership in the COL will give us new opportunities to deliver the right tools and technologies into the hands of Fijian students and create classroom environments at every level of the Fijian education system that best prepare students for the demands of the modern workplace.”
Professor Kanwar, of the Commonwealth of Learning, said: “I can’t think of a better occasion to welcome Fiji to the Commonwealth of Learning than 20CCEM.
“We are very happy that COL will now be able to work much more closely with institutions and the Ministry of Education to promote the Fijian Government’s development agenda.”
