A Pacific View : What Role Distance Education?
Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop
This paper presents a picture of educational needs and ways South Pacific
countries are addressing these needs. It proposes that the two major
educational issues facing Pacific nations as they address the task of human
resource development are those relating to equity of access to quality
education and training, and the appropriateness of curricula. It draws
attention to the fact that the educational needs of Pacific Island states are
not being and cannot be met through formal schooling systems only.
Instead, Pacific communities rely heavily on 'non-formal' programmes
provided by a large range of non-government organisations (NGOs) and
'informal' learning exchanges also. The challenge today is how the new
and exciting developments in distance and open education can be adapted
and utilised within the Pacific context.
The Pacific Region
Accounts of the Pacific region usually begin by highlighting that the region
is one of enormous linguistic, cultural and geographical diversity, ranging
from large resource-rich countries such as Papua New Guinea, which has
over 700 languages, through to small resource-poor atoll countries, such as
Kiribati, consisting of a group of islands scattered over huge expanses of
open ocean (see Table 1). The fragile nature of our resource bases is a
second point of note, a fact which makes Pacific countries extremely
vulnerable to the elements: cyclones, temperature changes, and sea rises.
The third point is that Pacific countries have experienced a 'late', and
'short' colonial period, and a relatively recent independence (Western
Samoa was the first country to gain self-government in 1962). Many have
maintained close relationships with former colonial administrations in the
independence era, a fact which is reflected in favourable aid and migration
policies. Integration into global networks through patterns of trade,
36
TABLE 1
South Pacific Countries - principal physical and economic features
1990 Mid-year Population Estimates
Gross Domestic Product (SA'000)
Estimation du nombre d'habitants
Produit interieu brut
a la (in du ler semestre de 1990
(en milliers de dollars australiens)
Co iw try/Pa \\s
Land area (sq.km)
Sen area
Density
Annual Growth
Surface cmergee
('000 sq. km)
(prsons/sq.km)
Rate (%): 1973-90
Per Capita
(km2)
Surface maritime
Densite
f'roissencc
Total
Per habitant
Year
(en milliers de
Total
(habitants/km2)
annuelee (%>
(AS'000)
(AS)
Annee
km2)
American Samoa
200
390
46 800
234
363
260 417
6 663
1985
took Islands
237
1 830
16 900
71
-0.16
65 053
3 943
1987
Ixderated States of
701
2 987
101 200
144
4.02
117 044
1 372
1983
Micronesia
Fiji
18 272
1 290
725 000
40
191
1 580 870
2 181
1990
Guam
541
218
133 400
247
2.24
1 513 369
12 334
1986
lies Wallis et Putuna
255
300
13 700
54
1 29
Kiribati
690
3 550
71 800
104
2.26
44 930
654
1988
Marshall Islands
181
2 131
46 200
255
4.21
52 682
1 514
1984
Nauru
21
320
9 300
443
2.28
Nine
259
390
2 500
10
-5.27
4347
1 553
1984
Northern Mariana
471
777
44 200
94
8.88
355 972
11 558
1985
Islands
19 103
1 740
167 600
9
200
2 641 153
16 354
1988
Nonvelle-Caledonie
488
629
15 200
31
2.29
Palau
462 243
3 120
3 528 500
8
1.61
4 853 623
1 376
1990
Papua New Guinea
5
800
100
20
0.00
Pitcairn
3 521
5 030
196 300
56
2.48
3 875 976
19 745
1990
Polynesie francasie
27 556
1 340
324 000
12
3.67
222 153
725
1988
Solomon Islands
10
290
1 800
180
1.45
Tokeiau
747
700
96 300
129
049
119 800
1 256
1988
Tonga
26
900
10 200
392
4.05
7 595
767
1989
Tunalu
12 190
680
146 400
12
2.41
183 899
1 283
1989
Vanuatu
2 935
120
157 700
54
0.10
147 767
939
1987
Western Samoa
South Pacific Region
Region du Pacifiquc
550 652
29 523
5 855 100
11
208
Sud
South Pacific Region
less PNG
Region du Pacifique
Sud
88 409
26 403
2 326 600
26
2 11
moins PNG
Source C'ountry statistical reports and responses In SPFSS questionnaires
migration and remittances and aid, has rendered the South Pacific island
states and territories extremely vulnerable to restructuring measures in other
nations.
We must ask, what are the implications of this cultural diversity, isolation
and physical vulnerability for government administration generally, but in
particular for the provision of services such as health and education?
Furthermore, what are the influences of the patterns of education set up in
the colonial periods, and the expectations and attitudes regarding education
generated in these periods also? Are the schools elitist institutions with
academic curriculum 'educating', as is so often said 'our people away from
the land, away from sweated labour?' What are the attitudes to gender
issues in education and, are there any rural/urban disparities in the
provision of places?
The unique feature of the South Pacific region, often referred to as the
internal dynamic, is that the customary social, economic and political
institutions are still strongly observed in most Pacific nations today: the
customary ways are the prime motivators determining access to resources
and status options, determining what is produced, who produces this, and
how goods are used. The customary ways are embedded in extensive family
networks, which are in turn tied to land and sea resources. The majority of
land is held in customary tenure; for example, up to 97% of PNG land is
held in customary tenure, and locals are reportedly 'still trying to get the
other 3% back'.
At the same time as the customary ways are vigorously defended, we
Pacific Islanders also want modern goods and services: money is needed for
church offerings and school fees, for goods that cannot be produced by
subsistence means (for example kerosene, nails, needles, seeds and tools,
cloth, pencils and paper); goods which make life easier (rice, which is
easily stored and tinned fish which requires no cooking) and luxury goods
such as soap, toothpaste and sugar. We have been called subsistence
affluent societies, wanting the goods that we cannot provide for ourselves
using our own resources, wanting, may I add, the goods which we have
been taught to expect. And so Pacific nations observe a dual system of
production and use, trying to incorporate traditional values into a
38
development goal, trying to balance the old and the new value systems side
by side with an alacrity which continues to challenge, undermine and
boggle the minds of many Pacific leaders and development planners alike.
Not only are Pacific nations 'semi-subsistent' economically, but a similar
conflict exists in many domains of activity - for example, between legal
and traditional forms of justice; democratic and chiefly forms of
government; ideas of 'human' or 'individual' rights and kinship or lineage
rights; and government powers and rights versus local community rights.
Why the customary ways endure will not be discussed in this paper, except
to say that these are integral to personal and community identity, and
furthermore, that in the absence of nation-wide provision of government
services, (such as health, education and law and order) the network of
behaviours which come under the rubric of 'customary ways' effectively
ensure family, community and national security. These family support
systems have been particularly crucial in helping families survive the
effects of restructuring measures being introduced in Pacific states in the
past few years.
The maintenance of customary ways in their present forms may not be
feasible or realistic in today's rapidly changing social and economic
conditions. We are part of a global community with all the advantages and
disadvantages this brings. Highly sophisticated media and communication
technology are rocketing our semi-subsistence villages straight into the high
tech age. For example, today, the atrocities of Bosnia, of voting day in
South Africa, along with the progress of the Manu Samoa in the Super Ten
series, are beamed live into the smallest fale on the most isolated tip of
Savaii island. What is more, we watch everything. Not only that, we are
extremely susceptible to the changing rationale of aid programmes. The
dialogue of aid projects is confusing and very often contradictory, and
many times the implications of projects are not fully understood or
predictable. For example, debates about sustainable development/
population/human resource development/poverty alleviation and national
food security programmes give the impression that a holistic view of
agriculture (food security, essential household goods and medicines, value
added goods and income-generation potential) has replaced the conventional
39
cash-oriented focus in development programmes. But this is not so. And
somewhat paradoxically, these people-centred ideas of 'development with a
human face' are being promoted at the same time as the restructuring
measures being introduced place great strains on family resources. Pacific
communities are extremely vulnerable today as markets for traditional
agricultural products fall, aid moneys decline and migration restrictions
result in huge drops in the remittances families have come to rely on. In
this situation the pursuit of all cash earning options becomes crucial.
A fact which many of our countries are reluctant to recognise is that the
customary ways are themselves changing, as very clearly evidenced in the
way the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' in our communities is
widening at an alarming rate. The growing disparities are seen in the
unequal spread of material goods (cars, European houses, for example), the
waiting-lists for International schools for those who can pay, (in PNG, Fiji,
and now in Western Samoa); and in the flight to New Zealand schools
which accompanied the 'South Pacificisation' of the school curriculum, and
School Certificate. The power source of the new elites is their ability to
plug into the wider economy, their access to established networks, as well
as their ability to regulate others' access to the same resources. Hau'ofa
(1986) proposes that the underprivileged are poor because of their inability
to tap the regional resources. They are therefore left to make the best out
of what is available in their immediate physical surroundings.
It is very clear that Pacific communities are facing the dilemma of
redefining roles in the light of present day realities. It becomes vital that
communities carefully examine the prevailing customary ways and how
these impact on education, health, employment, women and families, for
example. Communities should identify those ways which are essential to
national feelings of identity and so must be upheld, and those which are not
so important. As stated, many of the traditional ways have already been
modified considerably in the post-contact period, which raises questions as
to why these practices are upheld. Be that as it may, a consideration for the
customary ways must be integral to the planning of any interventionist
strategy.
40
The Needs
Issues of economic security, health and education are briefly discussed and
attention is drawn to some of the educational and training implications
associated with these issues.
The interconnected nature of these problems is a key factor in the
discussion: for example, high fertility rates are associated with economic,
social and health issues and hold consequences for natural resources and the
environment as well. These also relate to unemployment, present a strain on
education systems and at the same time increase the separation of a strata
of elites who can pay for private schooling. While education and training
are essential to the addressing of every issue, it is very clear that a change
of emphasis from the prevailing provisions is essential.
1 Economic Development
Agriculture
Agriculture and the sea are 'the backbone of our economies' with the
exception of mineral-rich countries such as PNG and Vanuatu. The French
territories, Guam, Fiji and Papua New Guinea already display the industrial
and commercial sectors of modern cities. Hence these countries have a
range of employment opportunities not available in the smaller states.
Commercial centres and factory zones are beginning to emerge in other
countries of the region, as I will describe, supplementing predominantly
government-dominated wage sectors.
As stated, the majority of our countries are semi-subsistence economies.
Up to 80% of the Pacific populations rely on agriculture for food security,
cash needs1, and a significant proportion of agricultural goods and services
are used in cultural and community maintenance functions, which is also a
'use' which does not appear in national accounts2.
For example, agriculture, forestry and fisheries provide around 50% of Western Samoa's
GDP, 50% of the work force and up to 80% of export earnings (World Bank, 1991:213).
41
(The community category has importance in Pacific countries not only
because these acts reinforce feelings of identity, but because many
communities have responsibility for providing their own health, education
and law and order services, as these may not be adequately provided by
centralised government agencies). Families are the major producers,
practising mixed cropping on typically small, scattered parcels of customary
land.
Despite the avowed importance of agriculture, production continues to
decline throughout the region. Decreases in exports, as well as the neglect
and degeneration of the traditional subsistence sector has been noted, as has
the alarming increase in food imports. This situation has implications for
national food security, and has been linked to the serious increase in the
incidence of malnutrition and nutrition-related diseases throughout the
region. Nor is this an urban phenomenon, as proposed in the past:
malnutrition amongst children is also becoming a rural problem. The
question of poor nutrition has been treated as an educational rather than a
production issue, but if people are selling the foods they should have eaten,
and eating cheaper substitutes, then it is obvious that poverty is becoming a
problem.
One factor related to the decline in agricultural production is that it has
never featured highly in educational planning either through formal school
systems, or in agriculture department budgets. For example, Agriculture
Extension is the low-status job, under-funded, and under-staffed; agriculture
is the last scholarship taken; while 'returning to the land' is the option for
those who fail at school. Another factor is that there are fewer people
available to do agricultural work today. The family labour force has been
severely depleted by factors such as longer school attendance by children
and the out-migration of males. At the same time, there is a widespread
disillusionment with the economic returns from agriculture. Farming is an
expensive and a risky business, and natural disasters such as cyclones and
pest invasions can cause instant havoc to crops which families have
2 A recent Western Samoa study showed 23% of goods were used in exchanges which did not
involve the exchange of money (Fairbairn-Dunlop, 1991). The amount, type and direction of
this use of goods warrants further examination.
42
worked on for years. The drop in world prices for customary staple goods
has led to a search for niche markets and specialist enterprises, such as
ginger, passion fruit, vanilla and cocoa in recent years. These 'new'
enterprises demand different skills and labour inputs compared to those
used in growing staple goods. The rising incidence of part-time farmers
noted in the Pacific, as well as the increase in women doing agricultural
work has implications for education and training systems.
The decreases in agricultural production are in direct contrast to the Pacific
belief that 'we have nothing to worry about' with regard to food security.
This situation is forcing us to look again at our agricultural policies. The
emphasis of these has always been on cash cropping, because of the
assumption that everyone 'knows' how to grow food crops. Small in-depth
intra-household studies are necessary to identify who is doing the
agricultural work today, in particular women's and children's contribution
to the smallholder units, and what support services these producers need.
Alternative income-generating activities
The rural-urban drift in search of cash earning alternatives, which is taking
place, is straining health, education and other services as well as presenting
law and order problems. Sub-standard urban centres are emerging in all
Pacific nations.
Some cash earning alternatives being explored include the following:
1 Increase in informal sector activity.
Case: Informal sector activities, Solomon Islands
More than two thirds of a sample (random selection, size 323)
were self-employed. 75% said that they spend sixteen hours or
more during the week on their income-generating venture. The
types of activities the women were engaged in were: farm
gardening (38%), food catering (21%), crafts (15%) and textiles
(11%). These women sold directly to consumers at the markets
(40%) from home (34%) or from shops (16%). More than 75% of
43
the sample were married, (average five children) and 25% lived in
households with more than seven persons. More than a third of the
self-employed women were sole income providers. More than 75%
had not received any assistance either from relatives, banks or
other sources to run their enterprises. More than half had received
'a few' years of primary school education; almost one fifth had not
had any formal education; one quarter was not able to write in
any language and almost one third not able to do any calculations.
(WDD, Ministry of Health and Medical services (MHMS) and ILO
1993)
Custom goods that 'would never have been sold in the past' are also being
sold through informal networks. For example, a small number of fine mats
began to appear on the Samoan markets in the early 1980s, a response to
the urban demand of tourists and 'women who don't have the time to make
mats'. A common sight at the Apia Market today is the quality array of
mats ranging from between $200 and $700 per mat. Sellers state that they
sell up to 7-10 on a good day but sometimes can go for weeks without
making a single sale, so that in desperation, they have sold some mats for
as low as $5 or $6 per mat. Reasons given for selling the fine mats
included the need for money for school fees and household needs because
no family members were working, and the families were without
supplementary income since their taro plantations had been destroyed by
the leaf blight. The women said they spent all day selling at the market,
then went home to weave at night, and 'When I think of all the work
involved in preparing the materials before the weaving and then to see your
work sold at giveaway prices because your loved ones' education is at stake
and because your family has to survive ... it breaks my heart.'
Research is needed to identify the nature and extent of the informal sector
activities in our countries, and the appropriate educational and other support
services which must be provided.
2 Environmental exploitation/and degradation
Logging and other such income-earning ventures must be noted, as
well as problems associated with the development of the tourism
44
industry.
3 Job Creation Measures
The introduction of Free Trade Zones and joint venture policies have
brought the establishment of factories such as the garment factories in
Fiji, the fish canning operations in Solomon Islands and the Yazaki
factories in Samoa. These factory jobs are perceived to offer 'easier'
and 'cleaner' ways of making money, as well as to be more regular
sources of income than agriculture. While attention has been drawn to
the exploitation of workers (of women in particular) associated with
these measures, the social problems resulting from concentrating large
groups of single women, or men, in one place, are just being realised.
4 Migration, Remittances and Aid
Although migration has become 'a way of life' in all Pacific countries,
this is particularly so in Tonga and Western Samoa. The economic
consequences of. migration are seen in the high levels of migrant
remittances, which it has been proposed can figure at least three times
as large as total export earnings, making labour the most important
export in these islands. In 1989 for example, remittances into Western
Samoa by official channels only were almost US$40 million. The
effect on the family and national labour force and family relations
brought about by this exodus of the most skilled and the young has not
been well documented.
All of our countries have come to depend heavily on aid. Amounts of
aid have reduced considerably in recent years, and furthermore, aid
patterns have changed as new attention is turning to the European
sector.
45
2 Health
Standards of government health and welfare services vary between
countries and within countries. For example, the French territories have an
extensive health and social welfare scheme, whereas the provision of
adequate health services in other Pacific countries is often problematical
due to the scattered and rural concentration of populations. There may be
no roads into isolated areas and few boats to outer islands, for example. In
most countries, government health services have utilised localised women's
committees for the provision of essential health services. Generally
speaking, the Polynesian Pacific and French territories display higher
quality of life indices in health and education than the Melanesian and
Micronesian countries. In brief:
1 The region is marked by very rapid population growth (see Table 2),
high fertility patterns with short birth intervals, and teenage fertility
becoming a cause for concern in some areas. In most countries,
between 40 and 50% of the population is under 15. Because of out-
migration, population pressure has not been "such a problem in
Polynesian countries such as Western Samoa and Tonga. Such a
population structure has obvious implications for service provision.
The larger less developed Melanesian malarious countries of the
western Pacific and the less developed dispersed atoll nations of the
central and northern Pacific, manifest higher mortality and higher
proportional mortality from infectious disease compared with other
regional states, while high infant mortality rates and high maternal
mortality rates prevail in some Micronesian and Melanesian sectors. As
reported, urban PNG women have a 1 in 26 chance of dying from
pregnancy, which rises to 1 in 15 for women who live in rural areas
without access to health services. Inadequate access to health care as
well as poor nutrition, anaemia, heavy physical work burdens, frequent
pregnancies and locally endemic diseases such as malaria, are prime
factors to be addressed.
46
TABLE 2
Population age distribution, sex and dependency ratios
Population io age group
Sex Ratio
(%)
Country
Census
Total
0 - 14
1 5 - 6 4
65
Total
15-64
Dependency
Year
Rate
American Samoa
1990
46 638
40,9
56,2
2,9
103
99
77,9
Cook Islands
1986
17 614
36,9
58,4
4,7
109
110
71,2
Federated States
1988
101 155
(a)46,4
50,1
3.5
105
101
99,7
of Micronesia
Fiji
1986
715 375
38,4
58,7
2,9
103
116
81,6
Guam
1990
132 726
(a)34,9
62,3
2,8
109
113
61,0
Wallis & Futuna
1990
13 705
(0)45,8
50,1
4,1
102
102
99,6
Kiribati
1990
72 298
40,3
56,2
3,4
98
95
77,8
Marshall Islands
1988
43 380
51,0
46,1
2,9
105
105
117,1
Nauru
1983
8 042
46,5
52,2
1,2
116
99
91,4
Niue
1989
2 267
36,6
55,7
7,7
105
112
79,5
Northern Mariana
1990
43 555
(a)40,6
56,5
2,9
111
119
67,8
Islands
New Caledonia
1989
164 173
32,6
62,9
4,5
104
106
59,0
Palau
1986
13 873
34,8
59,7
5,4
106
119
67,8
Papua New Guinea
1990
3 529 538
(a)43,0
55,5
1,6
(d)108
110
80,2
Pitcaim
French Polynesia
1990
52
(c)21,6
55,4
23,0
124
120
80,4
Solomon Islands
1988
188 814
35,3
61,5
3,2
109
112
62,5
Tokelau
1986
285 126
47,3
49,4
3,3
106
105
102,4
Tonga
1986
1 690
41,1
51,7
7,3
97
87
93,6
Tuvalu
1986
94 649
41,0
55,0
4,0
101
97
45,0
Vanuatu
1979
7 349
31,8
63,1
5,1
88
79
58,5
Western Samoa
1989
142 944
44,0
52,0
4,0
106
104
1986
157 158
41,1
55,5
3,4
113
110
80,3
Sources: Census reports for the indicated years
(1) M L Bakker
Notes:
(a) Refers to the 1980 census year
(b) Refers to the 1983 census year
{c) Refers to the 1976 census year
(d) Total sex ratio refers to the 1990 census year
Life expectancy
More serious attention is being given to the incorporation of population
issues within national sustainable development policies.
2 The rising incidence of diseases of 'affluence' in Pacific island
populations is linked to dietary change. Many factors are involved,
such as urbanisation, food aid, changing food preferences, economic
modernisation and the convenience of processed foods and the high
prices of traditional staples, problems of national food distribution and
marketing, urban poverty and changes in farming systems and land use.
Some Pacific countries, notably the Federated States of Micronesia and
the Republic of the Marshall Islands, have become dependent on
imported foods.
New data documenting high incidences of mental illness, alcoholism, drug
abuse, violence, and suicide completes quite a depressing picture of the
health status of Pacific communities today.
3 Education
The major educational issue in Pacific nations today is to provide an
appropriate basic education for rapidly growing populations, and training
for those adults who have never had an opportunity for schooling, as will
be discussed. Adult education should be an essential part of education
planning and ways government agencies can work together with NGOs in
providing this need careful examination. The need for quality teacher and
community educator training is central to this task, as is the provision of
appropriate and adequate support systems for these educators, both in terms
of material resources, as well as personal support. The identification and
utilisation of appropriate distance and open learning strategies in addressing
this mammoth task is a matter of urgency.
Pacific nations must decide where they should concentrate their educational
efforts. For example, it is widely argued that governments would get
'better' educational and financial 'returns' today by focusing on the
expansion of adult education throughout the region for many years. At the
same time, ideas concerning educational investment tend to become clouded
48
by nationalistic concerns, as seen in the emergence of national universities,
polytechnics and institutes of higher learning throughout the region.
Promoted under the banner of 'equity', in that these are providing tertiary
study for more people, these institutions effectively reduce the amount and
quality of resources available for primary education.
Formal schooling
National education systems are typically pyramidal in shape with restricted
entry into higher levels. Formal schooling is neither universally available
nor compulsory in many Pacific countries. Governments do not have
sufficient funds to provide schooling for rapidly growing school-age
populations, but depend on the assistance of religious and donor agencies in
this regard. As a result, there are large variations in the availability of
school places and participation in the region (see Table 3). For example,
fewer than half the citizens of PNG have had any formal education, only
24% of the 5-11 aged population and 37% of the 12-16 year olds are at
school, whereas in some Polynesian countries education has been universal
for some years.
The pattern of participation for women is similar to that of women in
developed nations; fewer women compared with males enter the schooling
system and the attrition rate for women is higher than that for males. Also,
there is a concentration of women in the social sciences as opposed to male
predominance in the basic sciences. While this pattern of participation is
partly due to financial constraints, social and cultural beliefs concerning
women's roles inevitably influence educational provisions at all levels.
Illiteracy rates indicate wide regional variations, with rates in Melanesia
and parts of Micronesia being markedly higher than those for the
Polynesian sector. While the differences between male/female literacy rates
are not marked, female figures in all countries are higher than males,
except in Western Samoa. The PNG illiteracy rates for women underline
that males have received favoured treatment in the allocation of school
places for some years. These data reinforce the crucial need for adult
learning programmes.
49
TABLE 3
Population of school age children: school attendance as a percentage
of their gender age group
Age
Males
Females
M:F(%)
Papua New Guinea
5-9
284000
246000
15 14
(1990)
10-14
237000
197000
52 50
15-19
213000
184000
26 19
French Polynesia
6-12
15000
14000
98 99
(1988)
13-16
8000
8000
74 80
17-19
6000
6000
30 38
Solomon Islands
6-12
32000
29000
41 37
(1986)
13-16
14000
13000
56 43
17-19
9000
9000
18 8
Tokelau
5-14
216
200
100 100
(1991)
Tonga
6-12
9000
8000
98 98
(1986)
13-16
5000
5000
84 85
17-19
4000
3000
38 35
Tuvalu
5-9
9700
600
64 65
(1991)
10-14
400
400
97 95
15-19
300
300
38 35
Vanuatu
6-9
9000
8000
72 71
(1989)
10-14
9000
8000
74 69
15-19
7000
7000
26 18
Western Samoa
5-9
11000
10000
88 89
(1986)
10-14
11000
10000
97 99
15-19
11000
9000
66 75
Source: South Pacific Population Bulletin, No 42 (1994)
50
The issue of quality of schooling will not be discussed. It is, however,
noted that there is a dire shortage of basic resource materials in many
Pacific schools. The issues of teachers' qualifications and appropriateness
of curricula have been well documented and are currently being addressed
in various regional projects.
Non-formal
The record of NGOs as major providers of adult education in Pacific
nations is impressive. While in the earlier days NGO programmes may
have been more welfare and health oriented, more recently these have
focused on income generation activities, as well as literacy and awareness
raising programmes. For example, the Huli Women in Literacy programme
(1980-1985) was conducted by three PNG mission agencies (The United
Church, Evangelical Church of Papua and the Christian Brethren Church).
Of note is that 70% of the estimated 1736 literate adults who completed the
programme during these years were women.
The noted Pacific preference for group activities is one reason for the
success of NGO efforts, but more particularly, NGO programmes have
generally arisen out of and responded to local needs and have been
presented at the time and place of need. Furthermore, NGO networks have
the added advantage of instant outreach into rural areas. Government health
and agriculture extension activities have also utilised local NGOs, such as
the village women's committees and youth groups.
NGOs need substantial institutional strengthening. In the interests of
sustainability and the multiplier effect, (and given the urgency of making
up for the backlog caused by years of educational neglect), NGO
programmes are beginning to incorporate a training of trainers' component.
More careful attention is also being paid to the provision of support
services after an initial NGO training period. Networking can play a vital
role in this regard. The example of the University of the South Pacific's
radio networking systems already in operation (as for example the
FISHNET (Fishing information), AIN (Agricultural Information Network),
FLYNET (Fruit Fly programmes) and AIDS and nutrition networks shows
how this can be achieved.
51
The role of distance education in the Pacific
Distance education already plays an important role in the Pacific, as will be
seen. The more pressing question today is how the technology and
programmes of the Distance Education model can be adapted and extended
to cater for a wider audience of 'need' as has been identified.
During the 1950s New Zealand provided radio broadcasts to Pacific schools
and backed these up with supplementary materials, including Teachers'
Monthly Guides. While this service raised much contention as to
appropriateness of curriculum and how the broadcasts might be misused by
'lazy' teachers, the importance of these broadcasts has, I believe, been
under-rated. These were an invaluable learning resource for teachers in
areas where resources were, and continue to be, few. Also, the outreach of
these programmes into isolated rural areas was instantaneous. What is
more, the sessions were a 'training' time for teachers, as well as students,
reinforcing how to plan and present lessons. Today, in Western Samoa at
least, a small group of vastly under-resourced local staff provide these radio
services, but cannot meet the need for supplementary materials.
Tertiary distance education has been provided for over a decade by the
Universities of Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific (USP). The USP
Extension headquarters located at the Laucala Campus in Suva serves a
network of well-equipped and staffed Extension Centres in each of the
twelve countries served by the region. The USP programme includes
Extension Studies for credit, and Continuing Education and Community
Outreach programmes. • Preliminary (equivalent to sixth form) and
Foundation (seventh form) courses are offered in countries which do not
have facilities or personnel to teach these levels, while other students take
vocational and academic subjects as part of certificate, diploma and degree
courses.
USP Extension enrolments in 1992 were 5662, with 4310 students involved
in Continuing Education Courses. These figures, when contrasted with the
2406 on-campus students of the University in that year, show very clearly
the importance of distance learning in the region. In addition to this, the
Institutes of the University also run in-country training programmes.
52
Table 4 shows the increase in total enrolments in extension study at the
USP in the 1987 to 1990 period. Also shown is Polynesian women's higher
participation in extension study, compared with that of women from the
Melanesian and Micronesian countries.
TABLE 4
Enrolments at USP centres, by year and gender
1987 1990
male female male female
Cook Islands
233
273
334
455
Fiji
2454
1318
4436
2856
Kiribati
354
258
516
426
Nauru
157
214
76
158
Solomon Islands
569
79
630
134
Tonga
565
435
562
363
Vanuatu
359
140
534
181
Western Samoa
252
261
272
274
Source: USP University Extension 1993.
The question of who studies by extension is related to finance and
questions of equity once more. For example, when the Western Samoan
Government stopped refunding the fees of civil servants who passed the
extension courses in the mid 1980's, there was an immediate reduction in
enrolments.
I draw attention to three ways in which the USP is addressing the issue of
outreach and accessibility of its distance education programmes. The first
relates to entry. Whereas strict regulations mark entry into USP credit
courses, entry into continuing education courses is open. For a number of
years now, the university has offered a Certificate in Pre-School Education
through the Continuing Education section of Extension, and a certificated
programme for nutrition educators will be offered within the next two
years. As a result of these moves, students who do not meet the university
entry requirements have been able to gain a recognised qualification. A
second measure relates to rural access to distance education. In response to
local demand, the USP has established a Vanuatu sub-centre on Santo
Island. This sub-centre is fully staffed and resourced, with library and other
facilities, and is providing an excellent community resource for Santo
residents, while at the same time complementing the work of the Vila
Centre. The Western Samoa Centre (based in Apia) is currently exploring
whether to establish a second centre on Savaii Island. Thirdly, agriculture is
being offered by extension mode for the first time this year by the
university. This move has required extensive negotiations with local school
and extension staff regarding practical work and assessment of this. This
step marks an important new direction in extension courses.
Conclusion
Distance study caters well for those who can afford the fees, who have the
time to study, and who have the skills needed to follow an individualised
learning programme, whether this be through print or other media. As
outlined, the wider need in the Pacific at the moment is for increased
access to functional literacy and numeracy programmes, by a group who
may not be able to pay fees, who may have time constraints, or who may
need and prefer a face to face group learning experience. The challenge in
54
the Pacific is to find the right 'mix' between formal, non-formal and
informal learning modes and to utilise the new technologies being
developed in distance education to serve these needs.
I conclude with some comments by Dukes (1985) which sum up challenges
facing Pacific nations today. Dukes proposes that whereas in developed
nations the impetus for adult eduction comes from two major directions -
the liberal and individualist position 'that education is an end in itself (self
development, leisure and richer personal living) and from the utilitarian
viewpoint (that the rate of change in modern society has been so rapid that
people must be educated in order to cope with these), in developing
nations, adult education is perceived to be a means of reducing poverty,
confronting nations' inequity and contributing to social change. Dukes lists
three programme priorities for developing nations today:
Literacy, usually of a functional kind for development...Practical
skills and knowledge for production, whether in a cash economy or ,
for self-reliance of local communities... To these two may be
added various forms of post-literacy and basic (school equivalency)
education through to vocationally-oriented training at different
levels to meet economic development needs... The third major
category comprises adult education for active (and maybe equal, or
maybe responsible) participation in society.
He adds that this does not mean that individual motivation and learning are
not important, but that in developing nations the purposes of education are
collective, for the development of the group or district, nation or society,
through enhanced knowledge and skills, and changed attitudes of its
members (Dukes 1985:4).
55
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Fairbairn-Dunlop P. (1994). The status of South Pacific women. Noumea: South
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