MEHRD Minister signed notice of presentation of Education Bill 2023

Minister of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development, Hon. Lanelle Olandrea Tanangada has signed the notice of presentation of the new Education Bill 2023 to Parliament at the Attorney General Chambers on Tuesday 8^th, August 2023.

This allows the minister to present the Education Bill 2023 accompanied by a copy of the Bill and Memorandum for submission to the Speaker.

This is in accordance with the Standing Order 61(4) of the Constitution which state a member may at any time give notice of his/[her] intention to present a Bill. Such notice should be accompanied by a copy of memorandum for submission to the Speaker.

The new Education Bill 2023 will be deliberated upon by Parliament when it resumes on August 28^th, 2023.

The Speaker of Parliament has since endorsed the tabling of the new Education Bill for its first reading when parliament resumes its meeting and had asked the Clerk to Parliament to provide copies of the Bill to all Members of Parliament which the Minister has confirmed.

The implementation of the new Education Bill in the Solomon Islands is highly significant in the reform of the country’s education system.

Much has changed in the past 45 years since the current Education Act 1978 (Cap 69) was passed and implemented. It is understood that the new Education Legislation will guide and direct education development further in the country so as to improve access to quality education and to sufficiently resource and manage the education system.

The drafting of the Education Bill and its accompanying subordinate documents is a result of extensive review, consultation, reports and drafting.

The review of the Education Act commenced under the auspices of the National Education Board (NEB) in 2013, by a special Taskforce commissioned to conduct a series of lengthy and comprehensive consultation processes.

The review and consultations involved a broad range of key stakeholders and partners in education throughout Solomon Islands and abroad.

This initial phase culminated in a White Paper being published in June 2014 and was tabled to and endorsed by Parliament in August 2015. The White Paper was the basis of the initial drafting instructions.

Since the initial draft was produced, further review and consultations have been undertaken across the country involving several key education stakeholders. Each phase of consultation resulted in modifications and improvement to the draft Bill.

The final draft Bill is a piece of legislation that is extremely well consulted and is truly Solomon Islands owned.

 

• Charles Kadamana | Communication Manager, Education Communication & Promotion Unit Strategy Support Division, Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development