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Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. Together they cover a land mass of 28,400 square kilometres (10,965 sq mi).
The population is 523,000.
The capital is Honiara, located on the island of Guadalcanal.
The Solomon Islands are believed to have been inhabited by Melanesian people for thousands of years. The United Kingdom established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the most bitter fighting of World War II occurred in the Solomon Islands campaign of 1942–45, including the Battle of Guadalcanal. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. The Solomon Islands is a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state.
Since 1998 ethnic violence, government misconduct and crime have undermined stability and society. In June 2003 an Australian-led multinational force, the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), arrived to restore peace, disarm ethnic militias and improve civil governance.
The North Solomon Islands are divided between the independent Solomon Islands and Bougainville Province in Papua New Guinea.
Education
(sourced mainly from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_Solomon_Islands)
Education in the Solomon Islands is not compulsory and only 60 per cent of school-age children have access to primary education.
From 1990 to 1994, the gross primary school enrollment rose from 84.5 percent to 96.6 percent. Primary school attendance rates were unavailable for the Solomon Islands as of 2001. While enrollment rates indicate a level of commitment to education, they do not always reflect children’s participation in school. Efforts and plans made by the Department of Education and Human Resource Development to expand educational facilities and increase enrollment are said to have been hindered by a lack of government funding, misguided teacher training programs, poor coordination of programmes, and a failure of the government to pay teachers. The percentage of the government=s budget allocated to education was 9.7 percent in 1998, down from 13.2 percent in 1990.
The University of the South Pacific has a campus on Guadalcanal.