Australia and New Zealand has supported the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MEHRD) with a new forklift, valued at approximately SBD 210,000 funded through the Education Sector Support Program.

The forklift would be used at the Education Resource Unit warehouse to lift, move and stack curriculum materials for distribution to schools nationwide. 

On Thursday, representations from Australia, New Zealand and Solomon Islands government took part in a special ceremony at the MEHRD – Education Resource Unit (ERU) to hand over the brand-new forklift. 

The event demonstrated partners’ commitment to improving access to quality education for all Solomon Islands children. 

The handover event, attended by representatives from MEHRD, the Australian High Commission, New Zealand High Commission, and the school community, celebrated ongoing efforts to improve educational infrastructure and resources.

Dr. Franco Rodie – Permanent Secretary (PS) of Education stated that he acknowledged and thanked the Governments of Australia and New Zealand for the new forklift which was funded under the Education Sector Support Program to the ministry.  

He added that the forklift would help his staff at the Education Resource Unit warehouse to lift, move and stack curriculum materials and other educational materials efficiently and safely within the Education Resource Unit warehouse and into the trucks for distribution to schools. 

The first forklift that the MEHRD bought broke down somewhat 10 years ago, and made it difficult for the staff to lift or move educational resources within the warehouse of waiting trucks ready for distribution to schools. 

The Australian High Commission’s Counsellor of Human Development Dr. Tristan Armstrong added, ” As strong, long-term partners supporting Solomon Islands’ Education Sector, Australia is always here to listen and respond in a practical and timely way to requests for assistance.

“I am so happy that we are here today to celebrate this handover, which will make such a difference to the effectiveness of the Education Resource Unit.  Support such as this aligns with Australia’s focus on human development and empowerment through education.”

New Zealand High Commission First Secretary Olivia Benton-Guy expressed New Zealand’s commitment to supporting the Solomon Islands education sector, “This forklift is a small but meaningful contribution to our longstanding partnership with Solomon Islands in education. New Zealand, Australia and MEHRD have invested heavily in curriculum and teacher resource development over the past 5 years and this forklift will build on this work, to enable ERU to more effectively work to get these resources out to schools, and in to the hands of students.”

The Education Sector Support Program is a partnership between MEHRD, Australia and New Zealand aimed at increasing access to quality and inclusive education for all children in the Solomon Islands.

PHOTO CAPTION: Australia, New Zealand and Solomon Islands government representatives took part in a special ceremony at the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MEHRD) – Education Resource Unit (ERU) to hand over a new forklift on Thursday.