Primary education is free and compulsory for the first six years, now being extended to nine years. Mission schools are slowly being absorbed into the government primary school system. Higher education is expanding; students may seek technical, teacher or marine training, or study in other countries.
Contemporary Kiribati culture is centered on the family, the church and the sea. Its relative isolation Kiribati has allowed "traditional values" and skills to be maintained.
Kiribati Festival has always stood as a great occasion of entertainment and recreation for the people residing in Kiribati. All Kiribati Festivals are in some way related to the sea, church and family. Kiribati Festival mainly revolves around family and tradition.