OVERVIEW
The Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) brings together ministers, senior officials, teachers, students, technical experts and specialists to identify challenges and decide on policies and programmes that support countries in building effective education systems.
The meetings, established in the 1950s, are held every three years and are assigned specific themes to help steer discussions and determine priorities.
There are special forums for teachers, young people and others who have a stake in education in the Commonwealth.
This year’s conference, the 19CCEM, is organised jointly by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Government of The Bahamas with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology serving as the lead agency. It will be held 22-26 June, 2015 in Nassau, The Bahamas at Atlantis Resorts, Paradise Island.
18CCEM (2012)
The 18CCEM was hosted by Mauritius and the theme was ‘Bridging the gap as we accelerate towards achieving the internationally agreed goals (IAGs)’. The meeting served to highlight the need for accelerated progress on international education goals such as the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - which include universal primary education, and the 6 UNESCO Education For All (EFA) objectives to meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults.
Among its main objectives was an examination of the progress made in pursuit of the IAGs and an agreement on a process to determine the post-2015 agenda for education.
The consensus was that the current goals have had a positive impact on education - evident in the rapid rise in enrolment in Africa, the gains made in the Pacific and advanced economies and the improvements in literacy rates in Africa and the Caribbean.
However it was acknowledged that, with 23.3 billion primary age children still out of school and 460 million adults in the Commonwealth still unable to read and write, education remains a challenge for the association of countries.
A Ministerial Working Group was set up at the 18CCEM to develop the Commonwealth’s post-2015 agenda for education and to make recommendations to the UN’s High-Level Panels Group and UNESCO’s Working Group on the EFA Goals.
The recommendations, which include the alignment of the post-2015 EFA goals and the education MDG into one agreed framework, and proposed three ‘Principal Goals’ and six ‘Sub-Goals’, are helping to shape the new international education landscape.
The principal goals include a guarantee that every child completes a minimum nine years of continuous, free basic education and a secondary and tertiary strategy that focusses on boosting employment opportunities through skills development. The goals also address equality in education and demands that achievement should not be influenced by household wealth, gender, special needs, location, age or social group.
The secondary goals focus on tackling adult illiteracy, providing education opportunities for young people and adults who have not completed nine years basic education, and addressing other factors that impact on learning, such as infrastructure and early childhood nutrition.
The group also highlighted other related concerns such as conflict and disasters, migration, gender, and social and economic development.
19CCEM
The 19CCEM is perhaps one of the most important education meetings since the establishment of the conferences. Coinciding with the sunset of the current EFAs and the MDGs and the deciding of a new set of international development goals, the meeting will help to shape education in the Commonwealth for the decade ahead.
The theme “Quality Education for Equitable Development: Performance, Paths and Productivity” reflects the Commonwealth priorities in the post-2015 agenda, and echoes the international focus on education goals which promote access, quality and equality, skills for employability and which can produce measurable results.
One of the objectives of the meeting is to engage Commonwealth ministers and senior officials with this theme and seek consensus in agreeing educational development priorities for Commonwealth.
Delegates will examine the barriers to equality, access and quality, and gain the commitment of ministers to take specific actions that will impact progress and development in education at national, regional and international levels.
They will also share good practices and identify and agree on innovative strategies and policies that create high-quality education systems that have a focus on continuous teacher development, cater for technological trends and provide the technical skills required to succeed in the 21st century workforce.
Ministers will establish the 19CCEM Ministerial Working Group, which will focus on developing the Accelerated Development Mechanism for Education in the Commonwealth. This new initiative, which will be finalised through a subsequent Ministerial Working Group meeting, will help to implement policies prescribed at the 19CCEM, and will focus on supporting countries to develop national strategies to achieve the new goals. It will also provide special assistance for those who have not achieved previous international goals.
The Mechanism will broker partnerships and advocate at the highest level for financial or technical support for education - for example the allocation of education budgets based on Gross Domestic Products (GDPs).
Structure
The main event of the CCEM is a three day meeting for Commonwealth education ministers, which is preceded by regional forums and meetings for senior officials, and heads of small states. Forums for teachers, stakeholders and the youth are also held during the five days of the conference.
Small States Meeting (22 June 2015)
Thirty-one of the Commonwealth members are classified as small states and many are island nations. Ministers will discuss the unique challenges they share, such as size-related vulnerabilities and devise targeted solutions.
Regional Ministerial Caucus (23 June 2015)
The diversity of the Commonwealth family means countries and regions are at different stages of social and economic development, and have different educational needs and approaches. Having a regional context for the problems facing Commonwealth countries ensures policies and strategies are tailored and most effective.
Senior Official’s Meeting (23 June 2015)
Officials who are involved in the day to day administration of education in Commonwealth countries review the documents, reports and work plans submitted at the conference and report to the ministerial meeting.
Ministerial Meeting (24-26 June 2015)
This meeting is for ministers of education and invited observers, and is where high-level decisions and recommendations will be made. In addition to the agreed agenda, ministers will also discuss statements and reports from the parallel forums.
