School in Kiribati

The Ministry of Education, commonly called the MoE, oversees the school system in Kiribati. Early Childhood Care and Education, abbreviated as ECCE, covers pre-primary learning and is provided through church, council and community centres. A child generally starts primary school in the year they reach six by 31 July. Primary school runs from Year 1 to Year 6, followed by junior secondary school, or JSS, in Years 7–9. Senior secondary school, or SSS, covers Years 10–13 and is not compulsory. The Education Act 2013 requires parents to enrol their children and ensure attendance until the child completes Year 9 or reaches the end of the year in which they turn 15, whichever comes first. An acceptable reason is required for absence. Employing a child during school hours is prohibited; the Act provides penalties of up to $50 for a parent and up to $500 for an employer. Exemption certificates may be available in specific cases. Government schools, mission or faith-based schools and other registered private schools operate in Kiribati. Primary and junior secondary access is geographically broad, and education in Years 1–9 is free under the law. Government subsidies and stationery support reduce household costs, but exact charges for particular materials or services can vary. Senior secondary places and locations are more limited, especially outside South Tarawa. The usual transition is from Form 3 to Form 4, and some students need boarding or transport because senior secondary schools are concentrated in particular locations. In 2021, 38% of the senior-secondary-age group was recorded as out of school, compared with 3% at primary level and 10% at junior secondary level. The Line and Phoenix Islands had a particularly high senior-secondary out-of-school rate. The National Curriculum and Assessment Framework, or NCAF, applies across government and private schools and includes learners with disabilities. Kiribati and English both affect classroom learning: available evidence links Kiribati-language teaching with stronger reading results and English-language teaching with stronger numeracy results. In the 2021 MICS assessment, foundational reading was achieved by 36% of children in Grade 3, while foundational numeracy was below 20% among children in Grades 2–4. MICS refers to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys used to measure child and household outcomes. Children with disabilities have the right to free primary and junior secondary education and cannot be refused enrolment because of disability, sex, religion or race. The system aims to include learners in ordinary classes where practical, while the Minister may establish special-education centres. The School for Children with Special Needs receives public support, but buildings, equipment and implementation remain uneven across the outer islands. Geography strongly affects daily schooling. South Tarawa faces overcrowding and migration pressure, while outer-island primary schools may have fewer facilities and use locally built structures. Boarding and annual transport from home islands support access to three government senior secondary schools. The Kiribati Education Management Information System, or KEMIS, tracks infrastructure, teacher deployment, training and student outcomes. A digital transformation programme launched in 2026 aims to strengthen information and technology systems, but its implementation does not yet prove universal coverage. The 2024 primary gross enrolment ratio was 95.3% and the lower-secondary ratio was 100.5%; these figures measure enrolment against a reference population and do not equal age-specific attendance.