A BASELINE STUDY ON TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED LEARNING IN THE COMMONWEALTH PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES: REPORT The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is an intergovernmental organisation created by Commonwealth Heads of Government to promote the development and sharing of open learning and distance education knowledge, resources and technologies. Commonwealth of Learning, 2015 © 2015 by the Commonwealth of Learning. This report is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence (international): http://creativecommons.org/licences/by-sa/4.0. For the avoidance of doubt, by applying this licence the Commonwealth of Learning does not waive any privileges or immunities from claims that it may be entitled to assert, nor does the Commonwealth of Learning submit itself to the jurisdiction, courts, legal processes or laws of any jurisdiction. Report Prepared by: Leatuaolevao Ruby Vaa Campus Director Alafua Campus The University of the South Pacific Samoa Email: [email protected] Acknowledgements The author gratefully acknowledges the support received from the following whilst preparing this report: Fiji: Mr. Ian Thomson, Manager, Teachers Education Resources and e-Learning Centre (TEREC), USP Laucala Campus; Ms. Salote Rabuka, Director, Fiji Higher Education Commission; and Mr. Matai Tagicaki, Specialist on OER, Fiji Higher Education Commission. Kiribati: Dr. Uentabo Mackenzie, Campus Director, USP Kiribati. Samoa: The Honourable Tuisugaletaua Sofara Aveau, Minister for Communications and Information Technology; personnel from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture, and the MESC SchoolNet project team; Ms. Laeimau Oketevi Tanuvasa-Savea, CEO, and Ms. Suemalo Vesi Tusani; Computer Services Ltd.; Mr. Sia Matalavea, IT Services Manager, USP Samoa. Solomon Islands: Mr. John Usuramo, Campus Director, USP Solomon Islands; Ms. Rose M. Kudi and Mr. Charles Rouikera of the Solomon Islands, Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development. Tonga: Dr. Ana Koloto, Campus Director, USP Tonga. Tuvalu: Mr. David Manuella, Campus Director, USP Tuvalu; Mr. Alapati Taupo, School Supervisor, Dept. of Education; Mr. Simeti Lopati, CEO, Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation. Vanuatu: Mr. Reuben Markward, Group Manager, USP Vanuatu, and Mr. John Niroa, Ministry of Education. USP IT Services: Mr. Kisione Finau, Director, ITS USP, Laucala Campus. Views expressed in the publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of COL. Every effort has been made to acknowledge and attribute all sources of information used in the preparation of this report. All links in the document were active when the report was written. Published by: COMMONWEALTH OF LEARNING 4710 Kingsway, Suite 2500 Burnaby, British Columbia Canada V5H 4M2 Telephone: +1 604 775 8200 Fax: +1 604 775 8210 Web: www.col.org E-mail: [email protected] Table of Contents Abbreviations...................................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1 Overview of the Commonwealth Pacific Island Countries ............................................2 Chapter 2 TEL in the Commonwealth Pacific Islands: Country Reports .......................................9 Fiji ..............................................................................................................................................9 Kiribati .................................................................................................................................... 14 Nauru ...................................................................................................................................... 22 Papua New Guinea ............................................................................................................... 27 Samoa ...................................................................................................................................... 33 Solomon Islands .................................................................................................................... 41 Tonga ...................................................................................................................................... 49 Tuvalu ..................................................................................................................................... 59 Vanuatu .................................................................................................................................. 65 Chapter 3 Summary of Findings .......................................................................................................... 71 References ................................................................................................................................. 74 Appendix 1: Terms of Reference ............................................................................................... 78 Appendix 2: TEL in the Commonwealth Pacific Island Countries — Summary Information ........................................................................................................................... 79 Appendix 3: ICT Data — Penetration Rate ............................................................................. 85 Appendix 4: ICT and Human Capacity Building .................................................................... 86 Appendix 5: National ICT Policies .......................................................................................... 87 3 Abbreviations ADB Asian Development Bank CROP Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific DFAT Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia) ECE Early childhood education EEZ Exclusive economic zone EFTS Equivalent full-time students FFA Forum Fisheries Agency FNU Fiji National University ICT Information and communication technology ISP Internet service provider ITU International Telecommunication Union MDG Millennium Development Goals MEYS Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (Tuvalu) mLearning mobile learning MoEHA Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts (Fiji) OER Open educational resources OLPC One Laptop per Child PACMAS Pacific Media Assistance Scheme PacRICS Pacific Rural Internet Connectivity System PIDP Pacific Island Development Programme PIFS Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat PIRRC Pacific ICT Regulatory Resource Centre PITA Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association PNG Papua New Guinea PRIF Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility SINU Solomon Islands National University SMS Short message service SOPAC South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission SPC Secretariat of the Pacific Community SPREP Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme SPTO South Pacific Tourism Organisation TCC Tonga Communications Corporation TEL Technology-enabled learning TESP Tonga Education Support Programme TVET Technical and vocational education and training UNDP United Nations Development Programme UPNGOC University of Papua New Guinea Open College USP The University of the South Pacific USPNet The University of the South Pacific [Satellite] Network VSAT Very small aperture terminal VUSSC Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth 1 Chapter 1 Overview of the Commonwealth Pacific Island Countries Spanning about one-third of the earth’s surface, the Pacific region consists of thousands of islands in over 40 island groups. Of these, around 30 are south of the equator and are known as the South Pacific Island nations. Nine of the South Pacific Island nations are members of the Commonwealth: Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. As Table 1 indicates, these range in land size and population from the largest, Papua New Guinea, to the smallest, Nauru. The Pacific Islands can be divided into three sub-regions based on their people’s cultural and physical attributes: Polynesia to the east, including Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu; Melanesia in the west, including Fiji, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands and Vanuatu; and Micronesia in the north-west, including Kiribati and Nauru. Table 1. Population, Land Size and Gender Ratio Country Population Year Area Population Urban Gender Ratio 2 (km ) Density Population (male:female) (persons/km2) Fiji 867,000 July 2015 18,270 47.46 52.2%** 104.2:100 official est.* Kiribati 113,000 July 2015 811 139.33 43.9% 98.6:100 official est.* Nauru 10,084 30 Oct. 2011 21 480.19 100% 100:96 census PNG 7,275,324 10 July 2011 462,840 15.71 12.6% 104:100 census Samoa 187,820 7 Nov. 2011 2,944 63.79 20.1% 105:100 census Solomon 515,820 23 Nov. 28,450 18.13 20.5% 107:100 Islands 2009 census Tonga 103,335 July 2015 748 138.15 23.4% 100:100 official est.* Tuvalu 11,000 July 2015 26 423.08 50.4% not available official est.* Vanuatu 277,506 July 2015 12,200 22.76 24.9% 104:100 official est.* Sources: Wikipedia. (n.d.). “List of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations by population.” Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_member_states_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Nations_by_population * Secretariat of the Pacific Community. (n.d.). “Statistics for development.” Retrieved from www.spc.int/sdd/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=158&Itemid=42&lang=en ** Pacific Media Assistance Scheme. (2013). “Fiji.” Retrieved from www.pacmas.org/about/countries/fiji Uniqueness Despite the challenge of vast distances and small landmasses, the Pacific region is known for the unique “Pacific way” that characterises how the island