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SEAMEO COLLEGE MODULE 1

STRATEGIC DIALOGUEFOR EDUCATION MINISTERS

CONTENTS

Synthesis 1

Vientiane Statement 2014 3

Bandung Statement 2016 7

First Strategic Dialogue for Education Ministers

Minutes of Proceedings 11

List of Participants 38

Second Strategic Dialogue for Education Ministers

Minutes of Proceedings 43

List of Participants 66

Appendix

Bandung Action Agenda (2016-2019) 73

The First Strategic Dialogue for Education

Ministers held in Lao PDR in September 2014

distilled the Seven Priority Areas of SEAMEO on

Education to be promoted for the next twenty

years (2015-2035).

7 SEAMEO Priorities

1. Early childhood care and education

2. Addressing barriers to inclusion

3. Resiliency in the face of emergencies

4. Promoting technical and vocational

education and training

5. Teacher education and making teaching

again a profession of first choice

6. Harmonization in higher education and

research

7. Adopting a 21st century curriculum

SDEM 1

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Revisited the context and reflection which the Ministers of Education have

undergone in the process of developing the SEAMEO 7 Priority Areas during the First

Strategic Dialogue for Education Ministers; we further noted the need to move beyond our national boundaries, thinking as Southeast

Asians, solving problems of the region while building on our individual country’s

strengths;Recognised that the Region has

much to share in ensuring access and relevance of the programmes to the

needs of the learners; given the diversity of needs, resources and operational contexts, the shared concerns on early childhood education,

technical and vocational education and training, lifelong learning and keeping the child at the

centre of learning interventions. In the process of introducing innovations on the curriculum and

learning content, strong fundamental skills such as literacy, numeracy, values as well as

social and emotional skills should be enhanced;

Recognised that public engagement is very important to the success of programmes

and reforms. Different modes and types of public engagement done in the Region were explored,

such as strengthening the school community partnership, promoting open and shared information,

and other modalities. In engaging the education workers, particularly teachers, it is necessary not only

to instil a sense of professionalism and technical competence, but also to develop the capacity to nurture, understand and inspire future citizens

in our individual countries.

SDEM 2The Second Strategic Dialogue for

Education Ministers held in Bandung, Indonesia in April 2016 reviewed the

progress made in moving forward the identified priorities of SEAMEO for

the next 20 years and arrived at the following statements:

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The Southeast Asian Education Ministers together with the other members of country delegations, observers, and meeting secretariat and consultant during the first SDEM.

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JOINT STATEMENT OF THE MINISTERS OF EDUCATION OF THESOUTHEAST ASIAN MINISTERS OF EDUCATION ORGANIZATION (SEAMEO)

ON THE EDUCATION AGENDA FOR SOUTHEAST ASIA (2015-2035)

We, the Ministers of Education and Heads of Delegations of the Member States of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization gathered in Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, for the Strategic Dialogue for Education Ministers (SDEM), within the framework of Module 1 of the SEAMEO College initiative, and with the support of the Asian Development Bank under the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, collectively reflected on and reviewed the progress made in achieving the current global goals in education in order to set Southeast Asia’s agenda in education development beyond 2015. This regional agenda shall be based on:

Celebrating the progress made by the SEAMEO countries in the area of education, training, and human resource development as well as in teaching, learning and the governance of schools and education systems. The region and individual countries have implemented good and exemplary practices towards achieving their education goals and objectives. These have served as enablers that contributed, amongst others, to the economic dynamism of the region;

Recognizing the realities and persistent concerns in education that we experience within and across countries in the region, and that addressing these concerns demand focused national initiatives while offering opportunities for collaborative work between countries and among groups of countries in the region;

Revisiting the links among economic growth, social transformation and education policy, and the need for the provision of adequate resources, good governance and the improvement of teaching and learning experiences both within the classrooms and through lifelong learning opportunities, thus further underlining the valuable role of the education sector;

Being conscious of the results of the consultations undertaken by SEAMEO on Post-2015 Education Scenarios and Post-Education for All Agenda among leading educators in the region whereby various recommendations have been identified

VIENTIANE STATEMENT 2014

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in the areas of future policy and undertaking of the region’s education sector, the resources needed to further education development initiatives, and the drivers of change and the trends taking place and shaping the future of education in Southeast Asia;

Being mindful of the new and shifting demands on the education sector as a key component of vibrant, productive and caring societies in the region, especially in the context of ASEAN integration and the challenges to be reflected in the post-2015 global development agenda;

Emphasizing the relevance and far-reaching impact of collaborative work in early childhood care and education, technical and vocational education and entrepreneurship, digital and high technology connectivity, higher education and research, new and relevant curricula, and learner-centered pedagogy, amongst others;

Agreeing that education systems, while being rooted in the values and traditions of the region, must be more transparent, resilient against disasters and conflicts, proactive, visionary and future-oriented, and more welcoming of partnerships of all modes, including partnerships between public and private entities. Education systems must explore and leverage emerging trends in building a culture of innovation amidst the realities of contemporary societies, addressing the needs in the 21st Century and learning and optimizing the use of new tools to operate in the future environment;

We therefore call for a new paradigm for the development of education in Southeast Asia that will require changes to educational systems that are not only gradual and evolutionary, but also revolutionary while still being rooted in our shared values and traditions.

To achieve this, cooperation among the countries in the region is an essential and potent resource. The transformation required in the region should be strategic, comprehensive, and systematic, while being rooted in the values and traditions of the region. Thus, focused collaboration and interactions in the next two decades will be in the following priority areas to address the issues and challenges identified above:

1. Early childhood care and education towards achieving universal pre-primary education by 2030. For the goal to be realized, strategic, systematic, comprehensive, flexible, integrated and multi-sectoral early childhood care and development policies and programmes must be set in place, supporting advocacy with parents and communities, along with government entities, for the allocation of resources to expand and improve services, giving special attention to disadvantaged groups who can benefit most from such programmes, including children from poor families, those living in remote areas and of marginalized ethnic and linguistic communities, and children with disabilities and special learning needs;

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2. Addressing barriers to inclusion and access to basic learning opportunities of all learners, with particular attention to over-aged children in primary schools, those belonging to linguistic and ethnic minority groups, people with special learning needs,and other related causes of exclusion. These barriers may be addressed through the development of innovations in delivery and management in order to reach as many learners and support as many communities as possible. In addressing the most vulnerable sectors, these interventions can be enhanced by adopting and learning from the existing framework for education of indigenous peoples that celebrate their diversity and help enrich their culture;

3. Resiliency in the face of emergencies (e.g., conflicts, extreme weather and natural disasters), preparing schools leaders, teachers and students as well as local communities in managing and maintaining the delivery of education services;

4. Promoting technical and vocational education and training among learners and their parents, through more visible investments in the field, and improving relevance of the curricula to focus on creativity and innovation. The population may be enhanced through experience-based policy, and demonstrated and visible employability of graduates with multiple pathways for continuing training. TVET need not be regarded as a single, standalone mechanism but a pathway linked with higher education and life-long learning. TVET in the region can also be enhanced through the development of a regional policy framework for labour, skill and learner mobility;

5. Teacher education to be given due recognition as a worthy tertiary programme – making teaching again a profession of first choice – through the comprehensive, strategic, and practice-based reform of the teacher management and development systems through more professional preparation at pre-service; adequate induction and in-service processes; and systematic performance assessment, review, and reward and accountability mechanisms. Policies should consciously emphasize the requirement of having the best candidates for teacher training following an explicit and shared teacher-competency framework and a set of standards applicable across the region.

6. Harmonization in higher education and research that recognizes the need for individual countries to invest in strengthening higher education institutions, with harmonization taking place through an institution-to-institution approach with coordination and standard-setting across institutions, with each one determining its most important needs, rather than requiring them through Government to Government agreements. This, as with TVET, can be enhanced through the development of a regional policy framework for labour, skill and learner mobility.

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7. Adopting a 21st century curriculum, involving radical reforms - not incremental revisions - through a systematic analysis of the knowledge, skills, and values that will be needed to effectively respond to the changing global context, and more particularly, to the ever-increasing complexity of the Southeast Asian economic, socio-cultural, and political environment, for which SEAMEO and the Ministries of Education could serve as the principal mechanism for promoting ASEAN integration in the learning community and in developing teachers imbued with ASEAN ideals for building the ASEAN community.

We envisage that education systems must be forward-looking, future-oriented and strategic. SEAMEO must thus move towards addressing concerns as a community, developing joint strategies and programmes not only in individual countries, but towards addressing educational problems as a community of nations.

SEAMEO, as the oldest intergovernmental organization established by the Ministries of Education in Southeast Asia, with its 20 regional centres, may lead in fulfilling the role of the education community in ASEAN and in Southeast Asia. The landscape beyond 2015 is more challenging, calling for greater urgency to move forward within the ASEAN framework. These should be reflected in the programs and strategic goals of SEAMEO and articulated in the plans and programmes pursued by its regional Centres and networks in the next twenty years.

This Joint Statement supports the SEAMEO Strategic Plan 2011-2020, and SEAMEO Council’s Statement on Strategic Collaboration towards Regional Development signed on 19 March 2013 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

We, the Ministers of Education and Heads of the Delegations participating in this Strategic Dialogue further call on the SEAMEO Secretariat to ensure that the collective views of the Forum are reviewed and refined by the SEAMEO High Officials, and subsequently disseminated to all concerned including SEAMEO Member Countries, Associate Members, Affiliate Members, relevant United Nations agencies and international organizations, civil society organizations, partner countries and agencies, teachers, students and other members of the community.

We therefore agreed to adopt the Joint Statement on Education Agenda for Southeast Asia (2015-2035) and the seven priority areas to be pursued by SEAMEO in the next twenty years.

Signed in Vientiane, Lao PDR on the thirteenth day of September, in the year Two Thousand Fourteen

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STATEMENT OF THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN MINISTERS OF EDUCATION ORGANIZATION (SEAMEO)

COUNCIL ON THE ACTION AGENDA FOR SEAMEO(2016-2019)

We, the Ministers for Education and Heads of Delegations of the Member States of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) gathered in Bandung, Republic of Indonesia for the Second Strategic Dialogue for Education Ministers (SDEM), within the framework of Forum 1 of the SEAMEO College initiative, have together reviewed the progress made in moving forward the identified priorities of SEAMEO for the next 20 years ;

Taking note of the progress by SEAMEO in pursuing the Seven SEAMEO Priority Areas to date and the issues relating to their implementation;

Recognizing that the realities and concerns in education that we experience within and across countries in the region lend greater opportunities for synergy and collegial sharing among key education players;

Realizing that addressing these concerns and sustaining the gains made require significant input not only within and among SEAMEO units but also meaningful participation by the Ministries of Education;

Being mindful that the new and shifting demands on the education sector, especially in the context of community building in the Region, can be addressed through the power of collaborative work;

Welcoming partnerships among key stakeholders of between public and private entities in order to gain full advantage of the use of new tools and knowledge to operate in the future environment;

We therefore call for action among the delegations and institutions represented here to work cooperatively in building the region’s educational system that is dynamic and resilient amidst current challenges, even as they remain rooted in our shared values and traditions.

BANDUNG STATEMENT 2016

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To achieve this, cooperation among the countries in the region is an essential and potent multiplier, enabling, strategic, comprehensive, and systematic transformation and focused collaboration in the following areas:

1. Early childhood care and education

2. Addressing barriers to inclusion

3. Resiliency in the face of emergencies

4. Promoting technical and vocational education and training

5. Teacher education and making teaching again a profession of first choice

6. Harmonization in higher education and research

7. Adopting a 21st century curriculum

We recognize that SEAMEO, as an established regional intergovernmental organization that brings together the Ministries of Education in Southeast Asia, through its specialized regional centres, performs an invaluable role in the region’s education community and must focus on meeting the current and emerging challenges in the regional education and social development landscape.

These should be reflected in the programs and strategic goals of SEAMEO and articulated in the plans and programmes pursued by its regional Centres and networks in the next three years.

We, the Ministers of Education and Heads of the Delegations participating in this Strategic Dialogue further call for action by SEAMEO, its regional centres and the region’s education community to ensure that the views and agreements in this Forum are pursued and adequately supported. Convened in Thematic Roundtables we:

• RevisitedthecontextandreflectionwhichtheMinistersofEducationhave undergone in the process of developing the SEAMEO 7 Priority Areas during the first Strategic Dialogue for Education Ministers; we further noted the need to move beyond our national boundaries, thinking as Southeast Asians, solving problems of the region while building on our individual country’s strengths;

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• RecognisedthattheRegionhasmuchtoshare inensuringaccessand relevance of the programmes to the needs of the learners; given the diversity of needs, resources and operational contexts, the shared concerns on early childhood education, technical and vocational education and training, lifelong learning and keeping the child at the centre of learning interventions. In the process of introducing innovations on the curriculum and learning content, strong fundamental skills such as literacy, numeracy, values as well as social and emotional skills should be enhanced;

• Recognised that public engagement is very important to thesuccess of programmes and reforms. Different modes and types for public engagement done in the Region were explored, such as strengthening the school community partnership, promoting open and shared information, and other modalities. In engaging the education workers, particularly teachers, it is necessary to instill more than a sense of professionalism and technical competence but more of developing the capacity to nurture, understand and inspire future citizens in our individual countries.

We recommend to the SEAMEO Secretariat and the SEAMEO regional centres, focused efforts in its advocacy for support not only through the commitments of the SEAMEO Member States, the Associate Members, Affiliate Members, as well as partners and stakeholders.

We further acknowledge the support of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, the Asian Development Bank, through the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction in bringing together the parties for this Strategic Dialogue.

We therefore agreed to adopt this statement, calling for action to animate pursuit of the seven priority areas and mobilizing support for the identified initiatives.

Adopted in Bandung, Republic of Indonesia, on the Twenty-eighth day of April, year Two Thousand and Sixteen.

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Education ministers and high-level education leaders from 10 member countries of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), convened at the Landmark Mekong Riverside Hotel in Vientiane, Lao PDR last 13th of September to discuss the region’s education agenda for the next decade.

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FIRST STRATEGIC DIALOGUE FOR EDUCATION MINISTERS (SDEM) SEAMEO College: Strengthening SEAMEO’s Capacity to Promote Education

and Social Development in Southeast Asia 13 September 2014 | Vientiane, Lao PDR

Welcoming Statement

The Lao PDR Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, H E Dr Phankham Viphavanh, welcomed everyone to the first Strategic Dialogue for Education Ministers. As the host country, he warmly welcomed the delegates of Member Countries of SEAMEO. He particularly thanked the delegates from Timor-Leste for taking the time to participate. He expressed his hope that everyone would have a great experience in Lao PDR and enjoy their stay in the country.

Opening Speech

Vietnam’s Minister of Education and Training, H E Prof Dr Pham Vu Luan, as SEAMEO Council President, first expressed his regrets for missing the previous day’s events. He then extended his warm welcome to all the delegates, and also thanked Lao PDR for hosting the strategic dialogue and related meetings over the past few days.

He underlined that SEAMEO Countries are now at a crossroads, taking different paths for opportunities. He shared that in Vietnam, the Ministry presented a new education unit. Each country is faced with different realities and opportunities in the education sector. He also emphasized that among the SEAMEO priorities, one is focused on supporting the integration in the ASEAN community.

He further expressed thanks to the Brunei Darussalam Minister for Education, H E Pehin Abu Bakar Apong, during whose tenure as SEAMEO Council President the SEAMEO College initiative was approved for implementation.

Report on the SEAMEO College Module 1 and Strategic Dialogue Overview

SEAMEO Secretariat Director, Associate Professor Dr Witaya Jeradechakul, gave an overview of SEAMEO College and the Strategic Dialogue for Education Ministers (SDEM). He said that he felt honoured in being with the delegates and felt humbled by their positive response to the invitation for the Dialogue.

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

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SEAMEO College was established to set up a platform where Ministers can discuss issues and trends in education that is affecting the region. He said that its realization can be reflected on the organization of the SDEM. Through this dialogue, they aim to make education even more relevant and responsive to the changing times. It was also recommended by the High Officials Meeting to maximize the ministerial meetings, and that the past four days, the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting was convened. The ASEAN Secretariat invited the SEAMEO Secretariat in the Meeting.

He expressed his gratitude to the SEAMEO Council for their support in the full implementation of the SEAMEO College fora. He looks forward to the results of the dialogue which should guide the development of the post-2015 SEAMEO programmes.

The Post-2015 Development Agenda and ASEAN Integration: Implications for the Future of Education in Southeast Asia

Dr Sheldon Shaeffer, the Lead Consultant for the SDEM thanked the delegates, as well as Asian Development Bank and the Japanese Government for the event. He noted that there will be two major fora being convened in 2015. The United Nations Conference on Education as well as the session of the General Assembly would see a review of the Millennium Development Goals and the adoption of the new Sustainable Development Goals.

Great progress has been made in the region towards achieving the Education for All goals. He proceeded to present these achievements as well as the gaps noted through the various reviews undertaken, chief among which was the EFA Review.

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ROUNDTABLE 1: Reflections, Insights and Experiences

Facilitator: H E Br Armin Luistro, FSCSecretary, Department of Education, Philippines

Secretary of the Department of Education of the Philippines, H E Br Armin Luistro, FSC, began by making a metaphor of the Strategic Dialogue process to the Mekong River: the river acts as a crisscrossing boundary through several nations. What is usually seen as a natural division, separating the people of the different nations around it, but in looking at it closely, the river serves to connect peoples rather than divide them.

He proceeded to underline salient points shared by Dr. Shaeffer, noting that achievements have been made by individual countries. However, for Southeast Asia, it deals of matters beyond the individual countries, but, as an example, the three million children noted in the report who may not have access to school nor other learning opportunities.

School-to-Work Transitions

The Minister for Education of Brunei Darussalam, H E Pehin Abu Bakar Apong, discussed school-to-work transitions. Brunei Darussalam is implementing its strategic plan 21 which rests on three pillars, one of which is the re-structuring of education through multiple pathways. The role of TVET has changed over time; Brunei Darussalam recently conducted a strategic review and found that the system is limited in terms of responding to the rapidly changing economic and global environment. There is a need for a strategic alignment between the system of education, the technical vocational system, and education and the national skill manpower needs for a diverse economy. There is a need for clearer mission and goals.

Thus Brunei Darussalam is in the midst of major transformation in technical education which will be provided to the less academically-inclined students. TVET will serve as an opportunity for learners to acquire the right skills and be able to seek quality employment. TVET would not be able to stand alone; its development and success depends on the mutual support and collaboration among the Government, the industry, and the community.

Transformation of Brunei’s Technical Education System would improve access to quality educational programs, preparing the graduates for high employability and life-long learning by building and strengthening linkages in the industry. The curricula and competencies to be developed are based on the quality expected by and following the standard of industries. Another underlying principle is the

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matching or the twinning program to be conducted, ensuring the availability of manpower for jobs to be created in the specification of the economy.

The transformation is benchmarked against international standards, yet customized to fit local needs. The focus is on employability and success of graduates in their professional career development. The plan is in line with their education system as well as the Brunei Darussalam Vision 2035 to produce well-educated and skilled manpower for the country.

The changes that have been implemented thus far include course redesign and reconstruction, incorporation of hands on training and curricular upgrade. These provide a better match of available jobs and the supply of graduates. TVET will also award certificates to quality-assured levels of training; these are the Industry Skills Qualification (ISQ), National Education Certificate (NEC), and the High National Technical Certificate (HNTC).

Teachers are required to have not only academic credentials, but also industrial experience and vice versa. When the Ministry started the program, they first invited parents to go to the education fair, which gave an opportunity to explain to the parents that the students would have equivalent progression in the academic track. At some stage, they would be able to earn the same level of remuneration. The Ministry’s experience in the previous year when they were able to take in about 900 students in national and technical engineering. The first attempt was focused on oil and gas industry as these are the country’s main industry. Through the transformation efforts, 97% of the students enrolled in the program are currently employed.

The Philippine Secretary of Education appreciated the focus on technical education with the matching employment of Brunei Darussalam and outlined possibilities for adapting the strategies employed in Brunei Darussalam.

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The Hon Mr. Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Education of Singapore, shared the experiences in the transformation of the country’s education system. Singapore had incorporated ICT in all aspects of education and linked education to entrepreneurship. They have also based the technical education on the requirements for economic growth of the country, to respond to the jobs needed. Singapore had also made investments to create higher value-added jobs.

In the process, the drop-out rate should still be further reduced, having been reduced to one percent (1 %). The transformation process created the pathways for students and young people with different abilities. Those who are more likely to drop out are being catered to by various programs. Those remaining in schools develop skills that match their ability so that they can function effectively after at least ten years of education. At present, compulsory education is for six years, but most of the students remain in school for at least ten years.

From 2012, Singapore focused on the 21st century skills; the soft skills to make young people ready for the global economy and competition. Companies reorganize themselves rapidly and that workers must be able to learn new skills and unlearn some of the skills that they acquired before. Life-long learning becomes very critical in this context.

With the bodies under the Ministry of Manpower and the Workforce Development Agencies, they try to imbue in the young people the ability and interest in learning throughout their working life. Both agencies provide the opportunities for workers to learn new skills. There are more than 800 skills-based courses offered, through which the Government supports up to 90 percent of the course fees, and up to 90 percent of the wages of workers when they are sent to attend full time courses up to six months.

In managing the potential problem of youth unemployment, opportunities for students taking technical and polytechnic education are able to get their first job within six (6) months of leaving the school.

The second part of the presentation dealt with the importance of having a quality teaching force. Whatever Ministries wish to do in pursuing reforms, it will only be possible if they have the support of a good teaching workforce. For this reason Singapore put a lot of attention on teacher training, recruiting only the top performing teachers.

It was revealed that since parents demand a small class size for their children, the Ministry would not have enough manpower to keep the class sizes small. Instead of reducing the class size, they sought to improve the teacher-student ratio by engaging teaching aides to either help teachers in counselling students or helping run special activities. The teachers are also paid well in order to retain them in schools and create a competitive market.

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Mr. Daipi summed up his reflections by saying that Singapore has to continuously improve their education system in order to serve the needs of the economy. At the same time, the people can find meaningful and rewarding careers after school. For the education system to function effectively, the system should be supported with good teachers.

The Philippine Secretary of Education noted that the education system must force itself to evolve. For Singapore, their education system would have to evolve in the manner the environment changes. It is good that the Ministers are able to see that systems change and evolve.

Early Childhood Care

HE Prof. Dr. Pham Vu Luan, Vice Premier and Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam presented the developments in early childhood care and education taking place in Vietnam.

The Vietnamese Government has always paid high attention to education and to promulgate policies and strategies demonstrating the high priority placed on the education sector. The Early Childhood Education (ECE) is one such policy and strategic intervention in Vietnam. Some of Vietnam’s achievements and challenges as regards ECE were noted:

• ECE is the first level of education provided among children aged 3 months to six years old. The aim is to make children grow physically, mentally, and socially, and help the children’s personality develop as well.

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• There are more than 15,000 ECE institutions in the country, where 88% is public, and there are more than 208,000 ECE teachers, most of which have undergone certification in pedagogy.

• Implementation of the ECE has yielded positive results; the policy on universal ECE for 5-year old children has been in effect since 2010.

• Teachers working in public institutions have been undergoing training to be able to teach ECE.

The Philippine delegate shared his view that an important part of ECE is its effect on the community. Drawing from Vietnam’s case, he observed that there appears to be a close relationship between development and expansion of ECE and as the economy develops. Further research and development may demonstrate the relationship between economic development and ECE.

He invited the other delegates to share their thoughts on the presentations.

HE Dr. Hang Chuon Naron, Minister of Education, Youth and Sport of Cambodia drew attention to the ASEAN education system and its alignment to the goals of the Community, including the link of education to economic growth. Addressing the disparities is a big challenge. Attention to the growing number of young people who need more jobs and skills is equally important. The education and skill mismatch in the countries varies in each country, as the countries differ in levels of economic development.

Looking at the global Education for All goals, they see a massification of education, even as they see quality going down. If the number of quality teachers would not expand, then degradation in the quality of education can be expected. Innovations and new policies may offer a way of addressing existing issues in education, but these new ideas may also usher in new challenges and problems.

The challenge would be to ensure equitable access, while the needs and concerns of the investors in education must be addressed at the same time.

Notwithstanding the different needs of the different countries, 21st century skills cuts across the concerns of all countries. A two-track approach where students will be prepared to respond to the needs of future even as they gain knowledge and skills with the current programs offered. This is easy to say, but would be difficult in practice.

Prof. Dr. Ainun Naim, Secretary General of the Ministry of Education of Indonesia also shared his insights. He noted the public image concerns of vocational schools when compared to the schools offering academic programs. Indonesia has an on-going campaign for promoting technical and vocational schools.

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The Philippine Secretary of Education underlined the transition undergone by Singapore in moving from traditional vocational schools to the technical institutions they have now. This is something that the education leaders in the region should look into. Even in South Korea and in the industrialized countries, one of the challenges is technical education which has implications to the growth of the economy.

Dato’ Prof. Dr. Asma Ismail, heading the Malaysian Delegation, shared her thoughts on the presentations. Expressing agreement with the Minister from Cambodia in linking education development with economic growth. She also commended Singapore for moving fast in an area which offers much promise. Malaysia, too, would want to move to dual-track by enhancing TVET. The public perception of TVET as second class education requires a turn-around paradigm, showing that TVET is also first class education. Having TVET at the universities to produce highly skilled workers is one possibility. Although employment rate of graduates of TVET is high, the parents would still want their children to be a lawyer, doctor, or one engaged in professional work.

Looking at the emerging landscape in the region, graduates must be prepared for jobs offered in other ASEAN countries and even beyond. The education system should be able to cope with this reality; using MOOCs and online courses as means to address the issue may be a viable option.

The Philippine Secretary of Education agreed with the views expressed. As educators, they should push for innovation and a paradigm shift in terms of delivering services. The normal conversations in meetings may not be able to adequately address these needs, drawing attention to the need for cooperative action in the region.

Dr. Shaeffer identified two main elements drawn from the presentations:

• Talking note of the school-to-work transitions discussed by the Ministers, he emphasized that it calls for greater focus on the vocational schools as well as the delivery of technical and vocational education and training.

• The involvement of Education Ministries in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) may bring in better focus to some concerns. ECCE remains underfunded and of diverse quality, lacking in professional qualified teachers of international standard. Given the importance placed by the Ministries on ECCE, further work in the area may be explored.

Development of Teacher Professional Standards

H E Dr Khin Sann Yi, Union Minister of Education of Myanmar shared learnings from the Comprehensive Education Sector Review which Myanmar has undergone since 2012. The review aimed to determine strengths of the education system, identify

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issues and areas for reform. The review contributed to the development of evidence-based policies, legislation and management systems that are needed to support reform. This is divided into three phases which includes rapid assessment, in-depth analysis, and developing educational trend.

Through the recommendations of the Comprehensive Education Sector Review, they have already adopted education policies and drafted a national education law. They have also increased the education budget. She also said that they are in the process of teacher on education reform and are formulating the national professional standards for teachers. She said that having quality teachers in all classrooms is a goal that Ministries of Education aspire for.

The existence of teaching competency standards represents an agreed definition for quality teaching. These standards were based on the respective context of the individual countries. Developing teacher standards has been a growing feature of the global education agenda. Southeast Asian countries have actively participated in the global agenda in pursuit of international development goal.

The teaching competency standards for Southeast Asian countries developed by SEAMEO INNOTECH in 2011 has indicated the competency of teachers covering common attitudes and behaviours. The competency standards signify the different countries’ intention to work towards the harmonization, complementation, and benchmarking of capacity building, teacher exchange, for life-long learning. The result of the study is the SEAMEO INNOTECH Competency Framework for Southeast Asian teachers in the 21st Century. The SEAMEO INNOTECH competency framework for Southeast Asian teachers of the 21st Century supported the educational policy direction for Myanmar, especially for teacher professional development and certification, both at pre-service and in-service, in its recruitment practices, monitoring evaluation and performance management, as well as in reflection and self-evaluation.

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Minister Khin underlined that the competency standards outlined the varying degrees of effectiveness that teachers demonstrate in applying their professional knowledge, skills, and attributes to specific teaching contexts. The framework was a valuable tool for increasing public confidence in the school system. It emphasized the requirement of the teaching profession to be life-long learners who engage in continuing professional learning during the course of their career. Professional reflection is central to improving teacher standards and supporting the development of career pathways.

The framework is a tool for teachers to reflect on their professional effectiveness to prioritize areas for professional growth, identified professional learning opportunities, and assist in their personal and career development planning.

Myanmar is currently formulating the national professional standards for teachers based on the INNOTECH framework. The four (4) sets of competencies include:

(a) competencies for basic education of teachers;

(b) competencies for school principals;

(c) competencies for teacher educators; and

(d) competencies for education officials.

The Ministry is planning to upgrade and enhance teacher training colleges to increase the quantity of quality teachers. The leaders understand that the professional standards of the teachers plays an important role for educational and social development in Myanmar. This may be the key to sustained quality education in Myanmar.

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The Philippine Secretary of Education commented that the Ministers are all aware of the challenges as well as the critical role that teachers play. The next question would be, “Having created the standards, are we able to keep pace with the evolving environment and the 21st century skills that are required?” He called on the other delegates to look into this matter a bit further.

Education in Post-Conflict and Emergency Situations

H E Dulce de Jesus Soares, Vice Minister for Pre-School and Basic Education from Timor-Leste, recalled that Timor-Leste has just reached its 12th anniversary of independence from colonialism and occupation. With the support of the international community and the strong resilience of the people, Timor-Leste achieved peace and stability, and is now strongly committed towards sustainable and equitable development.

Great progress has been achieved since 2002, when they officially become an independent country and were charged with rebuilding every system, including that of education. Three points were highlighted in the discussion: teachers, curriculum, and adult education.

In 1999, although they had the urgent need to re-open and normalize the education system, they did not have the time and resources to do so in the most effective way. They started teaching the children, were able to open schools, and enrolment consistently increased through the years. However, the MOE is constantly being criticized for its lack of qualified teachers. Teachers helped their country during the emergency period and deserved to be recognized and respected for their work, however, the current education system demands more qualified and competent teachers who can properly implement the new policies and a new curriculum that answers the learning needs of the children.

They are currently assessing the teachers who have worked as volunteers for so long, so that the ones can be placed, and move the others to civil service positions which do not demand teachers’ capabilities. The policy also makes room for younger and better qualified teachers, either those graduating from the country or from other countries every year with teaching degrees but could not get jobs.

They recognize the fact that in the first years of establishing the education system, they did not have the experience, the knowledge, or the resources to lead the development of a curriculum that is relevant to their own people, both linguistically and contextually to their social and economic priorities. Now, Timor-Leste is trying to break the cycle from the consequences of the emergency and post-conflict stage.

The MOE leads the reform of a national, relevant, and contextualized curriculum which would enable children to effectively learn the basic foundations of literacy

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and numeracy, as well as the relevant knowledge and skills. After two years of a highly consultative and participative process involving parents, teachers, and the collective work of international and national pool of experts from each discipline, they are able to reform the current primary school curriculum as well as that of the pre-school. It ensured an international quality and a locally relevant curriculum that includes development of the specific teaching syllabus.

Timor-Leste is implementing comprehensive second chance education program such as the National Literacy Campaign, Post-literacy Courses and National Equivalency Programs to address adult education. These are key approaches to address the needs of the large number of youth and adults who have not attended school or have not completed the primary education, let alone complete secondary education. In a country that is at the early stages of development, everything is a priority, and this applies not only education. The progress in any individual sector is dependent on the cross-sectoral collaboration. For instance, education would need to collaborate with health, safety and security, which involves everyone.

The Minister noted that one advantage of being a new country is the exposure to many people from many nations, including those in Southeast Asia, who helped with ideas and expertise. Because of these collaboration, the country has built up some solid foundations, policies and human resources.

Secretary Luistro explained that the Philippines, together with the other SEAMEO countries, will continue to support Timor-Leste. Other countries also experience conflict and vulnerability in different forms; the Philippines has recently experienced a devastating typhoon the effects of which continues pose challenges to education. He invited views and insights from other countries’ on the presentations.

Minister Dr. Hang Chuon Naron of Cambodia underlined that ASEAN should focus on the Teacher Standards. Even though different situations prevail in the different countries, it is important that they all aspire to increase the value of education. Teacher Standards is one of the areas that can be share because the value of teachers should be high to be able to have a good education system.

Mr. Hawazi Daipi, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Education of Singapore, emphasized the need for a quality education system and curriculum. While they have to accept the fact that students have different abilities—whatever their competency and capabilities are, they should be able to link and resource those to have access to good jobs that attract investments that are suitable for our own economic development. Recently, Singapore explored trying to reduce the country’s dependency on the foreign work force. The education establishment is the tailoring education system to the capabilities of the students to help them gain meaningful career and employment.

The Philippine Secretary of Education emphasized that quality should be achieved by being learner centered.

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HE Mme. Sengdeuan Lanchanthaboun, Vice Minister of Education and Sports of Lao PDR, shared that the country is currently doing reforms on general education and technical education. The MOE has decided to be strict on enforcing the quota for the students going to universities. The Lao PDR Government also decided to increase the salary of teachers and adopt a separate salary scales for teachers.

The Philippine Education Secretary observed that what they have heard today are challenges specific to each country. Countries can continue to solve these problems individually, or the Ministers can choose to address these issues as SEAMEO and pursue with the paradigm shift they all aspire for.

Summary

The following points were cited by Dr Sheldon Shaeffer in his summary:

• The Ministers are not talking about incremental quantitative changes or slow changes over time, but major 21st century quality changes; in other words, the paradigm shift for the region’s education sector.

• The issue of teaching as the first choice or a last choice: How to make becoming a teacher the first choice for students. The Ministers have considered a mode of incentive so that teaching would be made a first choice.

• The case of Brunei Darussalam was strategic, comprehensive, and flexible; an experiential approach to improving TVET. It was not designed as a stand-alone reform, looking at the bits and pieces of the image. The amount of investment put into the TVET institutions would lead to a greater visibility and attractiveness, and therefore, larger percentages of learners.

• Vietnam presented one of the best cases of investment in Early Childhood Education, much like TVET in the case of Brunei Darussalam. It is because of the systematic and strategic approach to Early Childhood, based on clear frameworks, development standards, and higher budget that these comprehensive reforms were made possible. Focusing on the disadvantaged sectors of the population is essential.

• Another issue raised by Cambodia, which can also be linked to Timor-Leste, is that systems would have to be ready to handle emergencies as they occur (e.g. national disasters), but they would need to be systematically and constantly resilient in themselves. This demands not only being able to respond when called for, but always ready to respond to these glitches and differences. That means knowing how to mitigate and anticipate disasters.

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• Having a clear set of competencies of teachers and to base the recruitment on which training (induction, mentoring, probation process), as well as the career progression process on the standards. There is a head teacher competency framework developed by SEAMEO INNOTECH. There was also the project between UNESCO and Asia Pacific Regional Network on Early Childhood (ARNEC) to develop a competency framework for pre-primary teachers in terms of professional development.

• The lessons learned from Timor-Leste, although conflict-related, is also very important for other countries as almost every country represented had undergone major conflicts/ disasters at one time or another; and being able to develop systems resilient to these is going to be important. There is an international network on education emergencies, IMEE, which has a lot of useful information about responding to and anticipating emergencies. Developing the lessons learned by Timor-Leste would be helpful.

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ROUNDTABLE 2: Prospective and Forward-Looking Cooperation and Collective Actions

Facilitator: H E Pehin Abu Bakar ApongMinister, Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam

H E Pehin Abu Bakar Apong, Minister of Education of Brunei Darussalam, led the discussions in the next roundtable, which was introduced as a roundtable discussion that attempts to explore emerging issues and needs in education brought about by key drivers of change affecting education, including regional integration within the ASEAN framework. The views shared would explore the connection between the efforts of the individual member countries at the national level and the regional efforts of SEAMEO and how these could complement each other in designing the Post-2015 Education Agenda of SEAMEO.

Parameter for Discussion

Dr Sheldon Shaeffer cited the following as the principal parameters for the discussions:

• Through the presentation of Indonesia, the importance of teacher standards was underlined, but it also emphasized that more would be required to promote teacher quality. A comprehensive teacher quality framework for the development and management of teachers from the very beginning of their career, to the recruitment, and to cover towards the end in terms of retirement. Indonesia has a unique Teacher Law which puts in place such a comprehensive process and has dedicated a lot of effort and a large amount of resources to make the process work. Indonesia has the legal foundation in that 20 percent of the national budget should be spent on education.

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• Drawing from Cambodia’s presentation, 3 million children in Southeast Asia in primary school age are not in school. The reasons for this cluster around gender, remoteness, non-inclusion due to disabilities and language, among others. Poverty, however, remains one of the most important reasons for children being out of school.

• In terms of the Philippines’ Early Childhood Care and Education, there is now a growing body of evidence showing the importance of the use of the mother tongue as a way for children of minority ethnic groups to master the national and then an international language. With 177 languages in the Philippines, and having controversial language policies, the country has recently developed an ambitious and pioneering policy that promotes the use of over a dozen languages as the language of instruction in the early grades and for initial literacy. There are many challenges in implementing such a policy, but the Philippines is showing that these can, in fact, be overcome.

• One principal challenge of ASEAN Integration, particularly notable by Malaysia, is how to promote student mobility, how to create competency frameworks, and how to create credit transfer systems, mutual recognition of certificates, diplomas and degrees that are all necessary to meet the challenge. Malaysia has been especially concerned about the issue from the standpoint of both a sending and receiving country for students.

• Lao PDR’s presentation highlighted the skills needed both for individual and national development, and even survival in the 21st century, are in many ways, qualitatively different from those needed in the past. Skills in ICT, skills to adapt to climate change, for higher capacity and greater entrepreneurship, skills needed for global and ASEAN citizenship are but a few noted. Lower income countries face an even greater challenge in integrating such skills in their teacher education and school curriculum. Lao PDR fully appreciates these problems and the country is taking steps to address them.

Quality Framework on Basic and Higher Education

Drawing from the previous points discussed, Prof Dr Ainum Na’im, Secretary General of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Indonesia, shared his views which focused on five areas:

• Dr Shaeffer surfaced the idea of countries being ready for the 21st century, and how countries should prepare the succeeding generation for the 100 years of independence in 2045. It is now the time to focus on quality. One of these interventions is the law established in 2005 regarding teachers. Historically, almost anyone can be a teacher; the law enacted regulates the standards and qualifications that teachers must meet, along with

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the need to be certified. At present, the country has 2.9 million teachers, covering 40 million students. Of those, about 50 percent of the teaching force is undergoing the certification process. The law also provided that teachers should continue professional development, and would need to be reassessed. The regulations have also faced legal challenges from the teacher associations. Following the new regulations, teachers getting certification will be eligible for compensation as a professional teacher. Now, the best graduates apply to be teachers in order to get a more competitive level of compensation.

• Indonesia’s size and scale can be a challenge and offers opportunities. The country has a fair share of good and poorly run schools, as well as disadvantaged groups. Indonesia also has what is called affirmative policies: special treatments for teachers who would be willing to teach in remote areas. They also recruit new graduates, train them, and send them to remote areas. Around 2,000 new teachers are sent after being trained for a year, and the remote areas are the priority assignments. In addition, they also opened access to students in disadvantaged areas to enrol in schools with better teaching environments.

• Indonesia has also set new curricula that focuses on building the students’ character; making sure that the students behave well and comply with the ethical values, morals, and also to broaden the students’ understanding of the multi-cultural context of the country and the world. Beginning with Kindergarten/First Grade, the books that are being provided showed the

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diversity of the people. First is building the students character, the next would be enhancing the student’s creativity, and the third pertains to knowledge. Teachers now assess how the students think, focusing on the higher order thinking skills. It is not enough that the students know, but they must also understand how to seek and assess the problem and to find alternative solutions. The new curriculum to prepare the students for the 21st century is being adopted; with the full implementation of the curricula supported by trained the teachers to teach not only new content but in new ways. Indonesia’s practice is not anymore teacher-centered where teachers teach from morning until evening; rather, students are made to observe and analyze the topic through discussion. More than one million teachers have been trained this year. Children’s books have also been provided for free, with more than 240 million books printed and distributed to the schools. This has also helped revitalize the printing industry.

• There is also a new regulation about the Indonesian qualifications framework, in order to be able to change the public image of the TVET. The new regulation has provided different graduates more opportunities to continue their career, their professional competencies, which aligns more with that of their counterparts in the academic track. There are 9 levels of competencies that can be pursued for different academic tracks, professional training, TVET, or even individual learning.

• Along with these reforms, a new level of accreditation for higher education has also been adopted. The Government invites associations to provide accreditation services, which would eventually move towards accreditation from the industry groups.

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The Minister of Education of Brunei Darussalam summed up Indonesia’s intervention focusing on three areas: improving quality of teachers, introducing and implementing new curricula, and adoption of a comprehensive qualifications framework.

Education for Children and Out-of-School Youth

H E Dr Hang Chuon Naron, Minister of Education, Youth and Sport of Cambodia, outlined the challenge that the education sector always faces on the students at the primary level. Students were either not able to enrol on time or they drop out of school; this is complicated by having students who are over-aged for the grade level. To address the problem, the MOEYS had introduced an accelerated program where students would have primary schooling in 3 years instead of 6. After completing the three years, they are able move on to vocational training.

The bridging program allows learners to complete primary schooling in just one year. This is common for the lowest country level. The bridging program lets students get to the Vocational Training Center approved by the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, where they can study for three years.

Cambodia’s framework is set on two pillars of education: one is the traditional child education or the 6 years of primary, 3 years of lower secondary, and 3 years of upper secondary. The other pillar allows entry and exit through both systems, where after Grade 9, students can go to the Vocational Training Centres, and after the training, they may also opt to move up to the University. The framework sets the criteria for different levels of education and allows the two to coexist and help lift the profile of vocational training.

Early childhood education was also promoted by encouraging the parents to enrol their children in pre-school. Provision of pre-school has changed the dynamics of education. In remote areas, children suffer malnutrition not only because of poverty but because of inappropriate nutritional habits. Even with improvements in the income level, nutrition has not changed as the traditional diet does not provide enough nutrients. Fortified food is important for education since malnutrition is a major development concern.

The literacy issue concerns not only children but also adults. Children have a higher literacy rate, since the country has established and strengthened training centres, literacy programs, and quality improvement programs.

Although Cambodia has now reached 98 percent enrolment rate, the next generation problem is quality. The MOEYS is taking action to improve the standard and the quality of education at the primary level. Moving to mass education, one concern would be in expanding the school, although it also presents the challenge of having qualified teachers. Minister Hang Chuon Naron also raised the issue of upgrading the curriculum, so that students in the lower country level would see it as attractive by providing skill-based options.

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Differentiated approaches for the students is also very important. The education system tends to adopt and apply one standard for different students. It is therefore important to have the qualified teachers that could help and integrate technical education. It is also important to gain life skills, but based on the tradition of the school. There is a disconnect among education, society, values, and economic development. In order to diversify, they need to create new jobs through new industries and address the learning- skill mismatch.

Social Cultural Excellence In The Mother Tongue

The Secretary of the Department of Education of the Philippines, talked about the major reforms in education in the country. The usual class contains 80-100 students, with teachers lacking, and textbooks and armchairs insufficient. The quality of the teachers has also been pointed out among the concerns.

Two of the major reforms, including universal provision of kindergarten, where 5 year-olds are admitted in school, and K-12 reform. Two (2) years of secondary school has been added, which also includes a TechVoc track. Six programs that have been implemented for the last mile learners, or those for whom traditional responses to education would be ineffective. The DepEd now tries to look for those who are not in schools or are not served by the existing programs. The DepEd seeks to address the issues to draw them back to school or provide them with the similar learning services through other modes. He cited Abot-Alam, a national program for out-of-school youth who are not of school age. The program is meant to create a non-traditional and informal educational experience that is really learner-based.

Another program, called Pedals and Paddles provides students who face difficulties in going to school with bikes and boats. The Indigenous Peoples Education Program focuses on the learning needs of indigenous people, prompting designing and

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creating a different school system for them, developed along their traditional means of transmitting knowledge and culture. The Kariton Klasrum focuses more on the urban poor, whereby a classroom on pushcarts caters to the needs of street children.

DepEd also launched a Solar Light Program whereby solar generators and panels are issued to remote areas which have no access to electricity. This program changed not only the schools, but also the community around the schools.

Lastly, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program which is a government-wide initiative is implemented by the DepEd in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development. The program calls for conditional cash transfer to the poorest families, who are given cash for their commitment to send their children to school.

He said that these programs are big investments but are successful.

The Minister of Education of Brunei Darussalam thanked the Ministers for giving the body a view of the different dimensions of education services. The projects implemented to achieve education for all and for trying to reach the unreached were noted. He also pointed out the importance of engaging the private sector.

Student Mobility in Higher Education

Dato’ Prof Dr Asma Ismail, Director General of MOE Malaysia, focused on higher education and student mobility, linking the concept to economic growth. Citing “Engagement in the Asian Century” which talked about learning about Asia through experience, many universities in Malaysia and other Asian countries offer attractive summer programs and study tours to attract students from other countries to come to Asia. Foreign students, however, are experiencing difficulties in credit transfer. This is a missed opportunity that the region could not afford. Even students from the region would prefer to study in other countries than in Southeast Asia. Another concern is the readiness of institutions to recognize the credits issued by other countries.

Accepting that the region is culturally and politically diverse, but if we are to move forward, the Southeast Asian countries need to recognize a common Asian education credit transfer system. Noting the interconnectedness of the issues, she further noted that we would not be able to have a decent credit transfer system, if we do not have an ASEAN quality reference framework.

There is a need to harmonize higher education in Southeast Asia, and the prevailing view should be harmonization which has to do with comparability, not standardization or uniformity. The creation of the most feasible model that can become a reference for all without jeopardizing our cultural diversity and national

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identity is essential in moving this forward. We need to work together to find this balance, to find a viable model that we can all look upon as a reference framework.

When this happens, the mobility program would generate many benefits, including the enhanced graduate employability. Research collaborations, innovation, and creativity are what the region needs to move the global economy market and give the country its competitive edge. This is basically what the region needs but would not be able to gain absent a credit transfer system and the AQRF. If this would be done, the region would be able to foster academic and student mobility for the rest of SEA.

HE Minister Abu Bakar Apong of Brunei Darussalam agreed that there is indeed an urgent call to move forward with the ASEAN qualification framework. Time is of essence and it is up to them to move forward.

21st century skills and beyond

H E Dr Phankham Viphavanh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Sports of Lao PDR, said that the country is developing two plans; the Education Development Plan and Human Resource Development Plan; the Ministry commits to make the plan happen by 2030.

In the next five-year plan of Lao PDR, more investments will be made on early childhood for children to learn longer and learn better. TVET is also planned for improvement and upgrade, which should improve the quality of the graduates undergoing TVET. Lao PDR also plans to change the public service regulation, because both public and private sectors have always had a hand in the qualifications. They are also embarking on working with the private sector to ensure jobs for the graduates. This initiative will be pursued through Public Private Partnerships (PPP).

Under the Human Resource Development Plan, “building a SEAMEO-ASEAN Community is an important task, and for Lao PDR, it affords a good opportunity to learn from member states.”

The vision for 2030 is to enable a workforce that has the knowledge and is competent to support rapid and sustained economic growth. It is also ready to cooperate and integrate with ASEAN and outside.

HE Pehin Abu Bakar Apong of Brunei Darussalam noted that the good thing about the Dialogue is that the Ministers are able to learn the practices of various countries. He invited the other delegates to share their insights on the presentations.

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The Delegate from Singapore finds the discussion very enriching, through the sharing of experiences and aspirations. The common aspiration is to uplift the quality of life for people. Singapore takes the issue on limited resources seriously; even if they advance from the capabilities of other countries, they also have to worry whether they have the capability of scaling up to include students and workers outside Singapore. Looking at the ASEAN Qualifications Framework in that context, and because of the diverse landscape of their institutions, they also would like the universities and higher learning institutions to develop the capabilities that can suit the type of students that they want to attract, and what they would be able to develop. However, he would question that the coordination, setting standard and mutual recognition of qualification should be done between governments. Rather, this should be attempted between institutions. It is good to enrich the manpower landscape, however, it is quite difficult to turn it into an agreement among governments, binding higher learning institutions because of the limited capabilities in terms of resources that the countries’ institutions have.

The Minister from Cambodia said that looking at the objective of the ASEAN Economic Community, its focus is on the free movement of goods, services, talent and skilled labour. This connects the contradiction between freedom of skilled labour, and no recognition of competencies and qualifications. The proposal is to have minimum quality assurance, having selected universities in each country to try and develop a framework and assessment.

The Vice Minister of Education from Timor-Leste said that it would be possible for them to be an observer in the coming meeting dealing with process of putting together the ASEAN Qualifications Framework. They are still addressing conflicts as a country and not as a region.

The Philippine Delegate called on Ministries that be interested in adopting early grade instruction in the mother tongue. The Philippines would be more than happy to share the success and the continuing challenges. Out of the 177 local languages, 19 major languages were chosen, and dictionaries were created, original stories and artworks for books and modules in the 19 languages occupied intensive work for a couple of years. Adopting instruction in the mother tongue is by far the most complex reform DepEd had to undertake in the two years time required. The major principle of mother tongue is to be able to use the language that the learners are comfortable with.

The Minister from Brunei shared his final insights for the roundtable. He shared their experience in failing to send their students to other country due to problems of credit transfer. However, he said, they overcome it through institution-to-institution approach. He then asked Dr Sheldon Shaeffer to summarize the discussions.

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Summary

Dr Sheldon Shaeffer said that he heard the term drop-out a lot of times throughout the roundtable discussion. He commended the Philippines’ Pedals and Paddles project, saying it is a good initiative. He also pointed out the following major areas:

• TVET

There is a need for TVET as a subsector to enrich it, and to sell it to students and parents. TVET should be something strategic, systematic, comprehensive, flexible, and experience-based. Stronger linkages between schools and industry have also been pointed out. More employability of graduates has also been identified. He suggested focusing on the creative and the innovative as opposed to only workbased skills. He recommends completing the regional, student, and labour mobility policies on credit transfer system, competency framework, and mutual recognition of qualifications.

• Teachers

He again asked how they can make teaching a profession of first choice. He cited Singapore’s practice which is taking new candidates for teacher training institutions only from the top one third or one quarter of the graduates of secondary school. They make it visibly difficult to become a teacher. This attracts the best candidates. Indonesia tries to attract candidates by increasing teacher income. He also said that quality assurance system must be in place such as standards, certification procedures, induction and probation, professional appraisal, and career progression. He recommends a clear ASEAN-wide competency framework for teachers, pre-primary teachers, educators.

• Out-of-schoolyouth

He said that they are always advertising the net enrolment rate but not the nonenrolment rate. He commended Cambodia’s project on acceleration and Philippines’ project on indigenous people. Inclusive education means not only getting the students physically in the classroom, but also included actively in learning.

• ECCE

He mentioned about integrating ECE policy. He said that it is important to have a national policy in ECE. He said that universal pre-primary education will likely be a global goal by 2030. He commended Lao PDR for bringing up that ECD makes children learn longer and better. He said that they should not just advocate this in the ministries, but also to the parents. He pointed out that SEAMEO does not have a center for ECD. He also recommends developing professional standards for pre-primary teachers.

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Lastly, he said that there is a lot of underlying discretion about how education systems in the future have to change. He also mentioned about partnerships and resilience in the face of conflict and disaster. He said that the systems need to be more pro-active, to be visionary, and to be anticipatory with regards to the paradigm shift. This is in order to achieve the goals, not only in the ASEAN integration, but also global goals for 2030.

Final Session on Summation

The draft joint statement was presented to the Ministers. They said that the document should be refined and disseminated to all members. They said that this would be the time to reflect on what has been deliberated upon.

The Minister from the Philippines shared his final insights. He said that there is an overarching element on the way they envision themselves. He said that they should be able to see that ASEAN and SEAMEO must move towards becoming a community of nations. He said that the region has conducted too many events trying to achieve the EFA Goals and MDGs that sometimes, they tend to focus on the same goals. He said that they might meet again the next year, still doing the same, coming up with another list of recommendations. He said that the most important change is a paradigm shift even among themselves so that they would think of how they would be able to reach out to 3 million young ASEAN members together as a community of nations. For SEAMEO, he said that they do not need more of the same, they need to come up with a program in 2015 wherein they do not think of individual countries, but think of SEAMEO as a community of nations trying to solve the problems together. This will help change the view of the education challenges.

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The Minister from Brunei also shared his final insights. He said that they need to harmonize SEAMEO with ASEAN so that there would be no overlap. The years beyond 2015 would be more challenging.

The Malaysian Delegate underlined the need to harmonize education for Southeast Asia. An expanded meaning of “Higher Educational Research” is also needed to be reflected in the documents coming out of the Dialogue. The priority is to have a quality reference framework.

The Minister of Education, Youth and Sport of Cambodia cited the need to be specific, for example, in the conduct of quality assurance, and for the Ministers to select an initiative or project to move forward. As education ministers, they could start deciding on how the paradigm shift could be effected.

The Parliamentary Secretary of Singapore observed that SEAMEO can help operationalize the aspirations and thoughts of the ministers of ASEAN and SEAMEO. The operation of SEAMEO should not contradict but rather support the aspirations of the ASEAN Ministries. He also raised the issue of developing guidelines and a common framework.

The Brunei Darussalam Delegate proposed that Ministers can send their views regarding the joint statement to the Secretariat team so that these can be incorporated into the final statement. The High Officials can look at the document during the meeting in November (HOM) to further refine it. He pointed out that the High Officials should be able to incorporate what has been discussed during the dialogue on harmonizing SEAMEO and ASEAN initiatives. He said that harmonization can be done better through the SEAMEO Centres. Lastly, he thanked the delegates for their contributions during the discussions.

Closing Remarks

H E Prof Dr Pham Vu Luan, Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam, took the view that the Ministers had a very effective working day as they have covered well beyond the usual topics as well as shared information from the various perspectives, approaches, and solutions to their own individual country contexts. There were also discussions on collaboration at the regional level, presenting both opportunities and challenges.

The Ministers have come to an agreement in principle, based on the basic elements outlined in the draft joint statement. The statement has covered all ideas that have been discussed, but more importantly, the outcome of the Strategic Dialogue is the mind-set that they can immediately take back to their own countries. This is a new progress and a milestone in the course of implementing the Ministers’ agreements

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that may lead to action. All delegates are pleased to go back to their country and report to the ASEAN leaders and heads of governments about the outcomes of this dialogue.

Finally, he expressed thanks to the Ministers and Officials who attended, as well as the representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat, ADB, SEAMES, and to SEAMEO INNOTECH for the organization of the dialogue.

He also thanked the host country, Lao PDR and HE the Minister of Education and Sports of Lao PDR; in doing so, he formally closed the first Strategic Dialogue.

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FIRST STRATEGIC DIALOGUE FOR EDUCATION MINISTERS (SDEM)

Brunei DarussalamHE Pehin Abu Bakar ApongMinister of Education

Dr Haji Junaidi Abdul RahmanPermanent Secretary (Core Education)

Mr Abdul Khalid MahmoodHead, International Affairs Unit

Mr Aminudin Mohd YaakubSenior Education Officer, International Affairs Unit

Mr Mohd Albi IbrahimPersonal Assistant to the Minister

Dr Abby Chee Hong TanDirector, Global Relations Office

CambodiaHE Dr Hang Chuon NaronMinister of Education, Culture and Sport

HE Dr Nath BunroeunSecretary of State

Dr Om SethyDirector, Information and ASEAN Affairs Department

IndonesiaMr Ainun Na’imSecretary General

Ms Veronica Enda WulandariHead, International Cooperation Division

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

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Ms Evy MaragarethaHead, Sub-division of Regional and Multilateral Cooperation

Ms Meritta Anggraini PutriOfficer, MOEC

Lao PDRHE Dr Phankham ViphavanhDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Sports

HE Dr Sengdeuane LanchanthabounDeputy Minister of Education and Sports

Dr Sisamone SiththirajvongsaPermanent Secretary

Ms Chanthavone PhandamnongDirector General, Department of External Relations

Ms Nouamkham ChanthaboulyDirector, Multilateral Cooperation Division

Malaysia

Dato’ Prof Dr Asma IsmailDirector General of Higher Education

Datuk Dr Amin bin SeninDeputy Director General (Policy and Education)

Dato’ Wan Khazanah IsmailDeputy Secretary General (Management)

MyanmarHE Dr Khin San YeeUnion Minister of Education

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Mr Zaw HtayDirector General (Department of Higher Education)

Ms Mumu AngDirector, Department of Educational Planning and Training

PhilippinesHE Br Armin Luistro FSCSecretary of Education

Atty Alberto MuyotUndersecretary for Legal Affairs and SEAMEO High Official

Mr Mario DeriquitoUndersecretary for Partnerships

Mr. Jesus L.R. MateoAssistant Secretary for Planning & Development

SingaporeHE Mr Hawazi DaipiSenior Parliamentary Secretary

Ms Cindy EuAssistant Director, International Relations and Planning Division

Ms Jolene GohSenior Officer, International Relations and Planning Division

Timor LesteHE Dulce de Jesus SoaresVice Minister for Pre-School and Basic Education

Mr Jose Luis Benito CanelhasAdvisor to the Minister

Dr Cidalio LeiteDirector General for Pre-School and Basic Education

Mr Jaime da Costa de AraujoTechnical Assistant to the Vice Minister

VietnamHE Prof Dr Pham Vu LuanVice Premier and Minister of Education and Training

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Assoc Prof Dr Pham Quang HungActing Director General, International Cooperation Department

Ms Phung Thi Hong VanSenior Officer, International Cooperation Department

PartnersDr Joel MangahasSocial Sector Specialist, SEA DepartmentAsian Development BankProf. Dr. Yasushi HirosatoSpecial Adviser to SEAMEO College PMCSophia University

Mr. Kamal MamatHead of Division/Assistant DirectorEducation, Youth and Training Division, ASEAN Secretariat

Mr. Gwang-Chol ChangChief, Education Policy and ReformUNESCO Bangkok

OrganizersAssoc. Prof. Dr. Witaya JeradechakulDirector, SEAMEO SecretariatDr. HandokoDeputy Director, SEAMEO Secretariat

Dr. Sharon Berlin Joy ChaoManager, Learning Management OfficeSEAMEO INNOTECH

Mr. Benito Espena BenozaManager, Knowledge Management and Networking OfficeSEAMEO INNOTECH

Ms. Victoria S. LagudaSenior Associate, KMNO, SEAMEO INNOTECH

Ms. Jocelyn C. IlananSenior Associate, KMNO, SEAMEO INNOTECH

Ms. Mariel Del RosarioKMNO Associate, SEAMEO INNOTECH

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H E Dr Anies Baswedan (Minister of MOEC Indonesia), H E General Dapong Ratanasuwan (SEAMEO Council President), and Dr Gatot Hari Priowirjanto (SEAMEO Secretariat Director) warmly welcomed everyone in the meeting held at Padma Hotel, Bandung, Indonesia.

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SECOND STRATEGIC DIALOGUE FOR EDUCATION MINISTERS (SDEM) SEAMEO College: Strengthening SEAMEO’s Capacity to Promote Education

and Social Development in Southeast Asia28 April 2016 | Bandung, Indonesia

Opening Formalities

The session began with the entrance of SEAMEO colors.

Opening Remarks from the Director of SEAMEO Secretariat

SEAMEO Secretariat Director, Dr Gatot Hari Priowirjanto, delivered his opening remarks. He expressed his warm regards to the Ministers of Education present in the meeting. He said that it is a great privilege to be here with all of them and be involved in this productive and successful meeting.

He emphasized that living in this fast changing generation entails more challenges. He mentioned about the importance of the series of forums by SEAMEO across the region to create a regional platform for education ministers.

He also recalled the discussions that happened from the first SDEM, two years ago in Laos PDR. He said that it has resulted into intense discussions of insightful commons and exchange of ideas on the current trends and challenges in the region, particularly ASEAN 2015. He said that through the first SDEM, the seven priority areas has been identified, of which the SEAMEO member countries have committed to.

Dr Gatot said that SEAMEO Centers have been doing several programs and projects to fulfil these priorities. He expressed his hopes to work closely with the member countries more in the future to pursue these agendas to the next level.

He also expressed his hope that this meeting be a venue for collaboration and development of projects addressing the priority areas. He pointed out the importance of investing on research and development for the priority areas.

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

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He said that they are here because they share the common goal for education and development. Despite the diversity of cultures, they share the same desire to provide the best education for their children. He hope that they can all work together to provide a better future for the learners.

He shared on project, school networking, which can help the teachers and students to be global citizens by encouraging and learning from each other. He said that through the support of the Ministers, they can support and prepare their teachers, school heads, and students. He ended his remarks by expressing his desire to collaborate with the Ministers and High Officials for a better future of education.

Welcome Remarks by the Minister of Education and Culture, Indonesia

The Minister of Education and Culture of Indonesia, H E Dr Anies Baswedan, formally welcomed the delegates of the second Strategic Dialogue forEducation Ministers in Bandung.

He said that Bandung was the place where the Asian-African Conference was convened. He said that the conference aimed to protect and elevate the weak and marginalized. He expressed his hope, as Education Minister, that they also overcome marginalization by bringing the leaders together to provide better education in the region.

He said that SEA is emerging with the world paying so much attention to the region. He said that they are facing a completely different challenge compared to when SEAMEO just started. There are new challenges to be faced by the next generation and new skills are needed to overcome these challenges.

He pointed out that the skills considered as important today may not be as important in three to four years. He said that technology has a big part on this, changing the way people live and communicate with each other. He emphasized the importance of innovation and cooperation skills which will thrive more in the future. He said that the big challenge now is how they can provide the appropriate skills set to their learners.

He said that Indonesia, and probably all the other countries in the region as well, is facing challenges. However, these challenges also offer exciting opportunities. He mentioned that their country has reformed their education system for a standardized curriculum. Teacher education has also been developed. He said that all these are possible with the initiative and collaboration in the education ecosystem. He said that they allow data to be democratized; sharing their data to the public openly which allows a more effective public engagement.

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He emphasized that global challenges must be faced together. He said that Indonesia is open for long-term partnership and collaboration with the SEAMEO member countries.

He ended his speech by welcoming the delegates again in Bandung, wishing everyone an enjoyable stay, and expressing his desires to work with and learn from the other countries.

Opening Speech by the SEAMEO Council President

SEAMEO Council President, H E General Dapong Ratanasuwan, gave an opening speech. He greeted everyone present and thanked the Ministry of Education of Indonesia for making this meeting possible. He said that this is a great opportunity to reflect in order to provide a better future for all.

He said that SEAMEO has been serving the needs of education and research development through different projects. Much progress has been made since the first SDEM, and much more will be done in the coming years.

He said that the region is highly competitive when it comes to education. One of the challenges he cited is maintaining the economic trend in human resource development. He said that in Thailand, education is considered as a national agenda. Recently, they have been integrating ICT in education, as well as online learning in different modes. He also shared that they have been implementing 21st century skills in their schools, developing STEM education and critical thinking skills. He said that teachers are teaching less and facilitating more. He said that children learn more outside schools, highlighting the importance of the stakeholders’ participation in the development of education.

He also said that collaboration between public, private, citizens, committee, and civil society is highly needed. He also pointed out the importance of training manpower, vocational, development of curriculum, and learning process in order to increase Thailand’s competitiveness.

He also mentioned that through the first SDEM, they have agreed on 7 priority areas. He also said that SEAMEO Centers have already made their moves, usually focusing on science, health, and culture. He emphasized the need to collaborate between Centers to move forward in their shared goals. He pointed out that the roadmap will help strengthen the ties within SEAMEO Centers.

He said that access to education is still one of the biggest problems in the region. He said that he looks forward on their next steps on how they can encourage more children to go to school. The expertise of SEAMEO will help strengthen the collaboration between SEA countries in order to address these challenges.

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He emphasized that it is impossible to solve all these problems in just a single meeting. But they can start by sharing their countries’ experiences and best practices. He pointed out some initiatives from different countries where they can learn from. He expressed his excitement in learning from each of the country’s practices and to work together. He ended by saying that they should work together as a SEAMEO community.

Group photo

A commemorative group photo was taken afterwards. The session also had its short break for snacks and resumed after about 20 minutes.

SDEM Overview and Expectations

Dr Taufik Hanafi facilitated the first roundtable discussion. He first welcomed everyone for this second SDEM. He stated the theme of this meeting, “Innovating, Learning, and Moving Forward,” and gave a brief overview of the meeting. He also stated the objectives and expected output for this meeting

He refreshed everyone about how the 7 priority areas came to be. He said that considering the Education for All and the national and regional reports from the first SDEM, a Vientiane statement was agreed on with the 7 priority areas. These areas were then adopted by the SEAMEO Council and are agreed by the Ministers of Education. He said that beyond 2015 is more challenging and it calls for greater urgency to move forward. He said that, like what SEAMEC president said earlier, it is important to reflect these priorities in the programs of SEAMEO and its regional centers.

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He then enumerated the 7 priority areas of SEAMEO: (1) early childhood care and education; (2) addressing barriers to inclusion; (3) resiliency in the face of emergencies; (4) promoting technical and vocational education and training (TVET); (5) revitalising teacher education; (6) promoting harmonisation in higher education and research; and (7) adopting a 21st Century curriculum.

Dr Taufik also mentioned the objectives of the dialogue. SDEM 2 aims to:

1. Collectively reflect on current education, science and culture issues in Southeast Asia and beyond;

2. Review current and emerging education concerns as well as options for collaborative undertakings; and

3. Provide a starting point for regional and cross-country collaborative interventions to address shared or unique education development concerns.

He said that by the end of this meeting, they hope to document the views and reflections of the Ministers and head of delegations through media releases and documented agreement with the regional initiatives of the Ministers. He said that after this dialogue, there will be a press conference to publicize the discussions and agreements from this meeting. They also hope to have collaborative actions to address common issues of the region and achieve their common goals.

He also discussed the structure of the dialogue. There will be four roundtable discussions which have different themes. There will also be country presentations for each roundtable sessions to trigger the discussion. He also showed a template of an action program which they hope each country can provide.

Before they begin the first roundtable, highlights of the previous SDEM were presented through a video.

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THEMATIC ROUNDTABLE 1: SEAMEO Education Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal #4

Proposed Lead Countries: The Philippines and Brunei Darussalam

Dr Taufik explained that this session will explore on the achievements and remaining challenges in the goal of providing quality education for all learners. Philippines and Brunei Darussalam will be presenting their experiences and lessons learned with their innovations.

He also said that SEAMEO has wide actions in dealing with SDG 4. Regional Centers have adopted the 7 priority areas as program framework. He also mentioned about the roadmap that has been developed by SEAMES.

He said that Philippines and Brunei Darussalam have experiences which the other countries may find useful. He said that it is important to document these success stories and learn from them. He also emphasized that it is important to align the Center programs with the strategic goals, and to have collaborative actions with the Centers and member countries. He said that SEAMES have done several initiatives on this. He then gave the floor to the Minister of Education of the Philippines for his presentation.

Philippines

H E Br. Armin A. Luistro, FSC, Secretary of the Philippine Department of Education, was the first to present reports from their country. He began by saying that Bandung is a great place, a city thriving in nature. With being surrounded by greenery and nature, Ministers of Education gather to discuss about education reforms and paradigm shift.

He looked back at the beginning of SEAMEO and said that the founders of the organization are real visionaries. When no one thought of regional cooperation, it was the Ministers of Education who started it. He said that he wants to refresh that visionary through this dialogue. He said that as they face the challenges of the new generation, they should never forget the visionary spirit that was once with the Ministers of Education.

He said that data shows that there are 7 million out of school youth and children across East Asia and the Pacific. As SEA is frequently visited by typhoons, young learners tend to be very vulnerable. Even the education is still vulnerable when it comes to disasters. He mentioned that during the first SDEM, the Ministers talk about paradigm shift. He said that if they want a paradigm shift, they should not keep talking about country practices and start a revolutionary action. He said that even though they talk about best practices of the countries, they may still face the same challenges years later.

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He said that the activity on the previous day was quite revolutionary for him. He said that, usually, each Ministers plant separate trees. But this time, it was different as the Ministers contribute to plant a single tree. He said that it is also symbolic as the tree they planted is known as the ‘blackboard’ tree. He said that they should do the same where all countries participate in addressing the issue of one country. He said that if they all continue to focus on their own countries, they will not achieve a paradigm shift, it will not be revolutionary. He said that they should all start to think as a region and not just as an individual country. He hopes that SEA will be a borderless region, a community.

He said that access is really a big problem in the Philippines and other SEA countries. He enumerated some projects of the Philippines to address this problem. They have projects like Pedals and Paddles where they provide boats and bicycles to students who travel far just to reach their schools and Kariton Klasrum (Pushcart Classroom) where they go to the streets to bring the classroom for the out of school children. They also have Conditional Cash Transfer where they give cash to parents given they send their children to schools. They also have Disaster Risk Reduction program where they provide modules about resiliency in emergencies.

He said that the Angklung presentation they saw the previous day was symbolic as well. One person plays a single note; this represents the individual countries of the region. Together, the Angklung players create music when they play together with the help of their guide; he said that this represents SEAMEO where countries unite to work for the same goal, with the Regional Centers and SEAMEO as a whole guiding and binding the countries. He said that there are still unreachable areas in the Philippines that have yet to have quality education. But through the help of SEAMEO INNOTECH and other Regional Centers with massive resources, they can address this barrier.

He said that the challenge now is to dream and act big as how the founders of SEAMEO did more than 50 years ago. He ended his presentation, thanking the organizers, and hoping that this meeting will help them dream and act big.

Brunei Darussalam

The Minister of Education of Brunei Darussalam, H E Pehin Dato Suyoi Hj Osman, began by thanking the Indonesian MoE for their warm welcome. He said that it was tough to follow the presentation of the Philippines. He agrees with Bro. Armin on how he looks at the issues at hand, and addressing these as a whole region. He said that much have been mentioned through previous meetings. He expressed his hope to have a fruitful discussion in this meeting.

He recalled the goals they have set—priority areas of SEAMEO, SDG #4 of UNESCO, ASEAN 2015, etc. He said that every country in the region has done their best to address the issues and achieve these goals. He hopes for development and continued achievement of the goals.

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He shared Brunei’s experiences in addressing these issues. He hopes that through shared experiences, everyone can learn from each other.

He said that in their country, 6-year old children should be in schools already. They have 9 years of compulsory education. He also shared that they have included 21st century skills in their national education system. They also offer multiple pathways for the children’s career. They also have remedial education for children with special needs. He also shared that the average student attendance in schools is less than 85%; he said they are trying to improve this. They also give high support for TVET and higher education. He said that they want the students to have the right skills for them to be employed. He shared that students dropping out and leaving schools does not have enough skills—a reason why they can’t find a decent employment. He said that they are making sure that through the 9-year stay of children in school, they will gain enough skills to help them get a job and support themselves.

They also support improving the quality of their teachers through establishing teacher competency standards. They also have teacher academy to aid the continuing professional development of teachers. They also have programs to teach teachers how to design effective learning tools. Preschool is also compulsory in the country. However, they are currently reviewing its curriculum.

The basic education curriculum is also being equipped with 21st century skills, aligning it with the skills needed by the industries. They want to make sure that students train with the right skills during their stay in schools. He said they ask the needed skills from the industries themselves.

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They also have programs to develop the school leaders’ capabilities. They have leadership and innovation programs for school leaders. He said that success of schools depends on good its leader is. They bring in foreigner coaches to help their school leaders and give them another perspective.

They also have literacy and numeracy standards which they monitor to identify the competency level of the children. They also measure the retention of students. They compare and match the competencies of the children in the classroom. They also take the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) to monitor their global competency. He said that there are still a lot of room for improvements and is still far behind other countries.

He said that if they want to make improvements, it should begin from home. He said that they need to share their experiences with each other and gain from it. He expressed his commitment to continuously collaborate with the SEAMEO Centers to achieve their regional and global targets.

He said that there are still a lot of areas for improvement in the system, like basic literacy and numeracy and teachers’ performance. They also need to incorporate ICT in their education. He said that he was impressed with the school they visited the previous day. He said that in classrooms without teachers, ICT can take charge instead.

Lastly, he pointed out that children should be exposed to entrepreneurship skills so that they can create jobs for themselves and for others.

Thailand Minister of Education, H E General Dapong Ratanasuwan, also shared some of his insights and some of Thailand’s experiences. First, on the need to develop lifelong learning; he said that they used to separate the works of their ministries (health, education, etc.), but the current government of Thailand urges inter-ministerial collaboration. He said that ministries should work together to promote lifelong learning. He showed a chart of how they implement lifelong learning development. He said that SPED is handled by the Ministry of Human Security in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. He also shared that plans of the Ministry of Health is also incorporated in the plans of the Ministry of Education. He said that all of the Ministries’ plans are synchronized in a single framework.

Second, on the achievements and challenges of Thailand in achieving the goals set. He said that education should be prioritized in the plans of each country. He commended the initiatives shared by the other countries earlier. He shared that in Thailand, they are facing challenges in curriculum, teacher development, assessment of education centers, ICT, and administration and management. He said that the other countries may also have the same challenges although the causes are different. He seeks for the Ministers’ comments and insights on this to help them develop their roadmap. Lastly, he asked how these agenda can be pushed through

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in the ASEAN summit. He said that ASEAN usually focuses on trend and economics. He seeks for the Ministers’ commitment in pushing this through the ASEAN.

Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Education of Singapore, Assoc Prof Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, also shared his insights. He first thanked the Ministers of the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, and Thailand for sharing their country’s experiences. He said that it is very important to look at the issues together and work on it collaboratively. He said that every individual should be given access to education in order to develop his potentials and help the society develop. He said that people have different abilities, talents, and needs. He said that they need to work together to develop avenues for people to achieve their potentials. He said that holistic development should be progress in school. He said that as people have different needs, they should be able to customize programs. He said that they should learn from each other and get the whole community to address the needs. He also mentioned about the people’s needs after education. He expressed his support in Thailand’s sentiments. He said that he wants the people to have a meaningful life. He said that they should have targeted programs for the poor, middle income, and the rich. He expressed his hope to build a better society through meaningful education journey.

H E Dr Anies Rasyid Baswedan, Minister of Education and Culture of Indonesia, also shared some of his insights. He said that each country faces various challenges; in Indonesia’s case, he said they have 21st century students but teachers and facilities are not. He said that they need to address the challenges of technology. He asked if technology can replace teachers; he jokingly said that teacher’s union will not be happy about it. He said that teachers who motivate and inspire students cannot be replaced by technology. He said that they need to focus on how they can empower their teachers so that they cannot be replaced by technology. He said that technology should only assist the teachers and not replace them. He also said that technology should be upgraded; however, there is also a need to train on its proper usage to maximize it. He said that what makes SEAMEO unique is their close relationship. He said that they should maximize the support given by the local government and explore the opportunity in engaging them as similar challenges happen in the subnational level.

Dr Taufik closed the roundtable discussion and synthesized the insights of the Ministers. He said that highlights of the discussion includes encouraging further collaboration, dealing with out of school children, entrepreneur skills in the curriculum, teacher development, lifelong learning, non-formal education, and integrated and synchronized planning within the government.

A short tea break was held after. They resumed 30 minutes after for the second roundtable discussion.

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THEMATIC ROUNDTABLE 2: Innovations on learning delivery and content

Proposed Lead Countries: Malaysia and Singapore

Dr Brenda Corpuz, Dean of the College of Education at the Technological Institute of the Philippines, facilitated the second roundtable discussion. She said that the two areas of the session—learning delivery and content—links to curriculum. She said that Malaysia and Singapore will be sharing their experiences and best practices on the two areas. She shared that many countries have adopted innovations such as reforms at all levels, use of mother tongue language, use of ICT tools, learner-centered pedagogy, and competency or outcomes-based curriculum. She said that the innovations response to national needs. This should be continuously improved, taking into account the enabling environments, training, and partnerships.

She then gave the floor to the Ministers of Education for their presentation.

Malaysia

Minister of Education of Malaysia, H E Dato’ Seri Mahdzir Khalid, first thanked the organizers for making this event possible. He also thanked everyone present in the meeting.

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He mentioned about the green revolution in Paris that recently happened. He said that they can also push for a policy on the ASEAN program of UNESCO.

He said that through this meeting, they can consolidate best programs which they can share and collaborate with. He said that these practices can be brought back to their respective countries. He also said that they should have a consensus declaration afterwards.

He said that each country has their success story in education. He mentioned that in their country, they prioritize education in rural and remote areas, increasing their access to quality education. He said that accessibility also includes access to clean water, electricity, and infrastructure. Another area emphasized is the preschool. He said that they want to build a strong foundation in basic literacy and numeracy. He said that he looks forward to their upcoming enrolment as they are expecting an increase in their enrolment rate in the upper and rural areas. He said that they have also increased the number of preschool classes. They have also given out grants to encourage opening of more preschools. They also provide assistance to help children enrol in private preschool. Their Ministry also encourages preschool teachers to have a diploma on early childhood care.

They also give priority to TVET. They start introducing basic vocational education at the lower secondary level. They also plan to convert vocational secondary schools into a college where students can get a diploma after a four-year vocational course. He said that children can choose between working and pursuing a degree in technical university. He said that there is still a need to review the existing curriculum. New methods of assessment have also been implemented. Their teachers, especially those on the specialist programs, have also been upscaled. He said that they are also reinforcing strong industrial linkages and collaboration so that vocational schools and the industry can work together. They are also mainstreaming vocational courses and minimizing its drop outs. They also aim to provide equal access, particularly to those with special needs. They want the students to gain skills needed by the industries.

Singapore

Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Education of Singapore, Assoc Prof Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, began by expressing his gladness in participating in this dialogue and to share their country’s experiences. He thanked the organizers for this event.

He said that it is important to prepare their people for the future. It is also important to make life better for them. He shared that education is a journey that never stops; it is always evolving. He said that education is nurturing the child holistically so that s/he can be the best that s/he can be. He emphasized that education is not just about academics, but also physical, emotional, and aesthetical. He reminded everyone that in whatever they do, it should be all about the interest and benefit of the child.

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He said that every student has their own way of learning which the Ministries and teachers should consider. He said they should also consider their community involvement and contribution to the society; he added that their country has a lot of programs focusing on this.

He also emphasized on four principles he wants the Ministers to consider. One is the strong fundamental skills of learners, particularly in the early years such as literacy, numeracy, values education, and social skills. Next is the 21st century learning or future learning which can help the learners thrive in a complex environment. He also placed a lot of emphasis on harmonization and social and emotional competencies. He said that it takes a lot of experiential learning to develop all these components. He said that it all comes as an integrative process with all of these principles embedded in the curriculum and school activities.

He said that education is a lifelong journey, which is why its framework is very important.

On innovations in learning delivery and content, he said that Singapore is very competitive on this. Parents always want the best for their children. He said that they want to reduce this competitive stress that the child develops. He said that children should learn while enjoying it. He said that they should not just focus on the aptitude assessment results, but also on the child’s passion. They should also have exposures to art and music. He mentioned that this is one of their strategies for learning English. He also said that secondary schools should have life programs where they apply their learning in real life.

He also said that they have supported educators through their professional development where they also learn from each other. He also emphasized the need to learn through mother tongue language. He said that this gives opportunity for bilingual students. He said that they need to better equip their educators on this.

He again emphasized that the child’s experience when going to school is important as their emotional, social, and technical skills develop through this. He also said that they should be able to develop the child holistically.

He said that events like this dialogue meeting is where they can learn from each other. He expressed his gratitude on being able to participate in this process.

Thailand Minister of Education, H E General Dapong Ratanasuwan, again shared his sentiments on the discussion. He said that he agreed with the Minister from Malaysia giving emphasis on preschool. He also mentioned about the non-academic areas that Minister from Singapore shared. He added that family are key actors and should also be involved. For example, when teaching about discipline, he said that the child will not learn it if her/his family members and the community s/he lives in does not practice discipline or do not reflect what is taught in school. He said

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that other Ministries in the government can also be involved in programs for this. He also shared one of Thailand’s programs on distance learning. He said that in the country, each community has a school and these schools cannot be abolished by the government. However, some schools have less than 20 students. They tried to merge the schools as there are a lot of schools that are just few kilometres away. But with the culture, they have experienced difficulties. But, he said, it also has positive effects like implementing distance learning in schools. He said that developing ICT infrastructure in the country is very important.

Vietnam Minister of Education and Training, H E Prof Dr Bui Van Ga, also shared some of his insights. He said that it is very important to include climate change on the issue. He said that they are currently experiencing serious environmental problems and that children should also learn how to share nature resources and use it efficiently.

Dr Brenda Corpuz closed the session as she highlights some topics or issues discussed through the roundtable discussion such as ECCD and TechVoc. Most importantly, she highlighted that the child should always be the center of curriculum development.

The session was cut off by lunch break. The participants went back to session after an hour and a half.

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THEMATIC ROUNDTABLE 3: Engaging Key education players and stakeholders

Proposed Lead Countries: Indonesia and Vietnam

Dr Taufik Hanafi facilitated the third roundtable discussion. He said that the success of the region in providing quality education depends on the engagement of their stakeholders. He said that in this session, Ministers from Indonesia and Vietnam will share their experiences. Representative from the recently held SEAMEO Youth Forum will also be presenting to hear some of the sentiments of the young ones.

Indonesia

H E Dr Anies Rasyid Baswedan, Minister of Education and Culture of Indonesia, began his presentation by again welcoming the Ministers in Bandung. He continued with his country presentation, emphasizing the importance of engaging the public in government projects. He said that the presence of technology has changed the way people interact with one another. He said that the new challenges they face needs a different approach. He shared a survey they previously did, asking students how satisfied they are with the education system. Results show that 70% said they are satisfied. However, he questioned the results saying that satisfaction is tied with expectation. He said that even if the education quality is just half of other countries’ and learners said they are satisfied; it is not against the law. But still, he wants to improve the quality of education in the country. He said that to achieve quality

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education, they should improve the quality of teachers and have a quality education ecosystem. He emphasized the word ‘ecosystem’ saying that it is an interaction of all stakeholders. He said that to engage the public, they should provide them information they don’t have access to before and ask for their feedback. He said that the ‘oxygen’ in this education ecosystem is the information; information will make the ecosystem function.

He shared their project to engage the public more, the Education Balance Sheet. He said that alignment is one of their biggest challenges. The balance sheet is an infographic showing the balance between the allocated resources and the service it has delivered. For example, on infrastructure, one side of the sheet is the budget while the other side shows how many classrooms have been built. The sheet also shows dropout rates in a particular area. He also mentioned that 20% of the government’s budget is allocated for education. He said that it is also important to disclose information kept by the Ministry. They also disclose exam results of teachers. He said that this is not a new method. Though some may feel uncomfortable disclosing information to the public, it is still necessary. He said that education should be a movement, but it will only happen if the government provide substantial information.

He mentioned about the levels of public engagement—informing, consulting, involving, and collaborating. He said that through the recent reforms, they have involved the public and partnered with civil organizations. He said that through these, there is a sense of ownership; education is everyone’s business. He also said that engaging everyone ensures them that the future is good. He also shared that teachers should be told that they are not merely teaching, but are painting the future society.

He also shared that parents are the best school superintendent. He said that they leave the monitoring to the parents. They provide the parents information about the school and gather their feedback on it.

He also mentioned about the issue of integrity. He said that while it is easy to monitor cheating, it is very difficult to measure honesty. He mentioned about their project of awarding high integrity schools. He said that schools awarded with high integrity will be given big certificates which they can display in the school.

He ended, saying that with the presence of technology, they can involve and engage the people; and this is how they can move.

Vietnam

Vietnam Minister of Education and Training, H E Prof Dr Bui Van Ga, talked about the future development of the region. He said that it will be based on the context of globalization and climate change.

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He said that there is a need for stakeholders to cooperate and for SEAMEO member countries to closely collaborate with each other. He said that there is a need to establish a learning culture where students can communicate more openly and where all stakeholders are involved and participating.

He said that English plays an important role in the employment. He said that they are currently improving the teaching-learning process of learning a foreign language. He said that implementation of the said project is still limited to qualified teaching staff. He also mentioned about innovation on human resource development. He said that with digitization, most jobs done by workers can now be replaced with machines. He said that there is a need to gain more creative competencies.

He also said that they should educate on being adoptive to climate change. Vietnam is one of the countries suffering from phenomena. He said that there is a need to learn to adapt in the new environmental condition.

He also mentioned that parents’ engagement in the school system and school activities is essential. He said that in their country, PTA is very strong from the class level to the school level. He said that their PTA is meeting twice a year to have better cooperation between school and parents. Now, teachers and parents can communicate digitally through a digital group.

Representative from the SEAMEO Youth Leadership Forum

Mr. Kenny Lee Chee Hwa, youth representative from the recently held SEAMEO Youth Leadership Forum, had the chance to express the views of the younger ones. He said that he is here to present the voice of the 21st century. He also said that although he is just alone, he represents the 44 young leaders of the region.

He began by giving an overview of the Youth Leadership Forum. He then presented the outcome of the 7-day forum. He said that the regional mind-set of the forum was to understand the differences of each country’s culture. He said that they talked about how they can use the values to guide the future leaders.

The Youth Declaration includes the following:

• EstablishingastrongandrecognizednetworkofSEAMEOYouthLeaderstofoster stronger regional collaboration.

• AllyingwithNGOs,educationalinstitutionsandlocalgovernmentauthoritiesin fostering an educational and social environment where children or youths are encouraged to respect each other and their differences in cultures, recognize multicultural values and challenges within multi-cultural/multi-faith communities, promote less stressful educational environment and

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encouraging amiable social interaction and relations for greater intercultural understanding.

• EnhancingthecapabilitiesofexistingASEANcornersinsecondaryschoolsand universities to promote better understanding and learning about the various types of cooperation and agreements among SEAMEO member countries, ASEAN and ASEAN+3 countries, while encouraging discussion on creating a collective ASEAN identity and sharing capacity building opportunities among the younger generations through social media.

• Organizingteam-buildingactivitiesandyouthcampstoenhancecohesionwithin the student body throughout a student’s secondary or tertiary years and raise awareness of Sustainable Development Goals.

He emphasized the second point saying that people need to understand each other and respect diversity. He said that if one does not understand the other countries’ culture, there won’t be a spirit of collaboration. He said that they need to see each other as a big family.

He also pointed out the importance of 21st century skills; learners should be able to foster leadership skills, cooperation, and communication skills. He said that these skills cannot be learned within the four walls of the classroom.

He ended by assuring the Ministers that the youth of today, the leaders of tomorrow are always ready to help them.

Thailand Minister of Education, H E General Dapong Ratanasuwan, shared some of his insights. He said that, in line with what the Minister from Indonesia said on engaging the public, they should bring the concept into action. He said that collaboration with the public, private, and civil society is needed. He shared that in their country, there is a public-private steering committee which consists of Minister of Education and CEO of companies. This committee helps design implementation methods of projects. They also have a sub-committee on database, curriculum, teacher and principal development, community involvement, and young leadership development. He also said that it is important to engage partners and push collaboration forward.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education of Myanmar, Dr Soe Win, asked a question for the Minister from Indonesia. He asked about the parent involvement in the monitoring and evaluation. He also mentioned that the usual users of technology in their country are young. The Minister from Indonesia answered and agreed that technology users are usually young. He said that technology allows students and parents to not just use the information, but to also contribute to it. He said that they have developed their platform so that parents can also provide input to their system. They also ask students to report about the state of their schools through pictures. He said that their current platform just contains information from the government,

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but they plan to include the uploading feature to engage the public more. Also, through the platform, parents can see and compare the schools before they pick the best school for their children. He said that they hope to achieve the highest level of engagement which is collaboration. He said that their platform is not designed to just inform but also to get the public to participate.

The Minister from Malaysia shared his insight on the issue of 21st century student, 20th century teachers, 19th century infrastructure; he said that this is the reality in most Southeast Asian countries. He said that they need to emphasize how they can assimilate between the young generation students and the older practice of teaching and infrastructure.

The session was cut off for a short coffee break. They resumed after 30 minutes for the fourth roundtable discussion.

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THEMATIC ROUNDTABLE 4: The Seven Priority Areas of SEAMEO: Agenda for the next 3 years (2016-2019)

Dr Taufik synthesized the previous roundtable discussions to introduce the session. He said that through the discussions, they have talked about lessons learned. Now, they will focus more on the actions.

Myanmar

Ministry of Education of Myanmar, Dr Soe Win, shared some of their country’s projects from the past 5 years. He said that they have projects on capacity building for teacher education. They are also promoting English language skills in collaboration with the British Council.

Their current education system requires 5 years in primary, 4 years in middle school, and 3 years in high school. He said that they are currently developing their curriculum. He also said that recently, the TVET sector has been handed over to the Ministry of Education. In higher education, they are conducting capacity building training for school leaders.

He also said that they want to promote the monitoring system just like Indonesia. He thanked the Minister for sharing the idea.

He said that they will be changing the promotion system of teachers. Previously, he said, teachers that are promoted teach to a higher level and get a higher salary. Now, teachers will remain on the level they are teaching, primary level for example, but will still get higher salary.

They are also conducting comprehensive education sector review where they will include the Priority Areas of SEAMEO. He said that the framework has been published already. He also said that they will be strengthening their cooperation with SEAMEO Centers.

He said that they are already implementing projects aligned with the 7 priority areas. He said that they have extended their preschool services to remote areas. They are also improving its curriculum to better prepare them for primary schools. They also have ECCD policy to support children from birth until 18 years of age. They are also conducting teacher quality assurance and teacher management to help the teachers develop their selves. They also plan to improve their higher education and redesign their basic education curriculum to integrate 21st century skills.

Dr Taufik synthesized that Myanmar has done a lot of projects. He also pointed out that there are more similarities than differences in the experiences of the countries. He highlighted the importance of further collaboration.

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Dr Gatot Hari Priowirjanto, Director of SEAMEO Secretariat, talked about their initiatives. He said that they are in close collaboration with the other SEAMEO Centers for projects that will help them achieve the priority areas. He said that throughout their projects, they always include teacher, student, parent, and official involvement.

H E Dr Kongsy Sengmany, Vice Minister of Education and Sports of Lao PDR, shared his reflections. He suggested some actions that they can do in the region to address the priority areas. He said that education sector needs to improve the schools, equipment, materials, facilities, and enhance the skills of the school administrators. He said that through the 7 priority areas, they can promote the role and function of SEAMEO. He asked the other Ministers on how they can cooperate. He said that they also need support from the outside to provide good quality of education.

The Minister from Myanmar agreed with SEAMES to collaborate with school levels as this will help the students to collaborate with other countries and learn from each other.

The Minister from Philippines suggested that the setup of the next meetings could be changed. He said that if they continue to just share their best practices, it will not address the problems of SEA. He said that there is an urgent need to respond to the needs of out of school children that are not even in their data. He proposed to create a task force or to assign a Regional Center to identify where these children are. Next step will be harvesting resources that are currently available but may not be accessible to individual countries. He said that they can share information through technology. He said that resources available should be shared to all. He again emphasized that the real challenge here is to move out from thinking of their individual countries.

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The Minister from Indonesia said that SEAMEO was the seed of ASEAN where they had been able to form union. Now the next step is to form unity through people to people connection. He said that SEAMEO is the avenue to pursue these things they have discussed for the whole day thorough connecting schools, teachers, and students using technology, and building cooperation not only on the national level but also on the subnational level.

The Minister from Cambodia said that they need to improve teacher education to attract more people to pursue teaching and become a teacher. They should ensure the quality of their teachers. They should also have programs to keep the teachers in the system.

The Minister from Timor Leste, H E Antonio da Conceição, suggested that they include programs for PWDs, multilingual education and mother tongue, for disaster, and TechVoc. He also said that they have recently revised their curriculum. He introduced their model on literacy.

Dr Gatot thanked the Ministers for their suggestions for SEAMEO. He said that they will work on the task force as soon as possible.

Presentation of SDEM Key Statements and Agreements

After the discussions, a draft statement was presented to the Ministers. They read through it, made some comments and suggested minor edits. The Minister from the Philippines commented that he understands that it is necessary to have a statement after every meeting. He suggested that the statement can be further improved by incorporating concrete action plans. The rest of the Ministers agreed. Dr Gatot also expressed his agreement and said that they will prepare the document as fast as they can.

Closing Remarks

The Minister of Education and Culture of Indonesia, H E Dr Anies Rasyid Baswedan, delivered his closing remarks. He said that the challenge they face is tremendous. But these challenges also propose huge opportunities for cooperation and collaboration. He emphasized the importance of follow-up; said that this meeting should result into a concrete action. He also highlighted that they should act as a community. He said that this kind of strong cooperation can only be observed with Southeast Asian countries. He said that they are not just talking about schools, but of the future. He hoped that this one-day dialogue brings them to the next level of cooperation. He also hoped that they create a next generation which sees the region as a community that will bring prosperity, brotherhood, and peace. He thanked everyone who attended the meeting and apologized for any shortcomings. He ended by again thanking them for coming to Bandung and expressed his hope that they enjoyed their stay.

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LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

SECOND STRATEGIC DIALOGUE FOR EDUCATION MINISTERS (SDEM)

Brunei DarussalamH E Pehin Dato Suyoi Hj OsmanMinister of Education

H E Brigadier General (R) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Yussof bin Haji Abd RahmanAmbassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of Brunei Darussalam

Dr Hajah Romaizah Hj Mohd SallehPermanent Secretary (Core Education)

Ms Zarinah SallehSenior Education Officer, International Affairs Unit

Mr Syed Rozman Haji Syed Abdul RahimPersonal Assistant to the Minister

DK Noradilah Pg Hj Abd MalikSecond Secretary, The Embassy of Brunei Darussalam

CambodiaH E Dr Nath BunroeunSecretary of State, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport

Dr Om SethyDeputy Secretary General of the National Youth Council and Deputy Director General of Education

Mr Lim SotheaDirector General of Policy and Planning

Dr Mok SaromDeputy Director General of Education

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Mr Suong SavathDirector of Information and ASEAN Affairs Department

Mr Im LinaOfficial of Minister Cabinet

IndonesiaH E Dr Anies Rasyid BaswedanMinister of Education and CultureDr Didik SuhardiSecretary General

Dr Hamid MuhammadDirector General of Basic and Secondary Education

Ms SuhartiHead of Bureau for Planning and International Cooperation

Ms Veronica Enda WulandariHead of International Cooperation Division,Bureau of Planning and International Cooperation

Ms Evy MargarethaHead of Regional and Multilateral SubdivisionBureau of Planning and International Cooperation

Ms YunitasariInternational Cooperation OfficerBureau of Planning and International Cooperation

Lao PDRH E Dr Kongsy SengmanyVice Minister of Education and Sports

H E Madame Phavanh NuanthasingAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryEmbassy of Lao PDR

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Madame Chanthavone PhandamnongDirector General, Department of External RelationsMrs Nouamkham ChanthaboulyDirector, Multilateral Cooperation DivisionDepartment of External Relations

Mr Sithong SikhaoDirector, Planning Division, Department of Planning

Mr Phonepaseuth ChanthavongThird Secretary, Embassy of Lao PDR

MalaysiaH E Dato’ Seri Mahdzir KhalidMinister of Education

Dato’ Sri Dr Khair Mohamad YusofDirector General of Education

Dr Eng Chan GuanDeputy Under Secretary, Planning, Research and Policy Coordination DivisionMinistry of Higher Education

Mr Zulkafly OthmanSpecial Officer to Minister of Education

Mr Raslan Haniff Abdul RashidSpecial Officer to Minister of Education

MyanmarDr Soe WinPermanent Secretary, Ministry of Education

Prof Dr Zaw WinDeputy Director General, Department of Higher Education

PhilippinesH E Br Armin A Luistro, FSCSecretary of Education

Mr Alberto Jesus MuyotUndersecretaryOffice of the Undersecretary for Legal and Legislative Affairs

Mr Jesus Lorenzo R. MateoAssistant Secretary for Governance and Operations

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Ms Farida Bianca VelicariaProject Development Officer II, International Cooperation Office

Mr Lester Ian SaulogExecutive Assistant III, Office of the Secretary

SingaporeAssoc Prof Muhammad Faishal IbrahimParliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education

Ms Cindy Eu, Deputy DirectorInternational Cooperation, Planning Division

Ms Lian HuiSenior Manager, International Relations, Planning Division

ThailandH E General Dapong RatanasuwanMinister of EducationMr Suphat ChampatongDeputy Permanent Secretary

Colonel Nuttapong PraokaewSecretary to the Minister of Education

Ms Duriya AmatavivatAssistant Permanent Secretary

Mrs Phimwarat MuangnilChief, Regional Cooperation Unit, Bureau of International CooperationOffice of the Permanent Secretary

Ms Siripakka DhamabusForeign Relations Officer Bureau of International Cooperation

Ms Kochakorn KhattapanForeign Relations Officer, Bureau of International Cooperation

Ms Pranee BoonyaratTechnician (ETV), Office of the Non-Formal and Informal Education

Mr Nattawut WakaduanTechnician (ETV), Office of the Non-Formal and Informal Education

Ms Apiradee KandetPlan and Policy AnalystSecretariat Team to the Minister

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Ms Nawarat RamasutaPublic Relations OfficerOffice of the Minister

Lt Tossaphol SriworakulPersonal Secretary to the Minister

Timor Leste H E Mr Antonio da ConceiçãoMinister of Education

Mr Antoninho PiresDirector GeneralCabinet of Policy, Planning and Cooperation

Mr. Mafaldo Lopes VictorChief of Department Directorate of Higher Education

Mr Deolindo Da CruzPresident of InfordepeNational Teacher Training Institute, ME

Mr Olandino Godinho CerqueiraStaff of Protocol, MOE

VietnamH E Prof Dr Bui Van GaDeputy Minister of Education and Training

Mr Nguyen Xuan VangDirector General, International Cooperation Dept

Ms Phung Thi Hong VanSenior Officer, International Cooperation Department

Consultants/FacilitatorDr. Taufik HanafiActing Director, CultureMinistry of Education and Culture Dr Brenda CorpuzConsultant, SEAMEO College Module 1

Mr Kenny Lee Chee HwaStudent, Department of International and Strategic StudiesFaculty of Arts and Sciences, University of Malaya

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SEAMEO Regional Centre for Educational Innovation and TechnologyDr Ramon C BacaniCentre Director

Mr Benito Eespena BenozaManager, Knowledge Management and Networking Office

Ms Alecsa Joy Ann GeronimoInformation Services Assistant, Information Management Unit

SEAMEO Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine ArtsDr M R Rujaya AbhakornCentre Director

Southeast Asian Ministers of Education SecretariatSEAMEO College Project Management Team

Dr Gatot Hari PriowirjantoDirector, SEAMEO Secretariat

Dr Ethel Agnes P ValenzuelaDeputy Director (Programme and Development)

Ms Pimratchada PatanasuthikulExecutive Secretary

Mr Avelino A Mejia, Jr. Project Officer, SEAMEO Secretariat

Mr David YoungSEAMEO College

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APPENDIX

BANDUNG ACTION AGENDA (2016-2019)

Taking note of the views expressed by the Ministers of Education, the SEAMEO Centre Directors expressed their commitment to achieve the following:

(1) A major increase in inter-school collaboration for 21st century learning to speed up its diffusion in developing countries through multilateral partnerships.

• Promote innovation in teaching and learning using the best technology in 200 schools in Southeast Asia (Philippines 25 schools, Thailand 50 schools, Vietnam 10-25 schools, Lao PDR 10-25 schools, Cambodia 10-25 schools, Malaysia 3-5 schools, and Indonesia 50 schools) through the SEA Digital Class Project.

• SEAMEO Centres to identify at least 1-10 schools in their areas with Internet access to participate in SEA Digital Class, SEA Teacher and SEA Language programmes.

(2) Promote technology in Southeast Asian education to dramatically accelerate access to education for undocumented and marginalized children and those at risk of being affected by disasters and risks through the use of the SIERRA system developed by SEAMOLEC.

(3) Address barriers to inclusion using public and private engagements in South-east Asian education, including the use of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) framework to mobilise partners, networks and collaborators. The initiative involves, among others,

• prioritising collaboration with Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Timor-Leste to accelerate the diffusion of innovation in education, already pio-neered by SEAMEO Centres.

• promote literacy and nutrition programmes to as many as 300 schools in Southeast Asia, through the School Garden Project with the technical sup-port of SEAMEO BIOTROP and SEAMEO SEARCA.

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