GIFF JOHNSON
A major new educational program is expected to connect educators and students on every atoll and island in the country to step-up the use of technology in education.
The new program, known as the Rebbelib Project, will roll out internet connections, laptops and training and educational programs to all public schools in the RMI. It’s about “using modern technology to connect schools with digital education programs,” said Dechen Zam of UNICEF, one of the partners in the new program with the Public School System.
The point is to provide mentoring, training and support to teachers without them having to leave their classrooms and travel hundreds of miles to Majuro for occasional workshops or trainings.
The program also aims to use digital platforms to deliver cultural knowledge as part of the educational program.
Education Minister Gerald Zackios, speaking at the Rebbelib launch at the end of September, pointed out that stick charts carried great knowledge used by Marshallese navigators to travel safely across hundreds of miles of ocean. “The Rebbelib Project honors this heritage,” he said, “by connecting all teachers throughout the Marshall Islands.”
The Global Partnership for Education is a partner in the project, that is valued at $2.5 million over the next three years.
“Just as (Marshallese) ancestors carried knowledge on long voyages, we’re using knowledge and innovation to connect educators and students,” said Dr. Natalie Nimmer, the Education Commissioner.
“Now, the only time for teachers to get professional development is by coming to Majuro in the summer,” she said. “With this, they can get it on their own island and can use it (what they learn) immediately.”
Among the benefits of the program is that it will enable communication among teachers within an atoll — Arno, for example — once the new digital service is rolled out.
The project will include laptops for teachers and students. “The purpose is to develop well-prepared teachers,” she said. Using the new platform PSSwill be able to provide mentorship to teachers, and teachers and administrators can take only classes from the College of the Marshall Islands and the University of the South Pacific while staying on their islands.
PSS will be using Starlink internet equipment to connect each school. Nimmer said the aim is to begin rolling out the internet connections and laptops early in 2026. “By 2029, every outer island school will be connected so every teacher and student is using digital tools and Marshallese culture is a daily part of education,” she said.