THE LEADER of Opposition Jeremiah Manele has acknowledged the 33% increase in funding to basic education to meet operational expenditures of Early Childhood Education, Primary, Secondary and Rural Training Centres throughout the country.
Mr Manele said the education sector, like the health sector, continues to receive a huge share of the budget, which he said is common, as these are key services that directly impact on the lives of the people.
“It is important that there is a fair and equitable balance in terms of the focus and allocations for the education sector covering early childhood education; primary; secondary; tertiary; and technical and vocational education training. In this regard, I acknowledge the 33% increase in funding to basic education to meet operational expenditures of Early Childhood Education, Primary, Secondary and Rural Training Centres throughout Solomon Islands,” Mr Manele said.
The Leader of Opposition said in terms of TVET, the Government must upgrade and build more rural training centres to accommodate the huge number of drop outs at the primary and secondary levels.
“There is also a need to review the RTC curriculums so that they can respond appropriately to the labour needs and demands of our economy. I trust that the review of the Education Act will look into some of these issues so that we ensure there is both quality and quantity in terms of human resources development in the country,” Mr Manele said.
He adds that whilst the country needs well-educated and trained labour force; it also needs a healthy and productive one.
