66th Governing Board Meeting tackles future of education

After two years of conducting the Governing Board Meeting online, this year’s meeting was a chance for the Board to convene in-person to discuss the future direction of the Center. INNOTECH held its 66th Governing Board Meeting in Singapore from 18 to 20 October 2022.

The Center’s Governing Board (GB), comprising of senior representatives from the Ministries of Education of SEAMEO-member countries, representatives from SEAMEO Secretariat, and the Director of INNOTECH convened to discuss the accomplishments and future activities of the Center. The meeting was also attended by the Center’s Management Committee and selected staff, as well as advisers and observers accompanying the GB Members.

The meeting served as a chance for the Center to apprise the Board of its accomplishments for the past fiscal year. Through a video presentation, the different learning programs, research projects, knowledge management initiatives, and other special projects were presented to the Governing Board. As an addition, Dr. Leonor Magtolis Briones, SEAMEO INNOTECH Director, expressed interest to embark on new projects like research on motivation of Southeast Asian teachers, futures study in the field of education, and youth engagement to name a few.

Another highlight of this year’s GB Meeting is the knowledge sharing session. Each GB member shared their country’s recent reforms and plans on the future of education, especially now that schools are going back to face-to-face classes. There were a lot of similarities among the reforms in each country. One of which is the continued use of alternative modalities and digital technologies along with the return to physical classes. The need for an innovative, yet inclusive and accessible learning was emphasized during the discussions. Curriculum and assessment were also tackled; almost all countries reduced their minimum competency requirements and turned to a more learner-centered assessment.

The rich discussions shared during the meeting will be compiled in a special INNOTECH publication, to be released in the coming months.

GB Meetings are essential to the operations of each SEAMEO Center. It enables the Center to engage the Ministries of Education in Southeast Asia, through its GB Members, on its programs and projects. It is also an avenue for GB Members to provide guidance on the future directions of the Center.