SEAMEC PRESIDENT MEETS WITH PHILIPPINE EDUCATION OFFICIALS

Prior to his visit at the Center today, SEAMEO Council President HE Pehin Abu Bakar Apong, Minister of Education of Brunei Darussalam attended yesterday a bilateral meeting with officials and representatives of the DepEd, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City. Heading the Philippine delegation was Education Secretary and former SEAMEC President Bro. Armin A. Luistro, FSC.

The meeting paved the way for exchanges on the two countries’ respective educational programs and activities. Among such topics included the Philippines’ newly implemented K to 12 program, and Brunei’s student enrichment and offshore programs that allow for experiences in community work. Also discussed were the language of instruction, the cultivation of Islam in the youth, the Philippine qualifications framework on national competency, and the academic competitions in Southeast Asia, particularly the ASEAN Skills Competition.

The meeting had also given way for orientation about SEAMEO, and the various programs and activities of the different SEAMEO Centers.  His Excellency Datu Pehin Abu Bakar Apong also discussed the current drive to promote SEAMEO’s image, its activities, and identity. In line with this, the Council plans to hold a SEAMEO Cultural Week to project the image of SEAMEO to other international organizations.

His Excellency’s two-day itinerary also included visits to two other SEAMEO Centers in the Philippines–the Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), and the Regional Center for Public Health, Hospital Administration, Environmental and Occupational Health (TROPMED/Philippines).