Education services in many parts of the Solomon Islands remain difficult and expensive to provide. Populations scattered across many islands with poor communication and infrastructure make delivering education services expensive and problematic. A high population growth has created a youth bulge with 66% aged 29 and under. Schools have become overcrowded, and teachers overworked. This results in poor literacy and life skills for many adults and out-of-school youth. The intersection of gender and disability further marginalises girls and people with disabilities. 

The Coalition for Education Solomon Islands (COESI) aims to promote quality education for all Solomon Islanders, especially those from disadvantaged groups. 

The project is built around three main objectives: 

• Using appropriate contextual curriculum including vernacular variations and involving parents to provide an adequate early childhood care and education (ECCE) model to the government. 

• Increase the focus on gender, people with disabilities and other marginalised groups in education policy dialogue and programming. 

• Increase the involvement of civil society in gender and equity inclusion issues in education planning and programming to effectively advocate for their needs.  COESI base their interventions on citizens’ concerns and incorporates the views of relevant stakeholders. By amplifying their voices and bringing their experiences to policy and programming agendas, the advocacy efforts will be strengthened. COESI will further focus on conducting research and reviews, to substantiate the evidence-based advocacy efforts.  

The project is building on the efforts made during the previous project phase, implemented between April 2022 – December 2023. During the current phase, key activities will include: 

• Work with youth leaders to use youth-led action research to gather evidence on literacy in the communities, especially among women and girls. 

• Advocacy and campaigns to increase government financial support for education. 

• Annual spotlight reports on Sustainable Development Goal 4 achievements and progress. 

• Training members of the COESI network, youth, and officials from the Ministry of Education on GAPSED+ (a gender and inclusion framework), and work to promote the inclusion of the framework in the ministry’s work. 

• COESI will review the gender and inclusive policy and publish key findings to be used for advocacy. 

• Build and expand COESI’s membership. 

During the implementation phase, the project will focus efforts on passing the Education Act, a national education plan that makes basic education completely fee-free and provides a second chance at attaining an education for girls who has lost out due to early pregnancies. The plan is currently under debate at the Cabinet Office, and in order to ensure the most beneficial results, COESI will continue its advocacy efforts. COESI will especially advocate for the full recognition of ECCE centres, as well as the use of vernaculars in the early years of education. COESI will work through its existing strong relations with the Ministry of Education.  

To disseminate the results of the project, COESI will bring its messages through the media and government website, as the coalition had good experiences with during the previous project phase. 

A previous phase of the project was implemented between April 2022 – December 2023. The current project is part of the EOL extension phase of 2024-2026. Read more about the previous phase of the project here.