Improved ASEAN +3 Education Action Plan To Be Tabled At 9th ASED - Edu Sec-Gen

PETALING JAYA (Selangor, Malaysia), May 25 (Bernama) -- The proposal to improve the ASEAN Plus Three Education Action Plan (2010-2017) will be tabled at the Ninth ASEAN Education Ministers Meeting and the Senior Education Officials Meeting to be held for two days, beginning Wednesday. Malaysia's Education Ministry Secretary-General Dr Madinah Mohamad said the proposal for the improvements was one of the topics discussed at the two-day Eleventh ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Education (SOM-ED) which began Tuesday. Speaking to reporters after attending SOM-ED here Tuesday, she said following discussions between ASEAN member countries and ASEAN +3, it was decided that the action plan had to be improved in line with technological changes and the rapidly-evolving education trend. "Our discussions took into consideration whether we needed to renew the ASEAN +3 (2010-2017) Education Action Plan after 2017 or re-evaluate all programmes implemented during that period," she said. "From 2010 until now, we see too many changes in technology and knowledge." SOM-ED is part of the 9th ASED programme held in Malaysia after it was appointed chairman of ASEAN Education for two years, beginning this year. The Ninth ASED on Wednesday which will be launched by Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid is also expected to be attended by Minister of Higher Education Idris Jusoh. Madinah said the 9th ASED would serve as platform for member countries to review the action plan and discuss its direction in developing education in this region. "Our talks in SOM-ED were conducted in the spirit of ASEAN between the 10-member countries and ASEAN strategic partners (China, Japan and South Korea). "Through SOM-ED, we looked for a platform to foster cooperation in higher education, especially in the framework of qualifications and student mobility intra-ASEAN, including collaborations with ASEAN strategic partners," she added. Madinah said the collaborations with ASEAN strategic partners, especially in education, the educational gap in the ASEAN region could be closed through various ways such as e-learning, including in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam (CMLV). "The institution of higher education in the ASEAN region can be improved, including in the CMLV which needs much effort. So, regardless of where we are, including in the CMLV, all knowledge can be shared through E-learning," she said. Madinah added that besides talks about the ASEAN +3 Education Action Plan (2010-2017), SOM-ED also discussed the ASEAN Master Plan 2016-2020 which outlined 70 educational activities to be implemented by the member countries in the next five years. Also discussed were the ASEAN Declaration on Strengthening Education for Children Not Attending School and the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework on the Development Plan for the ASEAN Economy and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community 2025. Malaysia's involvement in the meeting will pave the way for ASEAN to monitor overall regional collaboration, as well as identify the direction of ASEAN education which is guided by the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint 2025. --BERNAMA