Cook Islands

The Cook Islands (Cook Islands Māori: Kūki 'Āirani) are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand, in the South Pacific Ocean.

It comprises 15 small islands with a total land area of 240 square kilometres (92.7 sq mi). The Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers 1.8 million square kilometres (0.7 million sq mi) of ocean.

The population of the Cook Islands is nearly 20,000.

The capital (and largest city) is Avarua.

The main population centres are on the island of Rarotonga (around 14,000), where there is an international airport.

Defence is the responsibility of New Zealand, in consultation with the Cook Islands and at its request. In recent times, the Cook Islands have adopted an increasingly independent foreign policy.

With over 90,000 visitors travelling to the islands in 2006, tourism is the country's number one industry, and the leading element of the economy, far ahead of offshore banking, pearls, marine and fruit exports.

There is also a much larger population of Cook Islanders in New Zealand, particularly the North Island. In the 2006 census, around 58,000 self-identified as being of ethnic Cook Island Māori descent.

The Cook Islands is not a United Nations full member but participates in WHO and UNESCO, and is an associate member of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

The languages of the Cook Islands include English, Cook Islands Māori (Rarotongan) and Pukapukan. Cook Islands Māori and its dialectic variants are closely related to both Tahitian and to New Zealand Māori. Pukapukan, by contrast, is considered closely related to the Samoan language. Both English and Cook Islands Māori are considered official languages of the Cook Islands.

For more details see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_Islands

Geography and administration of the Cook Islands

The Cook Islands can be divided into two groups: the Southern Cook Islands and the Northern Cook Islands. For a map see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_the_Cook_Islands

In the lists below, those in italics are administrative subdivisions.

Southern Cook Islands

1. Rarotonga (capital)
2. Aitutaki
3. Atiu
4. Mangaia
5. Manuae (uninhabited, governed by Aitutaki)
6. Mauke
7. Mitiaro
8. Palmerston Island
9. Takutea (uninhabited, governed by Atiu)

Northern Cook Islands

1. Manihiki
2. Nassau (governed by Pukapuka)
3. Penrhyn Island, also known as Tongareva or Mangarongaro
4. Pukapuka
5. Rakahanga
6. Suwarrow (also governed by Pukapuka, not counted with the inhabited islands since there is only one caretaker living on it)

Rarotonga

Rarotonga is the most populous island of the Cook Islands, with a population of 14,153 (census 2006), out of the country's total population of 19,569.

The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga. Because it is the most populous island, Cook Islanders may often be referred to as Rarotongan, but they may come from one of the other 14 islands in the group, such as Aitutaki or Mangaia.

Rarotonga is a very popular tourist destination with many resorts, hotels and motels. The chief town, Avarua, on the north coast, is the capital of the Cook Islands.

Rarotonga was divided into three main districts or vaka (tribes):

1. Te Au O Tonga on the northern side of the island (Avarua is the capital)
2. Takitumu on the eastern and southern side
3. Puaikura on the western side.

These were abolished in February 2008, despite much controversy.

Outer islands

There are island councils on all of the inhabited outer islands except Nassau, which is governed by Pukapuka (Suwarrow, with only one caretaker living on the island, also governed by Pukapuka, is not counted with the inhabited islands in this context).

Education in the Cook Islands

Ministry of Education

The Cook Islands Ministry of Education has responsibility for education. Its web site is at http://www.education.gov.ck and there is a list of Directorates at http://www.education.gov.ck/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=153&Itemid=17

There is a list of the schools, over 30 in number, at http://www.education.gov.ck/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=14&Itemid=5

Learning for Life, the Cook Islands Education Master Plan (2008–2023) is a available at http://www.education.gov.ck/docs/education_master_plan.pdf. There is only one mention of ICT - "Provide for the establishment and resourcing of specialist areas eg ICT, Performing Arts". There are no uses of phrases such as "e-learning", "distance learning" or "flexible learning". yet more generally, the Ministry is keen to foster ICT - as noted in the advertisement for a Chief Information Technology & Communications Manager at http://www.education.gov.ck/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=701&Itemid=1

Teaching of ICT

As an element of all educational programmes in the Cook Islands, the Ministry of Education introduced ICT in 2001 by developing a draft Technology curriculum. Within this draft curriculum, ICT was included as an equally valuable area of learning. The teaching of ICT has been active since then, mostly in secondary schools and students can sit of for the NCEA Level 1-2 of the New Zealand assessment programme. In 2005, there were 5 primary schools (Avarua, St Josephs, Nikao, Arorangi and Te Uki Ou) offering computer education. Six secondary schools in Tereora, Titikaveka, Nukutere, Araura, Mauke and Mangaia, were already offering ICT studies.

ICT in Education in the Cook Islands

There is a report from UNESCO Bangkok office on ICT in education in the Cook Islands but it is dated 2003. See

• Cook Islands: ICT Use in Education, by Ruby Vaa, http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ict/Metasurvey/cookislands.pdf

Distance learning and virtual schooling in the Cook Islands

(sourced from http://www.education.gov.ck/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=181&Itemid=60)

Students in the outer islands (all the islands except Rarotonga) have traditionally undertaken Distance Education courses because their schools have difficulty employing secondary teachers.

Rarotongan secondary schools now also offer distance courses to their senior students to expand their subject options. The Correspondence School (TCS, Te Kura) in New Zealand provides learning programmes over a range of subjects and levels - from Year 9 to NCEA. There are currently 138 Cook Island students engaged in 411 TCS distance courses.

For further details see TCS in the Cook Islands

Technology is also helping to make things a lot easier for our students to receive and return course material. Completed work in booklets that was once posted back to TCS HQ in Wellington, is now scanned onto CD and posted to Rarotonga for emailing on to Wellington teachers. When outer island schools get broadband, they will be able to email their work directly to the teachers themselves.

Outer island schools already have email facilities (at low bandwidth), and sometimes email teachers to discuss work.

Teachers are already returning their marking comments via email to the students.

Virtual schooling via Skype

The Ministry of Education plans to produce more locally contextualised programmes for junior secondary and as broadband becomes available, interactive video-conferenced lessons from school bases on Rarotonga or elsewhere will further enhance learning opportunities for these students. A project is just starting (2012) to deliver courses by Skype to some of the 15 outer islands.

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