European Union Article
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_Pacific Dear Sir/Madam LETTER OF APPLICATION I am looking for a job in your company and I would be happy if you would offer me one. My name is John Samuels and I am 18 years old. I first attended South West Bay Junior Secondary School from 1996 to 1999, doing years 7 to 10. I obtained my leaving certificate with good grades. John is one of the growing number of students in Vanuatu to complete Year 10, thanks to the EU-Vanuatu Education Development Programme (EUVED). The project has both a construction and an education component. Construction involves building and refurbishing teaching facilities and student accommodation at 18 schools like the one John attended, and the building of a library, teaching facilities and student accommodation at the Vanuatu Teachers’ College. John’s former school received new facil- ities adjacent to the existing primary school. The education component includes building and strengthening management systems, providing teaching materials and in-service training for teachers/advisers and secondary school inspectors. Reaching government targets According to the Director General of Education in Vanuatu, George Andrews, the project’s substantial achieve- ments have been largely due to teamwork. “We believe this success story would not have come about without the coop- eration of all parties; the EU, the Vanuatu Government and the consultant Dr David Black and his team.” Dr Black is Project Manager for EUVED, which began in September 1999 and is due to be completed in mid 2003. EUVED’s aim was, and is, to contribute substantially to the Vanuatu government targets of improving the quality of education in Junior Secondary Schools and, by 2002, to double the numbers of students enrolled in Years 7 to 10 in 1994. The project is on target. Dr Black also acknowledges the importance of coopera- tion and consultation. “The project is an ongoing success because the EUVED team developed friendly and profes- sional relationships with the Ministry of Education and this contributed greatly to its achievements. The project has pro- vided over 1,000 new Junior Secondary School places as well as resources for schools and training school inspectors and teacher advisors,” he said. I then continued years 11 and 12 at Onesua Presbyterian College. These are my results: English 11 Mathematics 09 French 06 Social Science 11 Basic Science 10 Religious Instruction 11 Agriculture 07 I can write and speak fluent English and have a fair knowledge of French. I am also learning computer skills at home. Linguistic diversity Of the schools, 8 are francophone and 10 are anglophone. Vanuatu, meaning “land eternal”, got independence in 1980. Prior to this, the country was known as the New Hebrides and was a condominium administered jointly by the French and the British. English and French are both widely spoken as well as Bislama. There are also more than a hundred other languages spoken in the 83 islands that make up the archipelago of Vanuatu. John speaks English, Bislama, French and languages from Paama (his mother’s island) and Malekula, where he attended South West Bay Junior Secondary School. John’s results in the subjects he mentioned will allow him access to a good job. The purpose of his letter of application, written without assistance and sent to a number of potential employers, was to look for employment so he can afford the fees to continue his computer studies at the University of the South Pacific. Apart from allowing more students to complete Realising a dream in Vanuatu The contribution of the European Union A decade ago, the following letter may have been no more than a dream… Ian Heydon looks at how the European Union (EU) is contributing to the future of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. EUVED Project
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Transcript of European Union Article
_Pacific
Dear Sir/MadamLETTER OF APPLICATION
I am looking for a job in your company and I wouldbe happy if you would offer me one.
My name is John Samuels and I am 18 years old. I first attended South West Bay Junior SecondarySchool from 1996 to 1999, doing years 7 to 10. I obtained my leaving certificate with good grades.
John is one of the growing number of students in Vanuatuto complete Year 10, thanks to the EU-Vanuatu EducationDevelopment Programme (EUVED). The project has both aconstruction and an education component.
Construction involves building and refurbishing teachingfacilities and student accommodation at 18 schools like theone John attended, and the building of a library, teachingfacilities and student accommodation at the VanuatuTeachers’ College. John’s former school received new facil-ities adjacent to the existing primary school.
The education component includes building andstrengthening management systems, providing teachingmaterials and in-service training for teachers/advisers andsecondary school inspectors.
Reaching government targetsAccording to the Director General of Education in
Vanuatu, George Andrews, the project’s substantial achieve-ments have been largely due to teamwork. “We believe thissuccess story would not have come about without the coop-eration of all parties; the EU, the Vanuatu Government andthe consultant Dr David Black and his team.”
Dr Black is Project Manager for EUVED, which began inSeptember 1999 and is due to be completed in mid 2003.EUVED’s aim was, and is, to contribute substantially to theVanuatu government targets of improving the quality ofeducation in Junior Secondary Schools and, by 2002, todouble the numbers of students enrolled in Years 7 to 10 in1994. The project is on target.
Dr Black also acknowledges the importance of coopera-tion and consultation. “The project is an ongoing successbecause the EUVED team developed friendly and profes-sional relationships with the Ministry of Education and thiscontributed greatly to its achievements. The project has pro-vided over 1,000 new Junior Secondary School places aswell as resources for schools and training school inspectorsand teacher advisors,” he said.
I then continued years 11 and 12 at OnesuaPresbyterian College. These are my results:
English 11Mathematics 09French 06Social Science 11Basic Science 10Religious Instruction 11Agriculture 07
I can write and speak fluent English and have a fairknowledge of French. I am also learning computer skillsat home.
Linguistic diversityOf the schools, 8 are francophone and 10 are anglophone.
Vanuatu, meaning “land eternal”, got independence in 1980.Prior to this, the country was known as the New Hebrides andwas a condominium administered jointly by the French and theBritish. English and French are both widely spoken as well asBislama. There are also more than a hundred other languagesspoken in the 83 islands that make up the archipelago ofVanuatu. John speaks English, Bislama, French and languagesfrom Paama (his mother’s island) and Malekula, where heattended South West Bay Junior Secondary School.
John’s results in the subjects he mentioned will allow himaccess to a good job. The purpose of his letter of application,written without assistance and sent to a number of potentialemployers, was to look for employment so he can afford thefees to continue his computer studies at the University of theSouth Pacific. Apart from allowing more students to complete
Realising a dream in Vanuatu The contribution of the European UnionA decade ago, the following letter may have been no more than adream… Ian Heydon looks at how the European Union (EU) iscontributing to the future of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu.
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the Courier ACP-EU may-june 200232
_Pacific
Year 10, the EUVED Project has instilled an ongoing desire foreducation and life skills such as application and independence.
Coping with natural disastersThe implementation of the project has not been all plain
sailing. The EUVED project faced three emergency situations,fortunately none of them involving loss of life. The first wasCyclone Sose in 2000, which blew the roofs off the dormito-ries and classrooms at Molivalilvo School on the island ofSanto. EUVED used contingency funds to repair the damage.Later in the year, the eruption of the volcano on the island ofLopevi resulted in the evacuation of staff and students fromthe nearby island of Paama. The building programme wasrescheduled to give priority to improving facilities at theschool. The third emergency followed an earthquake inJanuary 2002 (7.4 on the Richter Scale). The Ministry ofEducation building in Port Vila was severely damaged andwill have to be demolished. The EUVED team proposed amodification to the work plan to construct a new buildingwhile retaining the number of new student places. EUVEDalso provided engineering consultants to survey damage atthree local secondary schools.
John’s brother, Jake, was one of the students evacuatedfrom Paama because of the volcanic eruption and has sincereturned to complete his Year 10 studies following the build-ing of new classroom blocks, administration building, dormi-
tories and washrooms. Their sister, Motte, is in Year 8 atBurumba Junior Secondary School on the island of Epi.Thanks to EUVED, a new classroom block and a new admin-istration block has already been completed there. Theirmother Gladys is an extremely intelligent woman who worksas a “housegirl”, for an expatriate family. When she wasyoung, no such educational facilities existed and she is proudof their achievements and thankful for the assistance that hasmade opportunities available to her children.
A real "community" projectThe benefits to Vanuatu are more far-reaching than just the
classroom. “We worked hard to ensure that the project had animpact beyond the education sector,” Dr Black said. “It has sup-ported the local economy by, for example, the successful use oflocal building contractors and printing firms to supply text-books.”
Tight budgetary constraints were also eased by the localcommunities donating building resources, such as sand andcoral, along with labour for small additional building projectsand commitment to the long-term maintenance of the schools.As Dr Black says, “It has been particularly pleasing to see theinvolvment of local communities in helping to build and main-tain what have now clearly become “their” schools.”
The Ministry of Education and the EUVED design team, underproject architect Mikko Koria, designed and managed the con-struction of all the school buildings and worked with eachschool principal to identify priorities.
It has been a “community” project in every sense of the word.The tenders for all work and supplies were won by local firms,which gave the Vanuatu economy a boost at grassroots level aswell as the longer-term investment in education.
The importance and significance of projects like EUVED canperhaps be best seen when put into an historical perspective.Developing nations have to “fast-track” now more than ever.Vanuatu has sophisticated infrastructure in its communicationssystems (telephone, internet) and the economy relies ontourism, export of select agricultural products and offshorefinancial services. For these sectors to function professionallyand efficiently, a well-educated workforce is a necessity.Vanuatu has come a long way in a relatively short period oftime. Quality education, for both individuals and the communi-ty, is fundamental in enabling developing nations to compete,nurture and prosper. The "giant leap for mankind" in Vanuatucan only come from education.
Because of my qualifications and skills I hope to get a jobinterview and I would try hard to do very well in my job.
I look forward to hearing from you.Yours faithfully
John Samuels
Thanks to projects like EUVED, more and more students inthe future will be able to type the words “yours faithfully” atthe bottom of their letters of application.
The final word to Dr Black: “All of us at the project arepleased to have made a substantial contribution to theGovernment’s philosophy, that education of the individualand the community is of critical importance to the develop-ment of Vanuatu.” ■
John Samuels is one of the growing number of students in Vanuatu tocomplete Year 10, thanks to the EU-Vanuatu Education DevelopmentProgramme (EUVED)
The EUVED Project team members, past and present, are:Stephen Barber, David Black, Ian Chappell, AmandHughes-d’Aeth, Stephen McCluskey, Williamson Moli,Mikko Koria, Bob Nikai, Richard Rahuban, SammyRaikatalau, Brian Sali, Michael Vari.
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