Palau has made significant progress in expanding access to education and closing gender gaps in enrollment. The country has also taken steps to improve education in Palau by strengthening teacher qualifications through legislation. Yet challenges remain, particularly in teacher preparation and access to postsecondary education. 

Enrollment and Attainment by Gender

Enrollment is roughly equal across levels of schooling, with women outnumbering men in tertiary education. At the primary level, the most recent World Bank data (2021) put the ratio of female to male enrollment at roughly 0.97 — essentially equal. Secondary school enrollment had reached precise parity by 2020, with a ratio of 1.00. The divergence becomes most visible in higher education: in 2023 there were 1.33 women enrolled in tertiary study for every man, a figure that exceeds the world average of 1.16.

Literacy rates have converged almost completely: 96.8% among men and 96.3% among women for adults 15 and over (according to the most recent data from 2015). Further, for the youth population (ages 15-24), literacy rates among women (99.2%) exceed those of men (98.2%).

Compared to many of Palau’s Pacific neighbors, these figures are exceptional. Papua New Guinea’s most recently reported primary completion rate — from 2016 — stood at 73.7% overall, with girls less represented in the school system than boys. Palau, meanwhile, sustains an overall primary completion rate of 96% (as of data in 2014), with boys’ completion rate remaining slightly higher than girls’, but not by much.

How the System is Structured

The Ministry of Education runs 16 public schools and provides oversight for six private ones, collectively serving children between the ages of 6 and 17. Attendance is mandatory.

Beyond secondary school, options within the country are limited. Palau Community College (PCC) is the only domestic institution with a higher education program. PCC primarily offers Associate Degrees, yet one can obtain a Bachelor of Science from there too.

Raising the Bar for Teachers

For years, uneven teacher qualifications have been a weakness in the system. In 2018, the government passed Public Law 10-32, mandating that all public school teachers hold at minimum an associate’s degree. A survey of the workforce at that time found that 38% of teachers held only a high school diploma with some accumulated college credits, and another 38% only had associate degrees. Teachers below the associate degree threshold were given five years to reach compliance, with PCC serving as the primary pathway for teachers to earn the required qualification.

While the 2018 legislation was a step forward towards improving teacher standards, unfortunately, the implementation has been suboptimal. As of December 2024, only 30% of teachers initially without associate degrees had completed their prescribed degree programs within the expected two years. Thus, teacher training unfortunately remains a shortcoming of the Palau education system.

The Road Ahead

Palau’s educational achievements — high enrollment and strong female participation at every level — are real and worth acknowledging. What remains is harder: building a teacher workforce that meets modern certification standards across both public and private schools and making higher education accessible without requiring students to leave the country. Progress in these fields will define the next chapter.

– Jeongyoon Han, Jackson Mayer
Photo: Flickr