Final
Report: 39th SEAMEO Council Conference
The Empire Hotel and Country Club, Jerudong
Negara Brunei Darussalam
1-4 March 2004
The Empire Hotel and Country Club, Jerudong
Negara Brunei Darussalam
1-4 March 2004
Proceedings
Contents |
| Proceedings |
| Appendices |
Statement by H E Tan Sri
Dato' Seri Musa Mohammad Minister of Education and Head of the Malaysian Delegation |
Mr Chairman, Your Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates and Observers, Ladies and Gentlemen, |
I
would like to extend my congratulation to H E Pehin Dato' Haji Abdul
Aziz Umar, Minister of Education, Brunei Darussalam, on his election
as President of the 39th SEAMEO Council and Chairman of this Conference.
I am confident that under his able guidance, this Conference will
be a success. My congratulations also goes to H.E. Prof Dr Nguyen
Minh Hien, Minister of Education Vietnam, on his appointment as
Vice President, and to H E Dr Edilberto C de Jesus, Secretary of
Education, Republic of Philippines, for his excellent contributions
during his tenure as President of the 38th SEAMEO Council. |
To
the Government and people of Brunei Darussalam, please accept our
deep gratitude and sincere thanks for hosting this Conference and
for the excellent arrangement, as well as the warm and generous
hospitality extended to the Malaysian delegation. |
May
I also avail myself of this opportunity to convey through you, Mr
Chairman, my delegation profound appreciation to His Majesty Sultan
Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Muizzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Di Pertuan
Negara Brunei Darussalam in setting aside his valuable time to officiate
this Conference and for his very enlightening opening address. |
Last
but not least, may I also express our appreciation to the SEAMEO
Secretariat, for the services and dedication rendered in preparing
this Conference. |
| Ladies and gentlemen, |
| SEAMEO and The Globalised World |
In
spite of the increasing turmoil and uncertainty from several threats
including that of international terrorism, conflicts and natural
disasters in the world today, I am happy to see that Member States
have nevertheless managed to forge ahead in their national development
plans and enhanced regional cooperation in all fields of SEAMEO’s
competence. However, in a world of growing interdependence brought
about by the forces of globalization, we cannot afford to lapse
into contentment but must continue to further engage these threats
and problems more vigorously. Today, we can see many of our economies
that have been enjoying steady growth, are still in a phase of difficulty
of varying severity as the result of the 1997 financial crises,
SAR's and most recently, the avian flu virus outbreak. In this regard,
we must always remain alert and adapt ourselves to the challenging
global environment by generating new ideas and implementing strategic
alliances and changes in our organization to cope with these challenges.
|
| Ladies and Gentleman, |
| Quality Education |
In
this age of globalization, nothing can have a more positive impact
on the economic growth and development of our countries than quality
education. With quality education, we can build the salient infrastructure
that will support our countries economic, social and environmental
development. The provision of quality education should therefore
be the top priority of all Ministries of Education. SEAMEO has long
been involved in advancing this important agenda. The debate on
what constitutes quality education will be omnipresent and always
potentially divisive. However, I believe that its definition is
a moot point. What is more important is the understanding of what
quality education is all about and how it can contribute to the
development of our economies. |
The
conventional approach towards enhancing quality in education has
always been by expanding outlay. This measure has not always reaped
the desired outcomes. Knowledge, competencies, skills and behaviors
are the more preferred indicators of measuring quality in education
and not budgetary targets. The main concern of Member States should
be the question on how quality education can produce creative and
thinking citizens who will enshrine peace and development, show
respect for the rule of law, and contribute towards the national
development of our respective countries. Unfortunately the disparity
in quality education remains a big issue and this has compounded
the widening education chasm in quality education between our Member
States. |
The
brunt of globalization attest to the need for Member States to further
strengthen and sustain regional cooperation and collaboration in
providing good quality education. On this score, I wish to take
this opportunity to congratulate all SEAMEO Member States for their
efforts in enhancing quality education in their respective countries.
Among the measures that I would like to mention are the optimizing
and sharing of school programs and resources, development of quality
profiles for schools, development of websites, hosting of seminars,
study and exchange visits, collaboration with universities, preparation
of resource materials on effective school leadership, exchange of
knowledge and skills and showcasing of creative works by students
and teachers. |
In
this regard, I am pleased to inform this August meeting that a workshop
on Quality and Equity in Education was recently conducted in Kuala
Lumpur from 9 12 November 2003. The aim of the workshop was to share
best practices and benchmarking in the area of curriculum, teaching,
learning, school management and improvement of schools. About 40
representatives from Member States took part. We are confident that
this workshop will lead to the strengthening of professional ties,
cooperation and networking among the Member States of SEAMEO. Malaysia
is also planning to hold a follow up workshop on enhancing equity
in education especially with regards to special needs children this
year. We look forward to your continued support in this workshop. |
| Ladies and Gentlemen, |
| Quality Training and Delivery Systems |
Quality
education cannot be provided without quality training of our teachers
and quality delivery systems. The quality of teachers among other
things is interrelated to the kind of education and training they
receive, their qualification, the ways by which their attitudes
and competencies are nurtured, government recruitment policies,
career prospects, status and recognition. |
On
the delivery systems, studies have indicated that many of our teachers
still use traditional methods such as the chalk and talk methods
which may have a negative impact on students' interest in subjects,
their understanding and subsequently their achievement. On the other
hand, studies have also indicated that hands on activities, inquiry
learning and cooperative learning provide more meaningful modes
of learning for students. We must therefore ensure that our teachers
are able to cultivate the right interest and understanding among
students in the region. The usage of more modern teaching modes,
particularly through the use of the interactive media and ICT should
be encouraged. |
Currently
the level of ICT usage in teaching and learning is low in many of
our Member States. Even in the more developed Member States there
is a digital divide between the urban and the rural schools. As
such, more efforts have to be expanded at all levels beginning with
the preschool level to provide access to ICT to all students. This
measure is in line with the global trend to produce an ICT literate
society. Ministries of Education have to reduce this digital divide
with the fervent hope that all our children will be at par in terms
of ICT know how. |
In
this regard, Member States which have a strong base in ICT in teaching
and learning should offer their expertise to improve accessibility
to ICT that is of quality. I would like to suggest that SEAMEO Member
States that are already ahead in quality improvement be used as
benchmarks. It is also vital to have effective monitoring systems,
both internally and externally to ensure that there is sustainability
in all our efforts. In this regard, I would like to urge the Secretariat
to set up a kind of watchdog or tracking system to provide feedback
to the Council on a regular basis. |
| Conclusion |
| Ladies and gentleman, |
I
have in my opening remarks alluded to the fact that one of the key
ways of encountering the challenges in this age of globalization
is through the provision of quality education for all. To realize
this level of achievement, we must ensure that our educational systems
work in an equitable, efficient and effective manner. This among
other things, requires monitoring and critical assessments of our
educational policies on a regular basis for the purpose of formulating
new and effective policies. In this regard, cooperation and collaboration
among Member States can help to further identify ways in which access
to education might widen the quality of educational provision and
learning outcomes improved, and teaching and learning processes
managed more effectively. |
| I thank you and took forward to a fruitful discussion at this Conference. |
