Solomon Islands faces a challenge in increasing the accessibility of early childhood care and education (ECCE). Currently, it is not available to all children aged 3 to 5-years-old in the country (Government of Solomon Islands 2007a). As it stands now, ECCE provision in the country lacks coordination, funding support, policy and planning. To bridge the gap between demand for ECCE and the capacities of government ECCE centres, a majority of ECCE is carried out through community-based centres, sometimes attached to primary schools (UNESCO 2008).
The UNESCO funded profile of the ECCE programmes in Solomon Islands, undertaken in 2006, revealed a general lack of data on access to ECCE (UNESCO 2008). Available statistics for 2010 state that 21,149 (i.e. 10,869 males & 10,280 females) children are enrolled in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) centres. These data translate into an average gross enrolment ratio (GER) of 147% and a net enrolment ratio (NER) of 40%, which suggests that many over-aged children are enrolled in this education level. The data also indicate that enrolment is on the rise, with an estimated 9.9% increase in 2010 as compared to ECCE enrolment in 2008 (Ririmae 2011). Existing facilities at most ECCE centres currently in operation throughout the country are in need of improvement. There is also pressure to expand capacity in order to improve access and to accommodate projected increases in demand (Government of Solomon Islands 2007b).
SICHE School of Education offers a Certificate in Teaching Early Childhood Education (ECE), which is equivalent to 1 year of full time study (SICHE n.d.). The number of untrained ECE teachers is declining with an estimated reduction of 58.1% from 2008-10 (from 143.1% untrained in 2008 down to 85% untrained in 2010) (Ririmae 2011). No formal ECCE curriculum has been approved by the Government and in general, the ECCE curriculum in Solomon Islands is not structured and the supply of instructional materials for ECCE is limited (Government of Solomon Islands 2007b). Currently, ECCE along with Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) are allotted the smallest portion of the total recurrent budget at 1.9% and 2.0% (Ririmae 2011).
ECCE centres in the province are generally managed directly by communities. Some assistance is provided from provincial education authorities and the Ministry of Education. Privately owned ECCE centres are managed by their owners (Government of Solomon Islands 2007b). Many ECCE teachers do not meet the minimum requirements of the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) to be classified as qualified teachers. Their salaries are therefore paid either by communities or from school fees paid by parents (Ririmae 2011).
The national strategic and policy priorities for the ECCE sub-sector as articulated in the Education Strategic Plan (2007-15) include the following: Finalization of the policy for ECCE; formal registration of all pre-schools and kindergartens; development of an early childhood education curriculum; production and dissemination of culturally appropriate developmental learning resources; provision of additional pre-service teacher training for early childhood teachers; provision of in-service training and professional development programmes for existing teachers at the early childhood level; and strengthening the sustainability of the ECCE programme (UNESCO 2008).
