Pacific Island Countries Teacher Upgrading and Resourcing for the Early Years (WB-P511162)

Regions
  • East Asia and Pacific
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Fiji
  • Kiribati
  • Marshall Islands
  • Tonga
  • Tuvalu
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • World Bank (WB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Dec 1, 2026
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Governments of Tonga, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu - Pacific Community
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Education and Health
  • Law and Government
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Grant, Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 32.50 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Grant Amount (USD)
$ 77.50 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 110.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ WB website

Updated in EWS Sep 25, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Apr 15, 2026

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the objective of this project is to improve school readiness of children entering the primary school, improve the reading skills of students in primary school, and strengthen regional capacity for evidence-based policymaking in education.

Pacific countries face high learning poverty (40-75 percent) and low early childhood education (ECE) enrollment (just over 50 percent), limiting children's readiness for a future of greater mobility and connectivity. PICTURE will help selected Pacific Island countries strengthen early years services by building a skilled, regionally mobile workforce; expanding access to learning resources; and enhancing regional capacity for assessment and evidence-based policy.

The project will scale up regionally recognized professional development for ECE and primary teachers and school leaders through the University of the South Pacific (USP) and national training institutions, leading to portable qualifications and micro credentials. Training will include ongoing coaching and peer communities of practice and integrate climate awareness, Pacific languages and cultures, and inclusive approaches for girls and boys and children with disabilities. Selected schools will be upgraded as island-based training hubs with reliable connectivity to access regional training offerings and climate resilient, accessible learning spaces.To improve learning conditions, the project will expand regional resource libraries and provide digital and print materials in Pacific languages, play-based materials for ECE, and assistive technologies with associated screening and training. Regional partners will support country-tailored programs to engage parents and communities in early childhood development. In selected countries, the project will support integrated Cash Plus social protection programs to support and incentivize household investments in early child development. Working with the Pacific Community's Educational Quality and Assessment Program (SPC EQAP), the project will institutionalize regional teacher observation and child outcome assessments and establish a regional learning network on education public financial management and data use.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The project’s environmental risks are expected to be moderate and site-specific, primarily associated with minor refurbishment/upgrade works at existing education facilities and the procurement and distribution of learning materials and ICT equipment (including management of construction waste, packaging waste, and potential e-waste; and attention to resource efficiency in small-scale upgrades). Social risks are also expected to be moderate and manageable, and relate mainly to inclusive access and potential exclusion of disadvantaged or remote communities (including persons with disabilities), the adequacy of stakeholder engagement across multiple countries, labor and occupational health and safety for project workers involved in small works and service delivery, community health and safety risks in/around schools (including child safeguarding), and assessment of risks associated with Cash Plus/cash transfer interventions where applicable.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Total Project Cost: US$ 110.00 million
IDA Credit: US$ 32.50 million
IDA Grant: US$ 77.50 million


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

CONTACT POINT - World Bank

Task Team Leader: Shawn Powers
Title: Senior Economist
Email: spowers1@worldbank.org

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

To submit an information request for project information, you will have to create an account to access the Access to Information request form. You can learn more about this process at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/access-to-information/request-submission

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF THE WORLD BANK

The World Bank Inspection Panel is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by a World Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Inspection Panel, they may investigate to assess whether the World Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can contact the Inspection Panel or submit a complaint by emailing ipanel@worldbank.org. Information on how to file a complaint and a complaint request form are available at: https://www.inspectionpanel.org/how-to-file-complaint

How it works

How it works