Strengthening system leadership for implementation and change

Minister Parag brings with her a wealth of experience as a lawyer, parliamentarian, and dedicated public servant. From her early years in Suddie and Anna Regina Primary (now C.V. Nunes Primary), to her academic journey through President’s College, the University of Guyana, and Hugh Wooding Law School, she has distinguished herself with resilience and leadership.

She previously served as Minister of Public Service and most recently as Guyana’s first female Minister of Local Government and Regional Development. Within Parliament, she has contributed significantly through her work on the Parliamentary Management Committee, the Constitutional Reform Committee, and the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

Manos Antoninis has been the Director of the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report since 2017. He was previously responsible for the monitoring section of the report. He coordinated the financing gap estimates for the 2030 education targets, the projections on the achievement of universal primary and secondary education completion, and the World Inequality Database on Education. He has been representing the report team in the Technical Cooperation Group on SDG 4 indicators, which he is currently co-chairing. 

Before joining the team he worked for 10 years on public finance, monitoring and evaluation projects in education including: a public expenditure tracking and service delivery survey of secondary education provision in Bangladesh; the evaluation of a basic education project in the western provinces of China; the mid-term evaluation of the Education For All Fast Track Initiative; the annual reporting of progress in the implementation of the Second Primary Education Development Project in Bangladesh; a basic education capacity building programme in six states in Nigeria; the evaluation of an in-service, cluster-based teacher training programme in Pakistan; and the country study of the Out of School Children Global Initiative in Indonesia. He holds a DPhil in Economics for a study of technical education and the labour market in Egypt, completed at the Centre for the Study of African Economies of the University of Oxford.

Michael Noa is the Team Leader for Policy and Research within the Education Quality and Assessment Programme (EQAP), based in Suva, Fiji. EQAP is the educational arm of the Pacific Community (SPC), a Pacific regional organisation that provides technical and advisory support in various fields to 27 member countries. In this role, he leads regional research and policy initiatives that support education system strengthening across Pacific Island countries, particularly through evidence-based analysis, policy development, and system improvement efforts.

Over the course of his work, Michael has contributed to advancing school leadership as a critical driver of education quality in the Pacific. Drawing on his experience in policy research and system-level reform, he has supported initiatives that seek to strengthen leadership practices in schools, including engagement with regional approaches to leadership standards and professional development for school leaders. Through his role, he has supported collaboration with ministries of education, regional partners, and stakeholders to strengthen leadership capability as part of broader school improvement and system reform agendas. 

Michael has been actively involved in work aligned with the Pacific Regional Leadership Standards, contributing to efforts that contextualise leadership within Pacific education systems and promote leadership practices that are responsive to local cultures, values, and system priorities. More recently, Michael has taken a leading role in the development of the Pacific Regional School Leadership Capabilities (PRSLC). This emerging framework reflects a shift towards defining leadership in ways that are deeply grounded in Pacific values, relationships, and ways of knowing. His contribution to this space reflects a strong commitment to ensuring that leadership frameworks in the region are not only technically sound but also culturally meaningful and contextually relevant. 

Michael’s work in this area sits within a broader portfolio of policy and research initiatives that emphasise system resilience, quality improvement, and equitable learning outcomes. Through his leadership, he continues to support the strengthening of school leadership as a cornerstone for improving education systems across the Pacific.

Mamadou Lamine Sow is a seasoned expert in education and international development. A former senior official with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations system, he has over 25 years of experience, including 22 years in senior leadership positions in international development programs. He has served as Acting Regional Director and Senior Adviser, Head of Education Programmes at the UNESCO regional offices for West Africa in Abuja and East Africa in Nairobi. 

As Project Manager and Director of Education at USAID, Lamine has led major initiatives in several countries in West, East and Central Africa, including in crisis and conflict contexts such as Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Djibouti and Niger. His expertise covers a wide range of areas in the education sector: Teacher training and professional development; Curriculum and textbook development; Education policy design; Early childhood development; Strengthening basic education; Promoting Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET); Supporting the transformation of higher education. 

As UNICEF Country Programme Manager in Togo, Niger and Senegal, he led local education sector groups as part of the Fast Track Initiative (FTI) and Global Partnership for Education (GPE) initiatives.