Solomon Islanders wishing to go on to higher education can either attend the Solomon Islands campus or distance education options of the University of the South Pacific (USP), the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education (SICHE), or move overseas to other universities and colleges (Government of Solomon Islands 2007b).
The Solomon Islands Centre of USP provides an extension of the University’s programmes and courses across a range of disciplines. It offers courses at the preliminary and foundation and degree levels through distance and flexible modes of learning. The SICHE is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament, and is the main state-supported tertiary institution in Solomon Islands. It was established under the College of Higher Education Act 1984 and is an amalgamation of the Solomon Islands Teachers College, Honiara Technical Institute and the Solomon Islands School of Nursing (Government of Solomon Islands 2007b).
Solomon Islands approved policy on technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is set out in Education for Living plan (March 2005) and provides the basis for the development of technical and vocational education and training in Solomon Islands. The development of this alternative pathway in the education system will provide avenues for those young people who do not gain access to a place in the formal secondary school system. TVET is available in the provinces through rural training centres (RTCs) controlled by the Churches.
Higher education is characterized by severe inequality, being accessible to only 2% of the cohort. The Solomon Islands College of Higher Education (SICHE) and University of the South Pacific branch in Honiara are the only tertiary education institutions in the country. SICHE offers a range of courses including Education, Nursing and Marine studies. There is a slight gender imbalance in favour of males with 45% of the 1,756 students at SICHE were female and 55% were male in 2005. The physical infrastructure and equipment at SICHE has deteriorated, not only as a result of ethnic tension but also through lack of maintenance, to the point where considerable re-investment in infrastructure is required (Government of Solomon Islands 2007b).
Enrolments in TVET courses are dominated by males. Female students constitute only slightly more than a quarter of total enrolments at about 38%. There are few opportunities for people with physical disabilities to access TVET. Existing rural training centres need assistance with upgrading facilities, supplying equipment and tools, and with construction of additional buildings where needed.
A key strategy of MEHRD is to strengthen technical and vocational education and training and ensure it is linked to labour demand in the work force (Ririmae 2011). This has led to the amendment of the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education Act (1984), which originally established the SICHE. The 2008 amendment responded to the need to diversify training to include the School of Tourism and Hospitality and any other schools the college sees fit. The School of Humanities, Science & Media has subsequently been established (SICHE n.d.).
The current TVET curriculum in the country is not centralized. Each rural training centre develops its own curriculum, subject to the oversight of the relevant education authority and each centre’s management policies. The plan is to produce training modules to enable the centres to choose those programmes that are relevant to the needs of their communities. Centres will also be able to introduce a variety of subjects into their curriculum that are suited to specific community and province. The key teacher policy issue in Solomon Islands is finding an adequate supply of trained and competent TVET tutors or instructors with high-level skills in the particular specialty in which training is being provided. In 2005, about 43% of TVET instructors were untrained. Strategies are urgently needed to address how these untrained tutors can be upgraded in skills (Government of Solomon Islands 2007b). However, a challenge to improving TVET is the limited budget. Along with ECCE, TVET receives the smallest budget allocations of the recurrent budget (Ririmae 2011).
SICHE is governed, managed, and administered according to the Act of Parliament that established the institution in 1984, and amended in 2008. Members of SICHE Council are appointed by the Governor General on the recommendations of the Ministers of the Crown responsible for certain Fields of Studies under the mandates of SICHE (Government of Solomon Islands 2007b).
The governance of rural training centres is undertaken by a Board of Directors whose membership represents all stakeholders. The principals are responsible for the day-to-day management of the centres and are accountable to the respective Church Authority and to the European Union Rural Training Centre Project. Provincial education authorities generally do not have Government training centers that they administer. However, the Solomon Islands Association of Rural Training Centres also supports RTCs (Government of Solomon Islands 2007b).
The national strategic thrusts and policy priorities as articulated in the Education Strategic Plan (2007-15) are summarized as follows:
(i) To provide access to community, technical, vocational and tertiary education that will meet individual, regional and national needs for skilled and competent people; and
(ii) To manage resources in an efficient and transparent manner (UNESCO 2008).
