Kiribati Education Improvement Program (KEIP)

Australia has been supporting the Ministry of Education in Kiribati to improve the quality of basic education through the Kiribati Education Improvement Program (KEIP). KEIP has had three phases, Phase I (2011-2013: AUD$13 million) focused on building policies and the enabling environment for subsequent phases. Phase II (2013-2016: AUD$22 million) focused on learning outcomes for school years’ 1 to 4 and service delivery. The current phase, Phase III (2016-2020: AUD$32 million), focuses on improving learning outcomes in basic education (years 1 to 9) and sectoral planning and management. KEIP III finishes on 30 September 2020.

Given tight travel restrictions and COVID-19 prevention in Kiribati, DFAT will delay the design of any long term education investment. We will instead contract 21 months of project support to consolidate KEIP outcomes and to maintain our commitment to the sector. There is potential the 21 months will expand, noting the need for flexibility and adaptation to a rapidly changing environment. In doing so, we will retain the existing emphasis on improvement to student learning in basic education and sectoral system strengthening, in line with the priorities of the Kiribati Ministry of Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) 2020-2023 and Australia’s policy in the education sector. Revisiting previous assumptions and altering project implementation mid-stream will allow the project to account for the changing landscape.