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 Dr Clifford Meyers Regional Adviser – Education, UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) |
SEAMEO and UNICEF Collaboration |
It
gives me great pleasure to represent UNICEF in this gathering of
the 39th SEAMEO Council Conference in Brunei Darussalam. The Southeast
Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) Secretariat and
the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have a long history
of coordination and collaboration on behalf of children’s
basic right to education. |
UNICEF
supports the commitment made by all SEAMEO Member Countries in endorsing
the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Enshrined in the Convention
is Article 28, stipulating that primary education be made compulsory
and available free to all and that different forms of secondary
education be made available and accessible to all children. UNICEF
applauds the great strides made by SEAMEO member states in providing
primary education to its children, with enrolment rates reaching
over 95 percent for the region as a whole, with near parity in girls
and boys enrolment rates. UNICEF, however, encourages SEAMEO member
states to remain vigilant in reaching the remaining 5 percent of
children who remain out of school, especially children with disabilities,
children from ethnic minorities, children from poorest of poor families,
and children affected by HIV/AIDS. |
UNICEF
recognizes the difficulties facing children in completing their
primary education and in learning to their fullest potential. High
rates of repetition and drop out continue to plague education systems
among SEAMEO members. Learning achievement and the relatively low
quality of teaching and learning give cause for concern. UNICEF
is committed to working with SEAMEO as an organization, and individually
with member states, to improve the quality of primary education
and to ensure optimal learning for all students. To this end, UNICEF
is especially pleased to work with SEAMEO in the following areas. |
To
enhance the quality of schools, UNICEF pledges its support to the
SEAMEO-UNESCO-UNICEF Ministerial Forum, preceding the SEAMEO Congress
in May 2004 in Bangkok. The Forum and Congress are on the theme
of Increasing Access to, and the Quality of, Education through Child-Friendly
Learning Environments. As mentioned in the statement by Dr Sheldon
Shaeffer, Regional Director of UNESCO, the Ministerial Forum and
Congress will bring together partners to share experiences and successes
on improving the quality of education under the Child Friendly School
framework and I look forward to seeing a number of you and your
colleagues there in May. |
UNICEF
also looks to expand its support to technical cooperation amongst
developing countries, or TCDC. On-going efforts by the government
of Thailand to provide TCDC courses on Child Friendly Schools, and
by the government of Singapore for Training of Trainers courses
on early childhood development, are examples of how SEAMEO member
states can share technical assistance with each other. UNICEF stands
ready to establish additional programmes of technical exchange within
and through SEAMEO, especially in the areas of HIV/AIDS education
and life skills, of Child Friendly Schools, and of improvement to
the quality of secondary education. |
UNICEF
fully endorses the statement read by Mr Ashoke Chaterjee of the
Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) on Water,
Sanitation and Hygiene in All Schools (WASH) and recognizes the
importance of clean and hygienic school environments. UNICEF will
continue to work with SEAMEO to ensure that all schools have access
to water and sanitation facilities. Future collaboration with WSSCC
and SEAMEO, as well as with the World Bank, ADB and bi-laterals
such as the Netherlands, Japan and the United Kingdom to promote
access for schools to waters and toilets remains high on UNICEF’s
agenda. |
With
these comments, I give thanks to Dr Arief and the SEAMEO staff for
their coordinating role and to the Ministry of Education of Brunei
for their organization of this very important meeting. I wish you
all great success in the days to come. |
