Education Sector Medium-Term Strategic Plan 2013-2017 and Beyond
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Republic of the Seychelles Ministry of Education Education Sector Medium- Term Strategic Plan 2013-2017 and Beyond A Road Map for the Further Transformation of the Education Process to Achieve Quality Lifelong Education for All and Improve National Sustainable Development November 2014 Foreword The publication of the ‘Education Sector Medium-Term Strategy 2013-2017 and Beyond’ marks a major milestone in the further development of our education sector. Education is a critical investment in our country’s future growth and development. This is emphasized through the broad-based priorities that are encompassed in this Strategy and that will inform and guide the implementation of our education and training programmes, policies, and initiatives over the coming years. This Strategy is ambitious, but ensures that the investments that we are making in our children today support our national priorities and goals. It is focused on addressing challenges, achieving results and providing our children with the knowledge and skills they need to become future productive members of our society and active participants in our economic development. In essence, the concept of quality education and training provision that are relevant to our national needs underpin this Strategy and will remain the ultimate goal of our education sector. The Medium-Term Strategy provides an important frame of reference for the various education stakeholders and all those with an interest in our education and training system, ranging from the learners and their parents, and their communities, to the education and training providers, partners and the wider interest groups. It takes into account the priorities and commitments of the Government expressed through the National Development Strategy 2015-2019 as well as a range of other approved Government policies and strategies. There will be challenges during the period of implementation of this Education Sector Strategy as we strive to respond to the wider global changes that impact directly on the education and training environments. These will include meeting the economic development needs, enhancing the quality of education and training experiences for the diverse learner populations, and addressing the diverse social issues impacting on learners so as to better prepare them for life, work and global citizenship. The Ministry of Education itself is being further transformed in line with various Government policies, including the institutionalization of results-based management, the implementation of programme performance-based budgeting and the ongoing Public Sector Reform Agenda. As we undergo this necessary organizational and operational transformation, a strong focus across our education sector will be imperative for sustaining progress already made while enhancing the quality of our services at all levels. The ‘Education Sector Medium-Term Strategy 2013-2017 and Beyond’ is the outcome of an elaborate and comprehensive process of consultation with stakeholders both within and outside the Ministry of Education and with our international partners. I express my gratitude to all the staff of the Ministry of Education and the local stakeholders for their invaluable contributions and their committed efforts during the development stage of this Strategy. I sincerely thank the technical experts from the UNESCO International Institute of Educational Planning (IIEP), whose invaluable international experience and guidance have been crucial throughout. I am also grateful to the European Union for financially supporting the development of the Strategy. The spirit of partnership, collective engagement and hard work that has characterized the development process of the Strategy will be essential in the delivery of the agenda set to be accomplished in the quest for an improved education and training system. We have a lot of work ahead of us. In implementing this Strategy, we will not be working alone. We will seek to work in close collaboration with our stakeholders and partners as the implementation of this Strategy will require the involvement of the entire stakeholder community. We will find more ways to secure the expert advice of many with our projects and programmes. The publication of the Strategy signals only the first step in a long journey. Progress in the delivery of the priorities and outcomes elaborated in this Strategy will to a large extent depend on the level of financial resources available for investment and service provision to the education sector. I look forward to engaging with all who are dedicated and committed to deliver on the important agenda set out in this Strategy, and the further development and enhancement of the education and training system in Seychelles. 3 Executive Summary The Ministry of Education’s (MTS) follows a recommendation from the Education Reform Plan 2009-2010, one of the most comprehensive reform plans since 1978, and the successful implementation of many aspects of that plan during the period 2009 to 2013. The formulation of the MTS derives from a Financial Agreement between the Government of Seychelles and the European Union, and a technical cooperation between the Ministry of Education and the UNESCO International Institute of Education Planning (IIEP). Alongside this technical partnership, external technical assistance was also received through the World Bank within the context of the recent Public Expenditure Review (PER) and the related financial analysis approach (BOOST). UNESCO also provided expertise within the context of the recently developed General Education Quality Assurance Framework (GEQAF). The MTS is the first comprehensive strategic planning exercise carried out by the Ministry of Education based on a systematic situation analysis of the education system. It is the result of a series of wide-ranging consultations on the development of education and training, as part of the ongoing National Education Reform Programme. Comprising eight chapters, the MTS is an ambitious strategic plan, providing an overarching framework that consolidates separate policies and plans into one common, comprehensive and widely shared education strategy that will guide the development of the Seychelles education sector over the next five years, and beyond. The MTS defines the Government’s priorities within the Education Sector and provides a framework for decisions about the allocation of national resources and external assistance needs. Laying out the Education Sector’s goals for the transformation of the education and training system, it identifies the main areas for action in the short and medium term in order to realize these goals. The background, methodology and purpose of the MTS are set out in Chapter 1. Acknowledging the transformation of the education and training system initiated through a series of reform initiatives over the last thirty years or so, and more recently through Education Reform Plan 2009-2010, the purpose of the MTS is to define the Government’s priorities within the Education Sector for the further transformation of the education and training system, with a view to further improving the level of achievement of all learners in a cost-effective and sustainable manner. Moreover, it provides an overall strategic direction based on a broad consensus of major key stakeholders, and constitutes a framework for decisions about the allocation of limited national and external resources in a cost- effective and sustainable manner, aimed at leading and supporting a knowledge- and innovation-based society, and lifelong learning. Encompassing and seeking to link together 13 inter-related components of the education and service delivery that impact on the educational journey of every learner as they progress through the education and training system, the MTS focuses on the entire Education sector. The country profile presented in Chapter 2 examines emerging challenges and opportunities for sustaining National Development and Implications for the Education policies, strategies and programmes of the Medium-Term Strategy 2013-2017. This chapter also discusses critical enabling conditions for the successful implementation of the MTS, and identifies a number of key assumptions on which the achievement of the goals and the successful implementation of the MTS are premised. The sustained availability of sufficient quality teachers is identified as a critical condition for the successful implementation of the MTS. Following a brief consideration of the Vision, Mission, Goals, Principles and Values underpinning Education in Seychelles, Chapter 3 affirms that, in the pursuit of the stated mission, and conscious of the various policy framework and development plans at Government and other stakeholders’ levels, the MTS emphasizes that the Ministry of Education’s statement of goals, in continuing the transformation process of the education system initiated through the Education Reform Plan 2009-2010, will be guided by five over-arching goals and related strategies and interventions, to be realized in the medium term through a number of strategic actions organized into 13 sub-sectors, and covering the entire education and training system. An overview of the Seychelles Education and Training system is presented in Chapter 4, describing the stages of the education and training system, progression and articulation between the stages, and the financing and management of education. 5 A major chapter in the MTS is Chapter 5, which sets out a detailed analysis of the current situation in