Financing for equity in pre-primary education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to institutions
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
Key financing indicators (UIS Data)
The official entrance age to pre-primary education is three. Free pre-primary education is not granted in legal frameworks. Compulsory pre-primary education is not granted in legal frameworks. The net enrolment rate for pre-primary for both sexes decreased from 37.66 in 2013 to 33.54 in 2024.
Governance
The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MEHRD) is the primary government agency responsible for financing pre-primary education, allocating and overseeing education budgets.
Tuition-free status
Free pre-primary education is not granted in legal frameworks.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
Public funding for pre-primary education is provided through the national school grant system, which covers all registered Early Childhood Education (ECE) centres as schools under the Education Act 1978. The 2012 Policy Statement and Guidelines for Grants to Schools in Solomon Islands establishes ECE as part of the school grant scheme, financed primarily from the SIG recurrent budget and development partner funds. Grants for pre-primary education are channelled directly from the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development and the Ministry of Finance and Treasury to the bank accounts of all registered ECE centres, rather than via local government budgets, following the procedures established in the 2012 grant policy.
2. Education resources to institutions
Grants for pre-primary education are channelled directly from the MEHRD to the bank accounts of all registered ECE centres, rather than through local government budgets, in accordance with the 2012 Policy Statement and Guidelines for Grants to Schools in the Solomon Islands. The grant system covers all public, church and private ECE centres that are formally registered under the Education Act 1978. Education Authorities, including provincial governments, church agencies and other approved providers, are responsible for assisting their ECE centres with grant management.
The school grant comprises three components that apply equally to all ECE centres: a per-student component based on enrolment reported through the Solomon Islands Education Management Information System (SIEMIS), a school administration component, and a remote-area component. The student component for ECE is an annual per-child entitlement, updated periodically by the Permanent Secretary, and disbursed twice yearly: the first tranche based on the previous year’s SIEMIS data and the second on current-year enrolments. The administration grant is a flat annual allocation for school operating costs, with ECE centres entitled to their own administration grant. Funds are transferred directly into the centre’s bank account, subject to compliance with financial reporting and audit requirements. The remote area component, which also applies to ECE centres classified as remote under the zoning system in the Teaching Service Handbook, provides an additional fixed grant to compensate for higher costs of transport, communication, and reporting; these funds are paid together with other grant components and are managed under the same accountability rules. For centres that prefer in-kind support, the Education Resource Unit may supply basic materials such as stationery and learning resources instead of part or all of the cash grant.
Equity is a guiding principle of the school grant system: the 2012 policy states that grants must ensure that boys and girls have equitable access to basic education regardless of gender, geographical location, income level, ethnicity, or disability, and acknowledges that some schools require additional resources to achieve comparable learning outcomes. Additionally, the remote area component allocates additional resources to ECE centres in geographically isolated communities, where transport and communication costs are higher, and eligibility is periodically updated by MEHRD.
3. Education resources to students and families
Financial support mechanisms for pre-primary education from MEHRD are primarily channelled through institutional grants to Education Authorities and schools rather than direct payments to families. The government does not provide subsidies, vouchers, grants, or tax support directly to parents for pre-primary education enrollment.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
No information was found on government-funded social policies aimed at improving access to pre-primary education by ministries other than MEHRD.
